pepper disaster
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davez7anv
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agodave_f1 SC, USDA Zone 8a
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Year 1 was a disaster,.. starting year 2.. need some tips..
Comments (14)I am down in the Bay Area, warmer but our nighttime temps can get into the high 20's. I just started my tomato seeds last weekend. I plant the seeds in 6 oz yogurt cups with 4 holes punched in the bottom (about 3mm each). I plant in plain old Supersoil Potting Mix. I put the soil in the cups dry then soak it through really good. Plant a seed in each one then spritz once more with a pump sprayer just to make sure the seed is good and moist. I keep the cups in a plastic tray with a dome, but any kind of loose cover to keep in humidity will work. I've used a plastic Rubbermaid bin that I've drilled holes in the top. That works. I leave them in the house until they sprout. I water them about once a week using a pump sprayer so as not to disturb the soil. Soak them until water starts dripping out the holes in the bottom. In the larger yogurt cups, you don't need to water more often than every 5-7 days, but when you do water, don't be stingy. The split second they sprout (and I mean split second to keep them from bolting for sun), I move them out to my workshop, which is a Tuff Shed unheated. They go under plain old shop lights. I have some reflective insulated panels I place around the seeds. The lights provide enough heat, and the insulated panels holds the heat in well enough even on those cold nights. I leave the lights on a timer about 14 hours a day (5 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and try to keep them about 2 inches above the plants, which means you'll need to be able to adjust the height as the seedlings grow. Below is a link to my gardening blog which shows my seed set-up out in the shop. I've never had a solitary problem, and all the plants I start from seed always outperform the occasional plants I might pick up at a garden store. I buy good seeds though. Johnny's is my choice, but there are other reputable companies. When the tomatoes outgrow the yogurt cups, I move them up to the Solo (keggar cups, I call them). By then, the weather is getting close to planting and I start leaving them in the yard during the day and bringing them in at night. You'll see lots of posts on my blog under the label "Seed Starting" that has plenty of pictures. Hope this helps! Incidentally, it's the folks on this forum who taught me most everything I needed when starting my garden, so you're definitely in the right place! Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Seed Starting...See MoreBell peppers
Comments (14)I never did soil test, nor calculate sunlight. To me gardening is more an art than science. This is not to dismiss science. We use science to some point, for example, 10 hours vs 11 hours of sun, Ph level 6 vs 6.5, will there be "significant differences" between them? I doubt it. Also, is your soil defficient on some elments? In a typical home garden, normally this doesn't happen, therefore, I would do a soil test only when I see some strange happening to my plants. But this never happened on the various gardens I have had. My points is there are many other things that would make more significant differences for your gardening results than getting those tests done, but anyway if you are curious about those tests, then go for it. It wouldn't hurt....See MoreYucca disaster!!
Comments (2)You are aware that Yuccas are pollinated by a moth called the yucca moth, yes? I dont know how to ID these moths, and Im not sure if they do any damage to the flowers, but perhaps you can research them and see if they are the problem. It might be something else......See MoreGarden disaster!
Comments (11)Home gardens are seldom, if ever, overwhelmed with that many virused plants in a single season. Sounds like the great imitator of virus: Herbicide damage, perhaps drift or volatilization of something applied nearby, or herbicide carryover that can occur from composted manures & other organic sources. About that carryover: http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/aminopyralid/ If any of those images are similar to what you have, also do a simple, and easy, bio-assay of the organic whatever that you added to the soil and/or used as mulch. The link is at the left on the above page....See MorePeter (6b SE NY)
8 years agodave_f1 SC, USDA Zone 8a
8 years agoPeter (6b SE NY)
8 years agoPeter (6b SE NY)
8 years agonancyjane_gardener
8 years agoRuth Ellen Witty
8 years ago
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