6th Grade Science Class

                                                Sugar Snap Peas, Okra, Sweet Corn

I learned this trick in Elementary School. These Seeds have hard, thick outer layers. It is much easier to get them to sprout before putting them in the soil, rather than after, especially the Okra.

1. Soak the seeds overnight in a cup of water.
2. Drain.
3. Wrap in a damp towel
4. Keep moistening the towel for 2-3 days.
5. One they grow tails, plant in soil.

Thinning Seedlings & the Growth of the True Leaf

 When planting seeds indoors I usually drop 2-3 seeds into each cup. Once they've sprouted, I give them a few weeks to compete with each other, then once the seedlings begin to form their "true leaf" it is time to thin them, or trim off the weakest links.

This Broccoli sprout hasn't formed its "true leaf" yet. But, you can see that I went ahead and thinned her weakling competitor anyway. I snipped that sucker off so now all of the nutrients and light can go towards one plant, the strongest.

I couldn't get a good focus here with my camera.. Ill figure it out eventually. But you can see on this Broccoli sprout that the true leaf is just starting to peak out.

This seedling has two healthy true leafs growing.

Indoor Seedlings Day 24

 I'm pretty happy with how everything is looking. This morning, I spent an hour thinning the seedlings, then adding potting soil and nutrients to each plant. Over the weeks, the soil gets compacted, or pushed down from watering from the top, then some of the seedlings start to tip over. So I set a bit of potting soil at the base of each seedling, and propped them up. Adding the potting soil to help them stand up will strengthen their roots and stems. Then I sprinkled in a nutrient dense mix of guano/manure/bloodmeal into each cup. 

I hope that this will help them get big & super green!

 Purple Cherokee and Yellow Pear Tomato Starts

 Broccoli, Parsley, Lettuce and Cabbage

Mustard Greens & Kale

Garden Grocery List- Indoor Seed Starting

 In my first post, I went over what it takes to set up lights for starting your seeds indoors. It is unbelievably simple. If I can do it - really - anyone can. Don't let what you read online about expensive grow-light systems intimidate you.. I'm starting seeds basically the same way my Grandpa did, and that man had an epic garden.

Lights- fixture, bulbs, chain
Power Strip
Table & Tarp
Seed Inserts, Trays & clear Lids
Seeds
Water
Potting soil, Vermiculite, Manure
Light Timer
Oscillating Fan
Labels
Seed-Starting Log- when you sow, when they sprout, when to transplant

 I started out with this spray bottle to get my seeds germinated. There are pros & cons. One major con is that this spray bottle sucks. It doesn't actually "spray".. it only "streams." Thanks Dollar Tree.
However, it isnt a complete failure and it worked to get things going. I WILL SAY that taking the time to SPRAY each individual sprout.. can be incessant. Yes, it is a gentle way to treat your babies.. but I'm moving onto the re-purposed ketchup bottle. The water comes out quicker, but still quite gentle, and you wont have sore hands from squeezing that dang spray bottle.

The Holy Trinity. Baptize your seedlings in a blend of Potting Soil, Vermiculite and Manure and they will never disappoint you.

Don't forget to label everything AS you plant it! This year, thankfully, I only forgot to label ONE tray, so by the series of elimination I was able to title it "Green Mustard." Yum.

Seed Starting Log

This is just a log of what has been started inside. I will also be direct sowing onion and lettuce seeds in the garden, and re-planting all of the greens every few weeks. You can keep planting greens through the Fall, so as you harvest, it is recommended that you keep sowing seeds. If for some reason my pepper plants don't sprout, I will also direct sow them in the garden. They take the longest, so I'll give them another week to sprout in-doors before I re-plant the seeds.

