Well, what we'll do first is mix some of our starting mix with water. I use a small rectangular plastic storage bin to do this. I usually make more than I think I will need. Generally, you probably don't want to fill it more than about half full of dry soilless mix. Then I sprinkle the mix with water and mix it with a trowel. Add more water and mix, repeating the process until the mix is moist but not sopping.
Now, we need to fill the trays. I usually put the tray on a sheet of plastic so I can reuse the mix that I spill as I fill the cells. Using a plastic party cup, scoop the mix onto the trays. I use a plastic ruler to spread the mix over the entire surface of the tray. You really don't want to press the mix down into the cells, but kinda of let it fall in. Repeat the process until all the cells are full to the top. Move the tray to the water pan now.
The next step is actually placing the seeds. Open ONE of your packets and pour the seeds onto a clean paper plate. I use a tooth pick moistened in water to pick up seeds one at a time. Pick up a seed by laying the flat of the toothpick on a seed. It will stick. Place it on top of the mix in the center of the cell. Work down each column and across each row until you are out of seed. Don't forget to mark that section of the tray with the date and variety. Repeat the process with the other varieties. When all the seeds are placed, one per cell, take your toothpick and gently poke the seed a quarter inch down into the mix. When all are poked in, take a bit more mix and cover each seed. GENTLY, just touch the surface to firm it, without really pressing down. Cut the clear cover on the tray. Continue with any additional trays.
Keep your trays in a warm location, and check daily to make sure the mix isn't drying out. When watering your trays, add water to the water pan and not to the surface of the mix. No more than 1/2 inch of water should be in the pan at any specific time. Keep watching and after a week you should see the baby tomato plants Poking up. As SOON as you see the first one, remove the clear top and get them into the brightest light you can. Preferably, under a 4 foot fluorescent shop light. (These are available for $10 or so at the local big box hardware store). If you use the shop light hang it so you can adjust the height. Keep the bulbs about 2 inches above the top of the plants an raise it as they grow.
That's it for now. Don't forget to keep an eye on them. Don't let them dry out and don't let them sit in water. Remember that they will use more water as they get bigger.
Feel free to ask any questions. I'd love to read any comments you might like to pass along.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Making Babies!
We'll be actually starting our seeds today. Hopefully, you've all got the needed materials together that we talked about last time. We'll get to that in a bit.
Hope you all had a good week. My weather has been up and down this past few days, with a nasty cold rain on Wednesday to a decent spring day Thursday to an actually too warm day on Friday. I spent a little while walking in the wooded area near where I work and saw the normal telltales of Spring: The skunk cabbage was poking up as expected, and the grass in the sunniest areas was actually looking like it was trying to lengthen itself. Could be just wishful thinking. In my backyard, the crocus are all up and flowering their best and the daffs, tulips, and hyacinths are getting ready to shoot up flower stalks. This morning as I tried to convince myself it would be a better thing to be upright, rather than curled up in the water bed, I realized I was hearing something I hadn't heard in a while. The chatter of my State Bird, The Robin! I haven't seen one as yet, but now that I realized what I had heard, I remembered hearing one a few days ago too. That is a good thing.
I finally got myself up and headed down for my coffee. Of course, I looked out back to see what was stirring. The cat that the neighborhood adopted last summer was at my door looking for his handout. I slid the door open a bit and poured a handful of catfood onto his plate. He thanked me with a meow and went straight to work on it. As I stood to close the door, I glanced over to the forsythia bush on the corner of the yard. Usually, this houses a couple dozen sparrows of various types. This morning was no different, except maybe the noise was a bit louder than it has been. Well, it IS mating season, after all.
Anyway, the thing that caught my eye, was a male cardinal. "OhOh", I thought....then realized Kathy had left for work. She seems not to be fond of them and tells them to "GO HOME" whenever she sees one. Must be an association with snow. Speaking of which, I noticed the snow shovel is still by the door. She doesn't want to tempt mother nature by putting it away.
I checked the feeders before I shut the door, and made a mental note to fix the one by the back door. One section of the feeder has screen instead of plastic, and one of the local squirrels has figured out that if he puts a claw into in and pulls, he doesn't have to work so hard for breakfast.
So, I am off to find mine...then we can get to work.
Hope you all had a good week. My weather has been up and down this past few days, with a nasty cold rain on Wednesday to a decent spring day Thursday to an actually too warm day on Friday. I spent a little while walking in the wooded area near where I work and saw the normal telltales of Spring: The skunk cabbage was poking up as expected, and the grass in the sunniest areas was actually looking like it was trying to lengthen itself. Could be just wishful thinking. In my backyard, the crocus are all up and flowering their best and the daffs, tulips, and hyacinths are getting ready to shoot up flower stalks. This morning as I tried to convince myself it would be a better thing to be upright, rather than curled up in the water bed, I realized I was hearing something I hadn't heard in a while. The chatter of my State Bird, The Robin! I haven't seen one as yet, but now that I realized what I had heard, I remembered hearing one a few days ago too. That is a good thing.
I finally got myself up and headed down for my coffee. Of course, I looked out back to see what was stirring. The cat that the neighborhood adopted last summer was at my door looking for his handout. I slid the door open a bit and poured a handful of catfood onto his plate. He thanked me with a meow and went straight to work on it. As I stood to close the door, I glanced over to the forsythia bush on the corner of the yard. Usually, this houses a couple dozen sparrows of various types. This morning was no different, except maybe the noise was a bit louder than it has been. Well, it IS mating season, after all.
Anyway, the thing that caught my eye, was a male cardinal. "OhOh", I thought....then realized Kathy had left for work. She seems not to be fond of them and tells them to "GO HOME" whenever she sees one. Must be an association with snow. Speaking of which, I noticed the snow shovel is still by the door. She doesn't want to tempt mother nature by putting it away.
I checked the feeders before I shut the door, and made a mental note to fix the one by the back door. One section of the feeder has screen instead of plastic, and one of the local squirrels has figured out that if he puts a claw into in and pulls, he doesn't have to work so hard for breakfast.
So, I am off to find mine...then we can get to work.
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