Seed Starting Video

[dickiebird]

Here is a short video from Bakers Creek on seed starting.
I've been starting my own seeds for over 15 years nd I picked up a pointer or two from the video.
Enjoy.

THANX RICH

 

[Collector]

There are some useful tips in it for sure. I think I will try the dish soap idea for regulating the moisture. Thanks for posting.

 

[ducks4you]

THANKS!! We don't plant often enough to remember and many things I hadn't heard of before.

 

[digitS']

Yes, no heat mats here, just using the top of the refrigerator. When I have needed extra space, some of that "top of the refrigerator" has migrated to the cabinet above. Foil and newspapers beneath, I've never had a problem with a mess that a person might imagine.

The watering wand comes in handy later, a basin is where the seedlings have their drinks early on. Give them some time, allow the containers to drip. If you are filling even a big garden with transplants, there is little need to start off with flats of anything in your kitchen. However, you cannot be skeered of moving small seedlings. Some species are more tolerant of my little spoon handle and clumsy digitS' than others. Fortunately, by the time the squash, melons and cukes should be started, I have the heat on in the greenhouse and germination has migrated out there. There's NO moving of those plants until they go into the garden.

Yes, peppers are THE slowest because they don't have that 80°f at their feet. Some varieties are a little more tolerant of house temperatures than others but they all - every garden plant, from A to Z, needs attention. Few kitchens have room for grow lights on top the fridge. Mine kinda does but I have never put them up there.

Migration starts first off that refrigerator and to the sunny South Window. i HAVE TO pay attention to those seedlings. Life comes quickly once they emerge from that soil and legginess isn't what you want but that's what you will get if they don't find the light that they are looking for. Twice a day checking - don't miss. Have that sunny nursery ready for them.

Except for the vining varieties like the squash etc., nearly all my starting containers are cookie, sandwich and berry boxes from the supermarket. The bottom has holes punched in it. The top is there to cover things until they are out there in the South Window. Then, the top is cut off and it becomes the tray the container sits on. It can even serve as a basin for bottom watering but ya gotta pay attention to that process, especially if the South Room has carpet on the floor below that Window!

Bright sunlight and, maybe, some supplemental lighting - plants are mostly starches and starches are mostly carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. What do you know - Air and Water!! Very little additional nutrients are needed, especially during the initial days of seedling growth. You don't need to push them.

Steve

 

[Zeedman]

Something that was missing in the presentation was ventilation. Air circulation is necessary to prevent mold buildup, which can kill young seedlings. Large greenhouses use fans, or forced air. At home, if seeds are started in an enclosed space or an area with poor circulation (such as a basement) a fan may be needed. If using lights or heat mats, their heat can be utilized for convective circulation, provided pathways are allowed for air flow. I had a lighted shelf which was against the wall, and had problems with mold. Moving the shelf several inches from the wall allowed convection from below, which corrected the problem.

The plant movement caused by a fan also simulates wind, which helps to strengthen & thicken stems, and leads to stronger transplants. You can get the same stimulation by carefully but roughly caressing the plants once or twice a day; I've done that, with good results. It leads to shorter, stockier transplants... and depending upon what you grow, can make your hands smell interesting.

The BC method of planting multiple seeds in cells is the same procedure I use... and is the easiest method for gardeners, provided that there is enough seed. Like BC, everything I grow is OP & from saved seed, so seed quantity is seldom an issue. If starting expensive hybrid seed though (or something rare), where you start with a limited quantity of seed, you would probably use only one seed per cell. In that case, it is less important that every cell be filled, than it is for every seed which sprouts to be used.

And finally, I can't help noticing that nowhere in the presentation did he use the word "dibble".

I really wish I had a large, heated greenhouse, it would greatly simplify my seed starting. Unfortunately, when I inquired about building one, my local township told me that I can't erect another structure on my property due to zoning limitations. Based upon my frontage, I'm "maxed out" on my utility square footage... so I could only build a greenhouse if I tore something else down. Zoning based only upon frontage completely overlooks the fact that my L-shaped lot is 66' wider on the back 2/3 of the property, which is effectively another lot. A structure is considered "permanent" if it has a foundation, or if wiring or piping is permanently installed. My small Harbor Freight greenhouse is permitted, since it is not mounted on a foundation & has no permanent wiring or heating... but it gets pretty crowded if weather prevents me from moving the larger plants outside.

