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.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Fed up to here:
Saturday (about 14 days ago).
The day started out as one of those BIG TEASE of SPRING days! The sun was bright and my wireless thermometer was nudging the 50 degree mark. I was out the door early that morning, deciding I did not have time to change out of my pajammas to impress the neighbors. I loaded the bird feeders on the way out. Mug of coffee in hand, I was inspecting here, there, and everywhere looking for evidence of GREEN! ANYTHING? Anything at ALL? Green would be a salve to my being! There were snow piles in my brain and in most of the gardens, though the lawn was mostly bare. A few white piles in the shadows of the picnic table, grill, and shrubs that make up my "yard". I grabbed a rake and halfheartedly raked at some of the snow piles...giving them a gentle nudge to GO AWAY a bit more quickly (with the implied threat that if they didn't go away, I'd be breaking out the weed burner)! The grass was HINTING at being green and as I looked a bit more closely, I noticed that the crocus were just poking out a bit! Ahh.....It really IS coming! Then reality hit....the clouds came in fast and the rather warm air got downright chilly very quickly. Grumbling under my breath....I headed for the back door.
Up to my office to check the weather thingie on my computer desktop and see if those dratted clouds were going away. NO such luck! Back down to the dining room I went and stood staring out the slider at the yard. I guess I was there a bit of a while too long, because my wife finally asked what it was I was doing. "Look'natthetmtplnts" I mumbled. "Excuse me"?, she said. Kinda coming back to consciousness....I said..."looking at the tomato plants"! "SURE you are'', she replied. "IT'S MARCH!" Well, I know THAT... but its TIME....and I was kinda viewing them in the future tense, anyway!
Now, I love seed catalogs....but I am also a New Englander... and that means I won't stand for those high shipping charges. So I make my list of wants....then head down the hill to the local discount store. They have the Burpee display and the price is 40% off the list price. So, I find anything they have that's on my list and buy them. Then I go back up the hill and order whatever I can't get locally.
Well, two weeks have come and gone and the seeds have come and stayed. I have all the seeds I want to pre-start in the house. I have replaced the two 72 cell trays that just didn't have the gumption to last another year. All the water trays, the cells, and other components of the growing system have been sterilized in the big plastic tote I got at the discount store.
Do you want to grow your own? I guarantee that what YOU grow will be a darn sight better than anything you can buy in the grocery. OK...follow along and we'll see how good we can do this year together. I can't wait to hear how you do! I'll be here right along to help if need be. Next time: we'll go through the actual seed planting. If you are new to this but don't know where to start....here's your homework for this week:
Decide how many plants you want to grow. Remember, there is no such thing as TOO MANY plants! I always plant 30 -36 seeds of EACH variety that I want to plant for the year. More on why in a minute.
OK, now think about varieties. There are SO many!. So, if this is new to you, I suggest this: Try one cherry or grape type...one medium 'slicer'...and one 'Beefsteak' type. If you like to make sauce, maybe a plum type also. Take a trip to a store that sells seed. Read the packages and just pick one of each type that appeals to you. Note that there are 2 types of plants-determinate and indeterminate. Only difference is that the inderterminant types just keep on getting longer. This is not an issue. If it is appealing...buy it. Most packets will yield that 30 - 36 seeds.
Once you have decided on your seeds, you will know how many seed starting kits to buy. I always use the 72 cell kits. Each 72 cell kit will accomodate 2 seed packets.
Now here is something important: For filling the trays...DO NOT use DIRT! Or by another name.....POTTING soil! What you want to buy is soiless mix, seed starting mix, or similar. These mixes are all a combination mainly of peat and perlite. There are lots of companies that sell these materials and they are available at most garden centers or the big box stores that have garden departments.
Ok....just to finish up before you head off to the store. Here's why I always do so many: Sometimes ALL the seeds don't sprout or you lose a few on the way. Once we get to the transplant stage....I pick the best ones for myself. Then I sell or give away the rest to friends and neighbors who are more than happy to fork over a buck or so a plant. It never costs me anything to start my plants...and I make a bunch of people happy to boot. OH and here is why I start from seed. I'll bet you a box of donuts...that 2 hours before you looked at a bunch of plants at the Big Box Hyper Garden Center, there is a possibilty that those poor things were wilted and droopy and half DEAD because the employees were too busy taking their coffee break to give them any water. Stressed plants never do as well as ones that are given TLC! Know for sure and start from seed! Note: I want to assure you that if you buy plants from a REAL garden center...that won't be a problem. They NEVER let that happen. So if you want to go that route, please feel free, but choose a reputable garden center. One final thought. There really aren't any hard and fast rules. If you do something and it works....do it again!
