Growing Garden Seedlings

[Weedygarden]

I am thinking that when SHTF, having some experience with seed starting could go a long way. Someone also posted about selling seedlings as a side business.

I'm looking for hints, suggestions and any tips you might have to pass on. How many of you start plants such as peppers and tomatoes from seeds? Which ones do you have more success with? Do you have any started this year?

I try to grow seedlings almost every year. I have had some great successes and some failures. Usually the failures are operator failures. Tomatoes are what I am always the most interested in growing and the most successful with. I need more tomato seeds, more varieties.

I have been buying new seeds this year, as I do every year, but I have also been sorting and organizing my older seeds. In spite of organizing them, I usually end up with a mess that I want to sort out again each spring. I always use a Sharpie and label the package with the year at the top of the front of the packet. I organize the packets in alphabetical order in three categories: vegetables, herbs, and flowers. New seeds probably grow best, but I have successfully grown some plants from seeds that were years old. I know that onion seeds are not viable for very long. I have had good success with older tomato, carrot and pumpkin seeds. I try to make notes on the seed packages to help me keep track.
In my research, it seems that herbs should be started first, except for dill.
I have a shelf set up with shop lights, but I know that grow lights would be better.

 

[Amish Heart]

Sounds like you're on the right track! I had problems with getting red cabbage to start last year. Tried two different kinds. Ended up getting some from our neighbor. And trying to start sweet potato slips last year, got it too wet, potato rotted. I'll try a different method, or just get slips from the neighbor. I always have great luck starting tomatoes, all kinds of squash, and peppers. Peppers take a while, good to start now.

 

[Neb]

I am thinking that when SHTF, having some experience with seed starting could go a long way. Someone also posted about selling seedlings as a side business.

I'm looking for hints, suggestions and any tips you might have to pass on. How many of you start plants such as peppers and tomatoes from seeds? Which ones do you have more success with? Do you have any started this year?

I try to grow seedlings almost every year. I have had some great successes and some failures. Usually the failures are operator failures. Tomatoes are what I am always the most interested in growing and the most successful with. I need more tomato seeds, more varieties.

I have been buying new seeds this year, as I do every year, but I have also been sorting and organizing my older seeds. In spite of organizing them, I usually end up with a mess that I want to sort out again each spring. I always use a Sharpie and label the package with the year at the top of the front of the packet. I organize the packets in alphabetical order in three categories: vegetables, herbs, and flowers. New seeds probably grow best, but I have successfully grown some plants from seeds that were years old. I know that onion seeds are not viable for very long. I have had good success with older tomato, carrot and pumpkin seeds. I try to make notes on the seed packages to help me keep track.
In my research, it seems that herbs should be started first, except for dill.
I have a shelf set up with shop lights, but I know that grow lights would be better.

I was pleased with some 2017 radish seeds kept in the freezer. I collected them from heirloom varieties. Came up in a matter of days!

Ben

 

[Weedygarden]

I was pleased with some 2017 radish seeds kept in the freezer. I collected them from heirloom varieties. Came up in a matter of days!

Ben

I think that radishes are the fastest growing seeds. I think they are ready to eat in 3 weeks. We used radish seeds for science experiments when I was teaching because they were fast. Carrots, they are so slow!

 

[Weedygarden]

Sounds like you're on the right track! I had problems with getting red cabbage to start last year. Tried two different kinds. Ended up getting some from our neighbor. And trying to start sweet potato slips last year, got it too wet, potato rotted. I'll try a different method, or just get slips from the neighbor. I always have great luck starting tomatoes, all kinds of squash, and peppers. Peppers take a while, good to start now.

I have a sweet potato partially setting in a glass of water. I can see the eyes growing. It has only been in there for a few days now. I don't have much knowledge or experience with growing sweet potato slips, but I did have a colleague who grew quite the sweet potato plant in her classroom.

 

[Amish Heart]

I tried the "plant half of it in soil and put it under a grow light", and made a rotting mess of it. Doug and Stacy had a youtube awhile back on doing the water jar method like you said, so I think I'll try that.

 

[Tootsie]

I think that this could be a very profitable thing. Not that long ago, it wasn’t common to see a huge plastic covered greenhouse. Now it seems that there are 5 or 6 on every farm.
Seems to be the new mortgage lifter, or source of employment for many young folks.
Last year many were devoted to tomatoes and prices were consistently high all through the growing season.
Little farm stands have given way to some serious big money places. Every one seems to be thriving.
Like anything, there’s a learning curve to starting something new, but I think that if you can grow something, you’ll do well.
Some specialize in just starting tomatoes, some cut flowers, lots of chrysanthemums.
Plug sale is this week at the produce auction. Should be interesting. I’m curious to see if the trend will be for food, or ‘just for pretty’.

