Raising these seedlings is definitely a bit more challenging than we expected, but we are keeping after it. Even if we don't get to plant these seedlings for our spring planting, Truckin' Man is hoping to be able to plant our late season veggies from our own seedlings. I think that will be exciting, because at least around here, you can't buy plants later in the season. It's a spring time purchase only.
Since I had some questions from y'all about raising these seedlings, I wanted to share what we have learned so far.
Truckin' Man does not like "potting soil" for the seedlings. Seeding Mix only!
We are using "Plant" lights. We found ours at Home Depot. We don't shop there much, but knew they would have the biggest selection of lights, and we did find what we wanted. For the small amount of plants we are starting with, we are only using 2 bulbs.
Keep the lights just a couple inches from the growing tray,
otherwise the seedlings will get to tall and spindly.
A heater is not necessarily needed in your growing or plant room! Ooops!
To much warmth can also make your seedlings spindly.
After making adjustments to the growing conditions we were still getting too leggy/spindly growth, so after more research we decided to replant them in a size bigger container, and when replanting, to plant them deeper.
We also tried pinching back the more spindly growth. I'll let you know if that was a mistake or not. We did not find any tips or suggestions to back up this idea, just something we would have done with other plants so thought it might help.
If you do decide to plant some veggies by seed, have some reference sites ready to trouble shoot! Gardeners.com is one we have used multiple times already. Garden Web Forums has also been really helpful.
That is quite the undertaking! I've never understood why the big box stores only sell one round of plants. You'd think they'd have another round for late summer/fall planting. I hope you guys are having a great Easter weekend!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I appreciate the tips. This is something I would like to do someday.
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter,
Carla
Always happy to get these tips! I know first hand how difficult this can be, looks like you guys are under control! I look forward to seeing the progress :)
ReplyDeletewe used some of our tomato seeds from last year and they got SUPER spindly, super quick. we ultimately decided they were messed up and started that variety of plant all over again with new seeds. hope yours work out though!
ReplyDeletePlease come share this (and Part 1) with us over at Country Fair blog party. Its a once a month link up and we'd be thrilled to have you join in!
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Jan @ Tip Garden
I'm with your husband. Potting soil sucks for seeds. But really, most stuff here I plant right in the ground. I plant all my pepper plants like that. Same with my herbs. I do transplant my cucumber, zucchini, and pumpkin, but man, those guys grow in 2 weeks and I leave the seedlings outside. Tomatoes are the bane of my existence. Haven't mastered growing those from seed, it'll be starts for the tomatoes this year. You guys are doing really well!
ReplyDeleteHope you had a great weekend Kris! :)
I have always wanted to try planting some seeds from scratch. I'm in a new house now with a small backyard. So I'm excited for a vegetable garden this year. I'm just not sure where I would house the seedlings. A little greenhouse would be so nice. Thanks for these tips, Kris! I'm so glad to have you as my source for plants/gardens! : )
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