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sunnibel7

How do you start your cool veggies in the heat?

sunnibel7 Md 7
12 years ago

Arrrrrggggh!

I've been trying to get an autumn garden (specifically the brassicas) going for years with very little luck. Probably because where I grew up it wasn't an option.

Anyhow the saga is that my first attempts failed because of a shady yard. Problem solved: new house with very sunny yard. Fall garden failed again due to extreme insect pressure and problems getting seeds to sprout out in the heat. Problem solved: row covers and Nolo bait and as further backup, spinosad pellets for the insects... and to solve the heat problem, I was starting seeds under lights in the plant room.

But that last bit isn't working. I think maybe it is still too hot even in the plant room. The seeds are sprouting, the seedings grow for a while then the leaves just start getting crunchy dry. It is not damping off, the stem is fine. The soil is moist and frankly, if I keep it any damper I think fungus problems may be next. I have no problems raising hundreds of seedlings in spring but these are behaving different.

So, if all you southern gardeners could chime in with the trick to getting these things started in the heat of summer, I sure would be thankful. (All the fine northern gardeners are welcome to chime in, too, I just thought maybe the folks who grew up with all this heat would know exactly what I need to do.) It's too late for the things that went a month before croaking to be started again, but I may still be able to get some things going with a little help!

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