Some of my indoor starts - photos

13 years ago

Cherry and Tamina tomatoes

Salad lettuce windowsill garden

False indigo seeds

One method of letting seeds soak until germinated. Also sown indoor container full of seeds which have now just exploded in sprouts after 3 weeks

Romaine Lettuce

Starting to sprout after 5 days - windowsill garden. Will start remainder of packet end Feb

Chamomile babies

Planted these 5 days ago. Noticed signs of damping off. Have forked gently over those areas. Keeping close eye. If all dies will plant a fresh tray and put a blind slat to hold cover slightly open for air movement. We were away this weekend, otherwise this would not have happened.

Lupines

Soaked the seeds in water first until one sprouted, then planted lot. Easy to start indoors or winter sown. So far I have 30 babies.

Tarragon

Just exploded indoors after 5 days. Will be separated into plastic cups to grow on.

Spanish onion

Have been sprouting last few weeks, still new sprouts coming up. To continue growing indoors to plant out May long weekend

Lupines, tomatoes and 3 romaine lettuce

My growing rack (outdoor greenhouse) without it's cover in front of patio door, south facing

That's it for now...future pics will be posted.

Cheers,

Peggy

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

rosco_p
13 years ago
Peggy:Thanks for sharing your indoor sowing pictures!! I have a number of things on the go also under my flourescents as well as my outdoor winter sown items. Just one question?...aren't you're tomato seedlings going to be quite large by planting out time..I don't have a great deal of room and I found that if I plant before the end of March that I could not contain the growth that the tomatoes put out?? but then again I guess you have that green house to fill up! Anyway everything you have started looks like it is coming along well. Keep up the good work. Ross.
User
Original Author
13 years ago
I will grow up my tomato seedlings in whatever pot size they need - I have an abundance of south facing windows and east facing that is enough area to grow on these plants - otherwise I would have waiting on some seedlings until end Feb.

I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures.

Cheers,
Peggy
Related Discussions
some ?'s about starting onions indoors
Q
Comments (5)
i always plant my seed in 4" X 6" containers and put the seed into rows, 8 or 9 per row going in the 4" direction, i use tweezers to put 1 seed in the right spot tedious but it works well. one year i just sprinkled seed to see the difference. i decided that sprinkling seed did not produce seedlings that developed as well as when i did rows. maybe they were too close? i went back to planting in rows. greenhouses have onions in containers that are very crowded and they seem to do ok as far as attaining a good size for planting out but i'm sure they over fertilize for the growth otherwise people may not buy them if the plants were small and thin. personally i prefer allowing the plants to have more room. i have 1 4' X 6" of red wing about 75-80 plants and 2 containers of copra about 150-160 plants. tom
...See More
Need help with my dahlia tubers I'm starting indoors
Q
Comments (9)
Hi Grace My answer may not help you at all but... I live in Sf and have grown dahlias out in the sunset for years (which is one of the worst environments for growing flowers) and in my opinion, you are causing more work than you need to for yourself. I NEVER have started my dahlias indoors, I never have dug them up for overwintering and I rarely even touch them after they bloom in year one. And I (just being honest) have a yard that is the envy of my friends and neighbors. Even in heavier rain years, I never worry about my tubers and in years like this, I find I have to go out and water in the winter in order for them to get ANY moisture. Do I lose dahlias? Sure do. But not often and usually only when I am lazy and allow the snails to have at em when they start sprouting. But if I lose a few (out of 90+ and counting), it gives me an excuse to buy more tubers the next year! You may well grow beautiful dahlias with all the dedication you are showing but for my money, it is much ado about nothing. Dahlias are hardy and once they get used to their environments, they last forever. And you know well in the sunset we get up to 2-3 months of NO SUN and heavy fog. So if I can grow beauties with little maintenance, I am sure you can also. If you prefer the high maintenance route, go for it. But I think you will find it a full time job because there will ALWAYS be something - mold, rot, lack of water, too much water, snails, too much heat (sun), not enough heat, freezing temps, long foggy months, staking, and maybe , just maybe, the tuber was no good from the get go DESPITE what you do! Good luck. And if you live in the sunset and want to see my yard some time, I have dahlias from May to November but the best month is August. Come on by!
...See More
Some info about starting seeds indoors
Q
Comments (2)
Interesting but while I'd strongly disagree with some of it and expand on other factors, most of that information is available in the FAQs on the Growing from Seed forum here. Plus several seed/garden supply sites also provide more detailed info on How-to-Grow-from-Seed. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=501 https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/how-to-start-seeds/5062.html http://www.planetnatural.com/vegetable-gardening-guru/seed-starting/ Dave
...See More
When do I start my indoor seeds?
Q
Comments (13)
m-gold I used to use cool white bulbs but I believe that last bulbs I got were more daylight in rating. Since they are only under the lights for such a short time, I do not think it will matter so much. I have used both types successfully. If growing a lot of tomatoes, it would work best to start your seeds in a small container in rows. When the first true leaves come out, then carefully dig them up and plant one tomato per pot. If you are only growing a few pots of tomatoes, then you could direct seed 3 seeds per pot. Place them near the middle of the pot. If more than one germinates, then just pinch off (or use a scissors) the unwanted ones near the soil base and leave only one alive per pot (pick out the biggest healthiest seedling to keep). I should mention to keep the seedlings as close to the light as possible. The leaves should not touch the light bulbs (will burn) so lower the plants or raise the light source as the plants get larger. I keep mine about 3"-4" below the light source. No you do not need lights to grow the tomatoes. They can be grown in a sunny window. The issue with using a window (south side best) is that the tomatoes will get tall and leggy if they do not get sufficient light levels for enough hours each day. In my youth the first tomato plants we grew were place by a south window. As the tomatoes bent towards the light as they grew, we would turn the pots in an attempt to try and keep them straight. It works but not nearly as good as supplying light artificially (fluorescent lighting). I told you I was frugal. The best organic fertilizer? Compost if you make your own and manure. I have access to 3 year aged horse manure free for the hauling. Since we have rabbits, their droppings are really good too. That being said, I often use some supplemental fertilizer for nitrogen (if needed) during the growing season by banding a granular product down my plant rows. 10-10-10 works great. 5-10-5 too. Depends on what you have on hand and what is available to you the cheapest. IF you have just a few tomatoes, a liquid fertilizer works too. Let the plant tell you if it is hungry. If the leaves are not so green and growth poor then add nitrogen. If not, let it be.
...See More
truthckur_hotmail_com
13 years ago
Nice little collection you got there my friend! Wish I had more windows facing south. That and more flat surfaces!