Quan	Veg Variety	Sow Date	est. Germ Time	Sprouted	Transplant
12	Pepper- Corno Di Toro sweet pepper	18-Feb	12-25 days		1-May
2	Pepper- Jalapeno	18-Feb	12-25 days		1-May
6	Pepper- Bell, Magno F-1	18-Feb	12-25 days		1-May
6	Celery, Tango	18-Feb	"fast"	9-Mar	1-Apr
9	Tomato, Cherokee Purple	18-Feb	6-14 days	2-Mar	1-May
12	Chives	18-Feb	10-14 days		10-Apr
9	Tomato, Yellow Pear	18-Feb	6-14 days	2-Mar	1-May
3	Parsley, Italian Flat Leaf	18-Feb	12-17 days	5-Mar	Mar 25-26
5	Broccoli, Nutri-Bud	18-Feb	5-10 days	25-Feb	Mar 25-26
6	Okra, green	8-Mar	2-7 days		1-May
8	Lettuce, Big Boston	18-Feb	3-7 days	22-Feb	Mar 25-26
20	Onion, Rossa Di Milano	18-Feb	7-14 days	27-Feb	Mar 25-26
20	Onion, Valencia	18-Feb	7-14 days	27-Feb	Mar 25-26
8	Arugula	18-Feb	3-7 days	22-Feb	Mar 25-26
8	Kale, Vates Blue Curled	18-Feb	3-7 days	24-Feb	Mar 25-26
8	Mustard, Green Wave	18-Feb	3-7 days	23-Feb	Mar 25-26
8	Mustard, Red Giant	18-Feb	3-7 days	23-Feb	Mar 25-26
8	Cabbage, Savoy	26-Feb	5-10 days	9-Mar	15-Mar
8	Summer Squash Mix	16-Mar			1-May
8	Cucumbers	25-Mar			1-May
4	Basil, Thai	16-Mar			1-May
4	Basil, Aroma	16-Mar			1-May
4	Basil, Aromatto	16-Mar			1-May
4	Basil, Genova	16-Mar			1-May

Problems & Solutions with Indoor Seed Starting

PROBLEM: Not enough Water
SOLUTION: Aluminum pans & clear plastic lids. By starting your seed trays in a pan with a clear lid you will retain 5x as much moisture, and still let the light in. This year, I didn't start my seed trays in aluminum pans & the sprouts started dying almost as soon as they came up. Now, every time I water the sprouts I also pour a little water directly into the pan and let the peat pots soak it up. They love it

Now, since there is more moisture the outsides of the peat pots are growing a fuzzy white mold. I looked into this immediately (as I was terrified) and its completely normal. Apparently the pots are made or all kinds of organic materials including some mushrooms and molds. Cool with me.

PROBLEM Not enough Light
SOLUTION Keep the trays directly under fluorescent lights, with the lights about 3-4 inches above the pots. Move the lights up as your seedlings grow. Do this & you should have no problemo with light.

PROBLEM Not enough Nutrients
SOLUTION Amend. A little bit goes a long way. Start seeds in an organic potting soil. The potting soil has nutrients in it, but the seedlings need/use a lot as they grow. Every 3 weeks the trays will be nearly depleted of nutrients, so keep em stocked, but don't over do it. I put a pinch of bat guano & buffalo loam into each cup every couple weeks to keep em happy.

PROBLEM Seed Disturbance
SOLUTION This is tricky and I don't really like it. There are some super fickle.. or diva.. seeds out there. And they don't like to be disturbed. Many flower seeds are divas when started indoors, as are celery seeds. If you water them from the top they get all jostled around & refuse to germinate. You could delicately mist them with a spray bottle and you could dip the trays into a pan of water, soaking the bottoms, rather than watering from top. Another "gentler" option for watering your seeds is saving squirt bottles from the kitchen, like ketchup or mustard and using those to water rather than using a cup.

PROBLEM Spindly (skinny, weak) Sprouts
SOLUTION Turn an oscillating fan on your sprouts. This will simulate the wind & they will grow MUCH stronger. Once it gets warmer outside & the sun is shining bright, you can start setting your sprouts outside everyday. Start with an hour a day, then go to two hours and so on.. or else you'll shock them. Also, you should touch and talk to your plants often.. there is a lot of research out there showing that this strengthens them as well.

Let There Be Light

How Exciting! I've been planning this for months!.. let's hope it all works out. I actually started these seeds Feb18th, since then have started many more and have learned much from trial & error.... but THIS is how it all began...

 These light fixtures cost about $11/each. The chain-link to hang them is around $5, and the light bulbs (40watt T-12s) are 2 for 9$. They come with cords/plugs, so all you need is a power-strip and you're in business.

The table is simply plywood atop folding/saw horses with a tarp over the top. I started the seeds with the light about 3-4inches about the tops of the trays.

To insert the hooks, I simply hammered a nail about 1/4'' into the wood, pulled it out, then screwed this hook in with my hands. You may need a wrench or pliers to tighten it with once its in place.