Starting seeds indoors -

14 years ago

Hello All,

I'm fairly new to starting seeds indoors and whatnot. I remember as a kid starting a few plants indoors and transplanting them outside, and as far as I remember it worked out pretty well.

At any rate, I am trying some of this stuff again, and just thought I'd post my current setup, what I'm growing, and what I'm doing, to see if anyone recommends doing something different or whatnot.

I've got Tomatos, Peas, and 3 different kinds of peppers, long hots, cubanelles, and poblanos all planted in seed form. The peppers are more of an experiment, I took seeds from peppers and laid them out on paper towel, and put them in an envelope and kept them til' I planted them. They seemed just like regular dried out pepper seeds, we'll see what happens. But I've got them planted in the jiffy peat container things, with the plastic black bottom and the clear plastic top. I have the top on, and a flourescent shoplight with 2 bulbs about 5 inches above the plastic lids, I intend to lower when the seedlings sprout. I have a spray bottle that I'm just keeping the soil somewhat moist with, sometimes it appears I'm over doing it with the water, but every time I go to look at the seeds the soil is dry, real dry, like you can blow on it and it blows away. I think the peat pots are taking alot of the moisture, so I'm sure I'll notice a difference in the moisture staying constant as the peat pots catch up with the soil. Anyways thats what I've got so far, and I leave the lights on like all the time, just to kind of keep some heat in the jiffy containers, its a little cooler in my basement so I figure the lights would help a tad. But when I have seedlings I intend to only run the lights for like 16 hrs at a time. Sorry for writing a book, just wanted to be complete in what I'm doing to I give everything the best shot at growing fully! Please don't hesitate to let me know of something I shouldnt or should be doing! Thanks!

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Comments (5)

vkay
14 years ago
Steve,

I've grown tomatoes, peppers and various other plants from seeds for many years. Your setup seems like it would work, but you might want to mist your pots more often. The soil should not be dry inorder for the seeds to germinate. As far as lighting, 16 hrs seems a little long. My recommendation is 10-12 hrs, once the plants emerge. It might take longer to get the seeds to germinate, because your basement is cold. Try using a heating mat to warm the soil.

I have used this setup every year and have yet to have a problem: Start seeds by placing seeds on wet paper towels in a sandwich bag on top of the freezer/refrig. I check every day to see if the seeds have started to germinated. Once I see the start of the roots, I know the seeds are good and than transplant them into pots.

Place the pots near a window, until they get their secondary leaves, and if the weather permits, I move them outside to get more sun and to strenghten their stems. When you move your plant outside for the first time, remember to keep them in the shade for at least 2-3 days. Than you can slowly put them in the sun. Don't forget to transplant when they get bigger.

Hopes this helps.
anney
14 years ago
You might find the Growing from Seeds Forum linked below to be helpful.

And these GardenWeb FAQs are chock full of information for those who have questions about growing plants from seeds.

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing from Seeds Forum
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You might want to start by reading through all the FAQs and tips over on the Growing from Seed forum here. Not only have you mixed varieties with different germination temps and times in the same tray but without a soil thermometer control you really have no way of knowing what the soil temps are, especially if in a cool room. The pellets are famous for very slow germination even under ideal circumstances so are far from the ideal and not recommended. But if you explore the FAQs, monitor them carefully, don't OVER-water, and be patient you will get some germination. Growing from Seed forum Dave
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In my experience, Impatiens walleriana (the impatiens commonly found in garden centers) will grow better for you in pots and your conditions than Impatiens balsamina (aka garden balsam) will. ETA: and the former (impatiens) will have a much longer bloom period!!! Balsam takes a while to bloom, then it sets cool seed pods (fun for kids to pop!) and it dies, whereas impatiens will bloom from the start until killed by frost!
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jimster
14 years ago
What would really speed up germination, if you can do it, would be to put the trays above the lamps for a while. Bottom heat is effective.

I don't understand your watering. Is is only by spraying? That would not be enough. The soil needs a good soaking. I set my trays in water whenever they approach dryness and let them absorb water for a few minutes. After watering, they are heavy. When they feel somewhat light it is time to water again.

Jim
mtmomma
14 years ago
I tried something new this year for starting my seeds. I looked at the heat mats in catalogs ,what a price for a little heat. So I bought a twin electic blanket($20.00 at Wal-Mart)covered it with a cloth backed vinyl tablecloth and it is working GREAT!! Living in Montana it is still very cold here at night so this is just what I needed.My Mustard seeds sprouted in 2 days.All my seeds srouted, now I am having to thin them out lol.Last year only about 1/2 sprouted.Lola
joegardenpa
14 years ago
This is my 3rd year starting seeds inside and still learning. Last year I used bottom watering,it was a system bought through mail order. It worked really well except for the plants that needs a little warmth to germinate, mainly my peppers which are my favorite I try grow a lot of them. I used a heat blanket but I think the heat had to travel to far to get to the seeds and they did not germinate well. So this year I used a heat mat bought just for that purpose. Instead of bottom watering I did what Steve did, using spray bottle and really soaking them. But the ground still dried out often. and only a few germinated, the ones that germinated some didnt make it, I believe because the top was moist but the roots were not, this was most prevalent in my peppers and onions. Next year I am going back to bottom watering again, but with the heat mat and using one tray water tight, and sit the other trays inside that one. They should stay watered well from the bottom and warm, and well I will keep on trying and learning. Mine are in my basement also with a consitent temp of about 58 degrees. Once the germinate and have first true leaves I move them from the heat and just sit them under the lights. As for the lighting I have two shop lights on a timer for 16 hours and about 3 to 5 inches above. I dont think the floresent give any heat, just light. Any how I answered with a book too. I say just try what you think keep a few notes and keep experimenting and learning. And have fun.

Starting seeds indoors -

Comments (5)

vkay

anney

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jimster

mtmomma

joegardenpa

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