Rolande
luckynes13
13 years ago
Nice...
I have about three plant trays going myself. My early starts are leeks, goji berry, peppers, lavender, rosemary, alkenat, basil, anise, globe artichoke, and some bunches of grape tomatoes.

Your seedlings are coming along nicely. Can;t wait to get past the cold part of winter. Do you know when that will be?
User
Original Author
13 years ago
Not soon enough for me for spring.

Chamomile got hit with dampening off. The soil I'm sanitizing with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide right now. I'm letting it dry out to damp - then I'm going to microwave the container and dirt.

I picked up another packet today and will resow and BE HOME to keep an eye on it.

Thanks for taking a moment to check my babies out!
ianna
13 years ago
peggy I noticed you've been using those fiber pots. I've always experienced mould and damping off when using these pots which is why I no longer use them. I prefer to use used plastic pots now and the occurence of mould was reduced significantly.
User
Original Author
13 years ago
Ianna I actually HATE jiffy pots, pop-up with water grow plugs. The pots I have to put in a large yogurt container with water right up to the top of the rim to saturate the sides and then I water the plant. Their material is awful - yes it can mold, and as it dries it sucks the water away from the plant. I have the last few kicking around so I only use them with extreme caution and only for transplanting up plants. My indoor tomato starts will eventually reach a large yogurt container as it grows taller - I plant up the stem as more leaves grow on top, tomato stems will produce roots so by the time I transplant my tomatoes outside they'll have plenty of roots - more than purchased tomatoes.

I'm mainly I'm using planting trays and then transplanting those starts into deep containers like my water jugs, on their side, very top cut off with an exacto knife. I save any deep plastic containers and use them. If I know I'm going away for overnight or weekend, I saturate those jiffy things to make sure I don't have starved plants.

Great comment - I'm glad I could put my 2 cents in on those nasty jiffys.

Cheers,
Peggy
ianna
13 years ago
Yes. they try to sell off these weak fibre pots as a way to go but I started noticing these moulds.. awful awful molds. It's same thing though that i had experienced with homemade newspaper or cardboard rolls. I guess its not very PC to say so. One could say it is not a good green practise. but on the other hand we would need chemicals to combat mould. that isnt terribly PC either.

Interestingly though I have not had such problems with the pop up ones.

I am very familiar with the burying the tomato plants up to the top so yes I've done it many many times over. I also have started new plants from cuttings. Last year I found myself too successful with more tomatoes than i could possibly plant outdoors.

A little trick if you have access to sand.. Sprinkle sand on top of your germinating seeds. This helps discourage mold build up at the top of the soil. It also moderates water loss. It however is not effective if one is using any fiber type pots and mold is developing deep beneath the soil. I use this method as well when I do cuttings with any plants from boxwood to lavenders

Also, if you have a circulating fan, use it. This builds stronger stems. I came upon this trick from another grower and find that it is true. It also reduce mold incidents.

Some of my indoor starts - photos

Comments (8)

rosco_p

User
Original Author

Related Discussions

truthckur_hotmail_com

luckynes13

User
Original Author

ianna

User
Original Author

ianna

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Some of my indoor starts - photos

Comments (8)

rosco_p

UserOriginal Author

Related Discussions

truthckur_hotmail_com

luckynes13

UserOriginal Author

ianna

UserOriginal Author

ianna

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

User
Original Author

User
Original Author

User
Original Author