 

[Amish Heart]

Just for pretty seems to still go well where we live every spring. And I'm chuckling, Tootsie, cuz that was something my amish grandma would say, "Just for pretty". It seems in plain houses, flowers outside are always acceptable.

 

[Pearl]

I was pleased with some 2017 radish seeds kept in the freezer. I collected them from heirloom varieties. Came up in a matter of days!

Ben

I Seal a Meal and freeze seeds, always had good luck with them!

 

[sonya123]

I have already started my seeds indoors in trays. The trick to having good plants is to transplant them in slightly larger pots if the stems are too spindly and long. Especially for the tomatoes. They get really nice big stems that way. Some stuff doesn't transplant, like carrots don't work for me. They go straight in the ground.

 

[Weedygarden]

I saw this video yesterday. If a person were starting tomatoes to sell, this could be one way to have them in individual cups.

 

[dademoss]

I have a couple of PDF files I got from a seed vendor on sowing and growing seeds:

 

[Neb]

I think that radishes are the fastest growing seeds. I think they are ready to eat in 3 weeks. We used radish seeds for science experiments when I was teaching because they were fast. Carrots, they are so slow!

Yes fast to grow but seeds are the first to go bad if not stored correctly. Non-frost free freezer is working good for me.

Ben

 

[jishinsjourney]

I’m relatively new to seed starting, at least outside my Aerogarden. I got a two-shelf light setup this year, and I’m giving it a try. Right now I have chives sprouting, and asparagus hopefully doing the germination thing.

I’m waiting for a second set of trays to arrive, and then will start the summer veggies. With regards tomatoes, I invested in four tomatoes from the Dwarf Tomato Project this year: Dwarf Saucy Mary, Dwarf Eagle Smiley, Dwarf Velvet Night, and Dwarf Vince’s Haze.

Dwarf tomatoes supposedly produce like an indeterminate in a space similar to a determinate. You can find out more about them here: Dwarf Tomato Project

 

[LadyLocust]

I have a couple of PDF files I got from a seed vendor on sowing and growing seeds:

I printed these out to read later - thank you.

 

[SLADE]

Tomato plants sell very well.
Tomato's like to be planted on to bigger pots or soil blocks.
I like my own plants to be about 6 inches tall. I think they plant out and grow better and are not root bound.
People like to buy a bigger plant 8 to 10 tall.

 

[Neb]

Tomatoes and broccoli are doing fine.

They will be root bound by the time they move into the garden

Ben

 

[Weedygarden]

Tomatoes and broccoli are doing fine.

View attachment 104605

They will be root bound by the time they move into the garden

Ben

The purple color must be from the grow light?

 

[Neb]

The purple color must be from the grow light?

Yes dear.

Ben

 

[Weedygarden]

This year was an experimental year for me.

I bought more seed starting cell trays (10 x 72 cell trays), watering trays for underneath the cell trays, heat mats for the peppers especially, another shelving unit, more lights and then planted more than 200 tomato seeds, about that many pepper seeds of several varieties, celery, basil, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, a variety of flower seeds, mostly perennials.

I repotted the smaller seedlings into red solo type cups that I purchased at Costco.

I gave many away, mostly tomato plants, but some pepper plants, Brussel sprouts, and cabbage. With the exception of a couple of hail storms, the plants have done well, and people have reported back to me that they have seen tomatoes setting on their plants. One person also purchased some tomato plants at Denver Botanic Gardens annual Mother's Day weekend plant sale and reported to me that mine were much stronger.
Could I have sold some? I'm sure I could have. I think if I am more together another year, I can take orders and have a couple weekend sales. There is someone in the area who does this. He has a website and you can go there and purchase online, then pickup at a couple locations. I was pretty busy this spring with house sitting and really missed the opportune times for having those sales.

I still have to get another shelf set up to hold all of my trays. Repotting was a process, and in the future, I think planting tomato seeds in the red cups would be a better option, but they definitely take up more space.

Another year, I know I can prep the trays earlier, even in the fall, filling with dirt and putting seeds in, and then start watering at a preferred starting time. This process of getting the trays ready, writing labels, etc., takes time, and I have a fairly busy schedule, so I can't typically just work on this process full days, day after day. I can work half an hour or an hour or so here and there. Working on getting the trays ready would work for me.

Another thing I want to do is to print labels on sheets of labels.