The day started out as one of those BIG TEASE of SPRING days! The sun was bright and my wireless thermometer was nudging the 50 degree mark. I was out the door early that morning, deciding I did not have time to change out of my pajammas to impress the neighbors. I loaded the bird feeders on the way out. Mug of coffee in hand, I was inspecting here, there, and everywhere looking for evidence of GREEN! ANYTHING? Anything at ALL? Green would be a salve to my being! There were snow piles in my brain and in most of the gardens, though the lawn was mostly bare. A few white piles in the shadows of the picnic table, grill, and shrubs that make up my "yard". I grabbed a rake and halfheartedly raked at some of the snow piles...giving them a gentle nudge to GO AWAY a bit more quickly (with the implied threat that if they didn't go away, I'd be breaking out the weed burner)! The grass was HINTING at being green and as I looked a bit more closely, I noticed that the crocus were just poking out a bit! Ahh.....It really IS coming! Then reality hit....the clouds came in fast and the rather warm air got downright chilly very quickly. Grumbling under my breath....I headed for the back door.
Up to my office to check the weather thingie on my computer desktop and see if those dratted clouds were going away. NO such luck! Back down to the dining room I went and stood staring out the slider at the yard. I guess I was there a bit of a while too long, because my wife finally asked what it was I was doing. "Look'natthetmtplnts" I mumbled. "Excuse me"?, she said. Kinda coming back to consciousness....I said..."looking at the tomato plants"! "SURE you are'', she replied. "IT'S MARCH!" Well, I know THAT... but its TIME....and I was kinda viewing them in the future tense, anyway!
Now, I love seed catalogs....but I am also a New Englander... and that means I won't stand for those high shipping charges. So I make my list of wants....then head down the hill to the local discount store. They have the Burpee display and the price is 40% off the list price. So, I find anything they have that's on my list and buy them. Then I go back up the hill and order whatever I can't get locally.
Well, two weeks have come and gone and the seeds have come and stayed. I have all the seeds I want to pre-start in the house. I have replaced the two 72 cell trays that just didn't have the gumption to last another year. All the water trays, the cells, and other components of the growing system have been sterilized in the big plastic tote I got at the discount store.
Do you want to grow your own? I guarantee that what YOU grow will be a darn sight better than anything you can buy in the grocery. OK...follow along and we'll see how good we can do this year together. I can't wait to hear how you do! I'll be here right along to help if need be. Next time: we'll go through the actual seed planting. If you are new to this but don't know where to start....here's your homework for this week:
Decide how many plants you want to grow. Remember, there is no such thing as TOO MANY plants! I always plant 30 -36 seeds of EACH variety that I want to plant for the year. More on why in a minute.
OK, now think about varieties. There are SO many!. So, if this is new to you, I suggest this: Try one cherry or grape type...one medium 'slicer'...and one 'Beefsteak' type. If you like to make sauce, maybe a plum type also. Take a trip to a store that sells seed. Read the packages and just pick one of each type that appeals to you. Note that there are 2 types of plants-determinate and indeterminate. Only difference is that the inderterminant types just keep on getting longer. This is not an issue. If it is appealing...buy it. Most packets will yield that 30 - 36 seeds.
Once you have decided on your seeds, you will know how many seed starting kits to buy. I always use the 72 cell kits. Each 72 cell kit will accomodate 2 seed packets.
Now here is something important: For filling the trays...DO NOT use DIRT! Or by another name.....POTTING soil! What you want to buy is soiless mix, seed starting mix, or similar. These mixes are all a combination mainly of peat and perlite. There are lots of companies that sell these materials and they are available at most garden centers or the big box stores that have garden departments.
Ok....just to finish up before you head off to the store. Here's why I always do so many: Sometimes ALL the seeds don't sprout or you lose a few on the way. Once we get to the transplant stage....I pick the best ones for myself. Then I sell or give away the rest to friends and neighbors who are more than happy to fork over a buck or so a plant. It never costs me anything to start my plants...and I make a bunch of people happy to boot. OH and here is why I start from seed. I'll bet you a box of donuts...that 2 hours before you looked at a bunch of plants at the Big Box Hyper Garden Center, there is a possibilty that those poor things were wilted and droopy and half DEAD because the employees were too busy taking their coffee break to give them any water. Stressed plants never do as well as ones that are given TLC! Know for sure and start from seed! Note: I want to assure you that if you buy plants from a REAL garden center...that won't be a problem. They NEVER let that happen. So if you want to go that route, please feel free, but choose a reputable garden center. One final thought. There really aren't any hard and fast rules. If you do something and it works....do it again!
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