Seed starting for "dummies"

Thank you to the DG community for all the information in the forums. I've learned so much. I just started gardening for the first time this past July and this is the first year I am starting from seed. I am attempting fully organic produce so obsessed about organic containers for my seeds. I finally got a system together for my indoor seed starting and had my first seeds germinate! Here's pics http://y9fvg.blogspot.com

I have read lots of advice about fertilizing and planting up but had no idea what "true leaves" looked like or what potting up meant. I found this step by step approach with pics that was really helpful: http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenprimer/ss/SeedStarting.htm

Having a visual of true leaves really helped this "dummy"

Healing,
One word of advice. From your pic, you are watering waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much!!!! You will run the risk of damping off. Let them dry out a bit. Just moist is enough. Those leaves you see now are the nurse leaves (cotyledons) that the plant will feed itself off of, so it won't need any fertilizing now. These leaves will develop and start to look like true leaves, but they aren't true leaves. The pair of leaves that come out after this set will be the first set of true leaves.

You want another set of true leaves to come out before you pot out (2 sets of true leaves past the cotlyedons..)

Hope this helps. Keep posting pics so we can help you along.

Garden,

I see you're using those jiffy plug things. I swear, I'll never use them again. They say they breakdown in the soil, I'd love to know when. I used them for all my seed starting last year and planted them. Well, when I turned over the beds tues I spent most of my time clearing them out. The little nets were still there and I had to open everyone and dump out the potting mix. I've moved over to the peat cell things that look like egg cartons and an organic potting mix. I'm hoping they'll work better.

Good luck with your babies, my peas are doing awful, I'm thinking of scrapping the lot and starting over.

Yehudith,

I use the Jiffy Pellets too, but I take the nets off when I pot up or transplant. It only takes a couple of seconds, and that way I'm certain the seedlinds aren't restricted. I'm thinking of trying homemade "Soil Blocks" which are like pellets with no net.

David

You know I was dumb enough to listen to them when they said they would degrade. One thing I noticed, they didn't restrict the roots. Stuff that made it through the winter had lots of roots sticking out all over.

Hello all , sorry to jump in like this , but David you peaked my interest with your homemade "Soil Blocks" . Can you explain how they are made ? sounds like a great idea . I also hate those nettings they put on the jiffy plugs , I never thought of just taking them off before I transplanted them. I have about 140 in use now so as soon as planting time comes I will remove the nets. also this year I had a few that had white fuzz on them after I added the water. I think it is mold , I have never had that before any ideas why they did? I always water from the bottom and am careful not to over water. I have a grow stand and lights they sit under in my basement.
Tammy

Hummingt,
I had some white moldy stuffy growing on the top of my seedlings starter trays this past season (January). I asked Dr. Carolyn Male about it (she's the resident tomato guru), who assured me that there are spores floating around in the air, and they sometimes land on the soil and start to do their thing. I just gently touched the top of the mold patch and it collapsed. It never did hurt my seedlings. I was careful, however, not to over water, just in case it was something else.

With seedlings I've learned that keeping them on the "just past dry" side is MUCH better than on the wet side. I touch the top of the seedling mix. If my finger is the least bit moist, that's enough water!

As of today, I have successfully grown 208 tomatoes and 64 bell peppers from seed to ready for plant out, with no damping off... I sowed seeds January 8, 2011.

This message was edited Mar 4, 2011 8:43 AM

The soil blocks weren't my idea, but I do think they would be pretty good. There is information and a video at Johhny's http://www.johnnyseeds.com/MediaPlayer.aspx?VideoID=31. There is a website devoted completely to soil block makers that includes videos. http://www.pottingblocks.com/ There are also lots of Blog entries about soil block making and use. One example is http://www.inthegardenonline.com/serendipity/index.php?/archives/272-Making-Soil-Blocks.html

You can get more information than you could possibly want if you Google, "soil block maker"

I think that the soil blocks are a really good idea. I don't think that they would take a lot of handling, though. The only cost is the initial investment in the blocker, and the on-going cost of the potting mix.

If you really like the Jiffy pellets, there is another type that doesn't have the netting at all. Look for Jiffy 9 Peat Pellets. They don't seem to be as common as the original Jiffy 7, so it's harder to find discounted prices.I saw them online at Jung Seeds, http://www.jungseed.com/dp.asp?pID=53236&c=639&p=Jiffy+9+Peat+Pellets. The price there depends on quantity: for 50, the price is 10-cents each. For 500, the price is 6-cents each. If you get as many as 2000, the the price drops to a nickel each.

David

Gymgirl, your plants look amazing . David thanks for the tip about Jungseed it is very good find and lower priced than a lot of the catologs I am getting.

HummingT,
Here's another piece of advice. If you look at my picture closely, you'll notice the undersides of some of the leaves look sorta "purple?" NOT good.

This is what a seedling does when it's too damp and too cold! Just like people turn "blue" when we're cold, the plants turn purple.

Carolyn advised I had the seedlings too damp in my cool room. Cool is good to slow them down after they germinate to make them grow shorter and "fatter" and not all leggy and drunk looking. But -- the too damp soil was stressing the poor babies, who were shivering and turning purple!

Lesson learned. Cool and "just the other side of dry" is the ticket! ^^_^^

I finally settled on the seed-starting system that works best for me several years ago.

I got four plastic egg cartons and cut the lids off (a good excuse to get my wife to make deviled eggs!). With a pencil, I poked a small drain hole near the bottom of each egg cell. Then I cut two pieces of 1/2" plywood just the right size to serve as a base for two egg cartons - that is, two egg cartons sit side-by-side on each piece of plywood with about an inch of extra plywood all around.

Turning the egg cartons upside down, I put a drop of superglue on the bottom of each egg cell and glued the cartons down to the plywood. With a ballpoint pen, I marked the two sets of seed-starters "A" and "B" and numbered the cells 1 through 24. Now I have cells "A 1-24" and "B 1-24".

Allowing for spare plants, I figure out what's to be planted in each cell on a spreadsheet and save the spreadsheet on my computer. This year, it's 8 varieties of tomatoes, 4 varieties of peppers, and a bunch of cabbage.

I add warm water to Jiffy Mix in a bucket and mix it with my hands until the moisture is just right. It's right when I can squeeze a handful, hard, and squeeze a little water out. Then I use a spoon to fill all the egg cells with damp Jiffy Mix and pack it down level with my thumb.

I plant three seeds in each egg cell, in a triangle separated as far as possible from each other. Seeds should be planted at a depth three times their own diameter, so for tomato, pepper, and cabbage seeds that's 1/8" to 1/4" deep. I poke holes with the point of a pencil, drop seeds in, then pinch the holes together and pat the Jiffy Mix level again with my fingers.

When the seedlings are starting to develop their first true leaves, I transplant them into individual 4' diameter square seedling flat cells filled with MiracleGro Potting Mix. To transplant, I scoop the whole plug of Jiffy Mix out of each egg cell with a spoon, then carefully separate the roots of each seedling, leaving Jiffy Mix on the roots as much as possible. I transplant tomatoes as deep as possible, with the leaves just above the surface. That's because tomatoes will grow roots all along their stems if the stems are under the soil. Peppers, cabbages, and other plants are transplanted to the same soil level they were at.

I've used the same glued-down plastic egg cartons for about four years now, and this system works real well for me.

Oz well said very nice thanks I guess after you went to the trouble of explaining that so well I should give it a try.

At times I use the 2inch square block maker and it works well. Plants get about zero trans plant shock.