Amazing Seed Starter Kit

This is going to be another fun season especially for me as I will be direct seeding my melons in a couple of weeks.

Tplant, will you direct seed your melons into coir in Earth Boxes? Will you take regular pics? I want to do that and since my season will be months behind yours I can benefit by what you do oh EB Guru. Devota

'Nother question anyone. How long does it usually take for tomato seedlings to get their first true leaves after they germinate?

Devota I'm the ul"tomat" tomato newbie (LOL!) but my first true leaves showed very quickly, easily within 1 week after the first cots sprouted.

thanks Karen. My seedlings came up 4 days after planting, so I was wondering how long before it's time to transplant to bigger containers. I know there is an "average" and I thank you for the info.

Devota to answer your questions I direct seed my melons.
1) Will be happy to post melon progress as I go. I've done that every year and if you'd like you can back track in Vegetable forum and see last years results.
2) Don't rush your seedlings? Keep the lites about two inches above the seedling. It will take at least six weeks until their first transplant. After they develop their true leaves make a 1/4 solution of liquid fertilizer and feed them every week with the solution and regular water in between.

Thank you so much Tplant. I have never used seeds before, always bought the little plants.
Thanks a bunch. will look up your posts on the veggie forum.

Oh, yikes! According to Tplant, I've been starving my little sprouts, they've only had one dose of 1/4 strength fertilizer so far and that was more than 2 weeks ago. Ok, tomorrow they're getting food. Poor little things, though they look like little sumo wrestlers. :)

I think I starved my plants last year and looks like I'm at it again!

There's a lot to learn about this gardening gig. Hopefully my plants will forgive my ignorance to a large degree... or not.

TPlant: Am I reading you right here, it takes 6 weeks for melons???? Does that mean I can go ahead and plant the cantaloupe, watermelon and melon seeds I have in a seed starter kit??????!!!!!!!!!

I know my peppers are taking forever to grow, I've got leaves but that is it, how long does it take them babies to grow peppers? My cukes' leaves are spilling out all over the floor now. LOL I got two more huge lights now and since transplanting my tomatoes into solo cups, I can start another batch of something in the empty and cleaned and sterile coconut coir seed starting kit right?! Hmmmm, melons huh?

joy

Joy I sure don't know, but it has been suggested to me just to direct sow cukes because they grow so quickly anyway. Melons I have been told, love really HOT weather to grow well, so at least in my area I am not going to plant probably until May, and then harvest in July/August which is what all the farmers in my area do. I guess it depends on your area, just thought I'd mention it.

My peppers sprouted quickly and got true leaves, but now after repotting they are growing EXTREMELy slow. I think once we get them outdoors and into the true, warm sun they will sprout on up and we'll soon be pickling peppers faster than Peter Piper.

darkmoondreamer: Don't know what's up with peppers but they always take forever, they did last Spring too, that is why I started them early, yes, I think you are right about the cukes, I'm afraid I jumped the gun on them, nothing I can do about that but hope it warms up soon so I can get them outdoors. I think it's still too early to really plant anything else right now, I'm thinking in maybe two more weeks? I have more than enough HEBs now, can even plant flowers in them too. Until I get them voles under control and outta my yard, don't want to plant my daffodils in the ground, and hoping they don't like my cannas or my baby trees when they come. I am going to plant my peony trees on the north side of the yard close to where the edge of my property is, seems there is a bit of shade over there. My plumbing is there too though, so, don't know if that is really a good idea.
joy

Karen that is right, melons love hot weather and they like to drink lots of water, but they hate laying in water and dampness. You can take a jar lid and set your melons on them once they get some size to them. Keeps them up off the ground to avoid rotting in wet weather. Only water the root of the plant, like most plants in the garden. We used to use miracle grow on our sprouts (yes, we sprouted 5,000 melon plants and transplanted them all in a season). Or you can just direct seed them. If you sprout them, use water soluable fert. like miracle grow or something until you plant them.

We dropped a few pinches of 10-10-10 into the holes where we planted our sprouts and covered it with a little bit of dirt and then dropped the sprouts in on top of that and then gave them a good watering.

After the sprouts grow to some size, use a time release fertilizer like 10-10-10 on them in a side dressing, after they start to vine out a bit. We didn't do anything but water and spray for bugs after that initial side dressing. (I think we even used triple 16 sometimes if memory serves but that was 15 years ago, so I am not sure anymore.)

If you grow those banana melons you'll probably have to put a couple of jar lids or what have you under them because they grow long, not round like cantaloupes.

I used basically this same method when I grew the banana melons last year and considering I grew them in pots, it worked out pretty well. :) I could have used a larger pot, though. I just let the vines grow out of the pots and down to the ground and they bore fruit on the ground. I did side dress in the pot. LOL! I didn't know any other way to do it and it worked.

This message was edited Feb 21, 2009 12:49 AM