At present, due to the large numbers of transplants I use every year, it is a juggling match. Seeds which require heat to germinate (peppers, eggplant, Moringa, water spinach, limas, some gourds) are started in a collapsible green house, with a thermostatically-controlled heater. Once germinated, they are moved to the lighted room-temperature growing area, where they will stay until the solar greenhouse has become warm enough. As planting time gets closer, other waves of transplants (beans, cowpeas, squash, cucumbers) will be started under the lights; weather permitting, those are moved outdoors into sunlight as soon as they germinate. Then I'm just hoping that we get a dry Spring, so I can get the plants into the ground before they outgrow their pots.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They did not mention sterile either. One of the dangers of starting seeds, especially if they are very damp, is "damping off". That's where a fungus causes the stem to die right at the soil surface. Spores that can cause that fungus can be floating in the air so it's always a risk but if the starting soil and containers are clean or sterile you greatly reduce the chance that those spores will be there. If you buy starting soil it should say that it is sterile. If you reuse pots or equipment clean them before you start.

That fungus grows best under damp conditions, probably why it is called damping off. So if you keep the soil surface dry you have a lot less trouble with damping off. But if the soil gets too dry the plant dies. There are a couple of solutions. Water from the bottom. A few years back Steve described how he does that. He picks up the entire flat and sets it in a pan of water, just enough to water the bottom but not the top. So the roots stay moist but the soil surface stays pretty dry.

I do that a different way. I use small yogurt cups and cut the bottom out, then stick them down into the starting mix. The seeds go into the cups. Once the seeds sprout I stop watering them directly and pour the water in between the cups. The idea is that the soil at the surface inside the cups stays dry. Another use for that fan Zeedmn mentioned is that it can help dry out the soil surface and stop damping off. If it is dry that fungus won't grow.

This is after they have grown some. I adjust the light height with that chain, trying to keep the light within a couple of inches of the top of the plants but some grow taller than others. To try to stop the plants form getting too leggy reaching for the lights I hang white paper on the sides to reflect light onto the plants from all sides that I can. That reflected light makes a lot of difference in how leggy they get.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I use cinnamon on the soil to prevent damping off.

I like your set up and idea with yogurt cups!!!!

 

[Artichoke Lover]

They did not mention sterile either. One of the dangers of starting seeds, especially if they are very damp, is "damping off". That's where a fungus causes the stem to die right at the soil surface. Spores that can cause that fungus can be floating in the air so it's always a risk but if the starting soil and containers are clean or sterile you greatly reduce the chance that those spores will be there. If you buy starting soil it should say that it is sterile. If you reuse pots or equipment clean them before you start.

That fungus grows best under damp conditions, probably why it is called damping off. So if you keep the soil surface dry you have a lot less trouble with damping off. But if the soil gets too dry the plant dies. There are a couple of solutions. Water from the bottom. A few years back Steve described how he does that. He picks up the entire flat and sets it in a pan of water, just enough to water the bottom but not the top. So the roots stay moist but the soil surface stays pretty dry.

I do that a different way. I use small yogurt cups and cut the bottom out, then stick them down into the starting mix. The seeds go into the cups. Once the seeds sprout I stop watering them directly and pour the water in between the cups. The idea is that the soil at the surface inside the cups stays dry. Another use for that fan Zeedmn mentioned is that it can help dry out the soil surface and stop damping off. If it is dry that fungus won't grow.

View attachment 38979

This is after they have grown some. I adjust the light height with that chain, trying to keep the light within a couple of inches of the top of the plants but some grow taller than others. To try to stop the plants form getting too leggy reaching for the lights I hang white paper on the sides to reflect light onto the plants from all sides that I can. That reflected light makes a lot of difference in how leggy they get.

View attachment 38980

I’m jealous of your grow lights. I’m starting about 200 starts this year and I’m running out of room...

 

[dickiebird]

These were my seed starting cabinets.
Instead of lowering the lights I would raise the starts.

THANX RICH

 

[Artichoke Lover]

These were my seed starting cabinets.
Instead of lowering the lights I would raise the starts.View attachment 38984
THANX RICH

Do you mind if I ask how much you spent on this? And what materials you used? This looks like exactly the kind of set up I want. I’ve looked at buying one in the past but everywhere I’ve looked
wanted like $400 for one
.