Tips are Welcomed

[ron pettaway]

I started some indoor gardening not too long ago. Since the weather is fluctuating I put in my guest bath and leave lights on. Is this a good idea. I posted some pics on my blog and I have to admit better at least than last year when nothing grow on patio

Ron
Eatthetreat.blogspot.com

 

[Nyboy]

Not sure about your seedlings, just wanted to say welcome. Others who know about seed strating will be along to help you.

 

[so lucky]

They should be OK for a few days in there, but for growth and to remain healthy, you will need to have better lighting than regular bathroom lights. Ordinary florescent shop lights work well, when they are placed low, about a couple inches from the top of the plants. This is an inexpensive way to do it, and you can utilize an otherwise dark corner somewhere. Leaving the lights on only about 12 hours per day will give them something more like Mother Nature. Using a small fan pointed at them will help the stems get sturdy.

 

[ron pettaway]

Thank you for the suggestions. Maybe I can put them outside during the day and in dark closet at night? Do you think that will work and I did notice the stems were kinda fragile.

 

[meatburner]

ron, you will get a lot more meaningful responses if you will go back to your profile and put in your location/zone. Putting seedlings outside this time of year is totally dependent on where you are. Some folks still have 2' of snow on the ground. I agree with so lucky about getting more light on the seedlings. I run my florescent lights for about 16 hrs on and 8 hrs off at night. Good luck!

 

[Dave2000]

Once the last frost date has passed you should put them outside for an hour a day, then two, and so on till they are hardened to outdoor conditions.

It is now time to thin them a bit, removing at least half in each pot so the rest have more room and nutrients to grow.

If you add your location to your profile then people familiar with that region can give timely, location specific advice.

 

[ron pettaway]

I added it. I am in Newnan, Georgia. I think the weather will start getting better here.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I didn’t find Newnan on here, but you can find something close to see what some of your recent last frost dates have been on this link.

http://www.caes.uga.edu/publications/pubDetail.cfm?pk_id=7778

We talk about the last frost date and last freeze date as if it were a real number. It’s not. It’s a range. I randomly looked at Dublin station since it’s close to the middle of Georgia. The earliest last frost date I found was February 19 in 2003. The latest was April 9 in 2000. That’s quite a range, 49 days if my math is right and that in just a four year span. How do you use that? Well, to me it’s a lot like asking my wife what the schedule is for an upcoming event. “When are we leaving?” “I don’t know”. So I tell her “I’ll plan accordingly”. She usually doesn’t hit me and I’m usually ready on time.

A spare bathroom can be real good place to start seeds. We all use different methods, but some of the things in common is you need enough warmth for the seed to germinate. That can differ for different seeds, but warm is better than cool. You need to get the moisture right. That’s probably my biggest challenge. Too much and they drown or get “damping off” disease. Too little and they dry up and die. Once they sprout, you need to provide light. Some of us with good southern exposure can use a window but I don’t have that. I use a fluorescent light suspended above plus I hung sheets of white paper on the sides of my support frame to reflect that light back in from the sides. That worked real well for me, the best I’ve ever done. If you don’t have enough light or it’s too far away, they can get really spindly, which makes it hard to work with them.

When the weather warms up enough, you need to harden off the plants. That’s where you expose them to the sun and wind to toughen them up. I put them on the north side of a workshop where the chickens and dogs can’t get to them and they are in the shade. My prevalent winds are from the south so they are protected from most wind too. Wind can really dry them out. I start with about 2 hours a day and gradually build up to all day exposure, moving them out a bit from the building so they gradually get more sunlight each day. I keep them inside a sheltered building with lights as appropriate. This is another risky period because the wind or sun can kill them before they toughen up and it’s easy to let them dry out if the wind and sun are hitting them, especially if they are not in very deep dirt or starting soil mix.

We all do all these things differently; different crops, different climates, different facilities to work with. There is a learning curve involved but you are off to a good start. Good luck!

 

[journey11]

Hi Ron, !

 

[ron pettaway]

I put them outside..look like night temps are around 45-50 now and high temps 70-75..I will take pictures in a week and hopefully they are alive