No harm Missca. I don't have that much free time to pot up multiple times. I plant close to 90 tomatoes.

I checked my plants last night and there are already roots coming out the bottom of the pots. I sowed them on Feb. 20th. That is only 17 days. I am happy with that and would think that if I were transplanting them multiple times that this would not be the case. I will try to video them tonight and will post in the thread I started last week.

I enjoy your videos as well NC, and am interested in your progress.

@ Lar : Talking about old !?!?! I am one too and I like the company of the older seasoned people, just as well as the young blooded. I come to this forum partly for its social aspect. Otherwise I have enough knowledge and experience to grow few tomatoes, peppers, etc.

@NC: Another reason (for me) To start in small cells, is that I use a small heat pad , to help germinate. I can handle a 36 compartment cell pack, that take up about ONE sqr-ft area. I also use slightly different soil for starting than potting.

These are minute things that we all do. As they say, there is more than one way to skin a dead cat :)

Happy Gardening !

Sey

Yeah--and skunks too.

Thank you Sey

Yes I have been growing tomatoes for a long time and the reason I come here is I always learn something new. Sure liked those Brandy boys last year--just the thing for this climate

CHEERS

Lar, , No please don't go. I have a soil block thingy on order and some grow bags thanks to your postings....

Rhoder--I'll be around--if you have any question we'll find someone who has info but to all the folks that know it all I'll just let them be

The biggest problem you will have with soil blocks is finding the right soil moisture. With this it just takes practice- practice and soon it willcome naturally. Remember also the different planting materials tend to be different in making the blocks. Not to fret. The Internet is full of soil recipes. I just do it my way--they seem to overdo everything.

We will be here to help.

Thanks-

LAR

Let the fun go on !

Here is a picture of one of my trays, @ 3 weeks from sowing seeds. I potted them up 3 days ago and have not gotten quite adjusted.

Sey

Sey-- they are looking quite nice. What are the plants in the upper right corner of the photo?

Thanks Lar,

Those plant in the upper right corner are Silvery Fir Tree. I started them while back. They have an unusual foliage called "Carrot Leaf" . They are very compact det and I grow them in 4 gallon pot, each. Though they have nice fruits that taste good too, but I grow them mostly for ornamental feature.

Picture quality is poor. sorry.

Sey

Thanks for sharing Sey-- the pictures are good--i can see everything.

Well, here are mine. Kind of skimpy but I don't have a lot of garden space. I'll probably separate some and transplant this weekend. Disappointed in the seeds I purchased... only one germinated out of 4 varieties. These are mostly saved seeds. I think I might purchase a plant or two, try a couple of new ones.

Rhoder, they don't look bad, but that's a lot of water in the pan… could the seeds have been too wet to germinate? Might it be worth a second try? Anything you start now will not be that far behind those plants. You could try the germination test method with paper towel and transplant the starts.

mlissca---I had just watered them when I took this pic. I'll try again with the other ones as soon as I pot-up these guys.

Wish you would check out this yoube--click on the link. First one it tried

https://youtu.be/zO18qwqV0ZI

lar--nice greenhouse. I need one of those.....

I updated the video to include lites

I went down to Big Lots and bought a six by six portable for $40 (talk them down a bit) and put it together - now that's fun - yeah. Then I discovered it won't stay together so now I'm putting self starting screws at all the joints -that's more fun- and I thought "this thing won't stay put in the wind" - so I had some two by six laying around and got some clamps and I'll get some contractor's stakes for the corners. All this because it's to cold to put out yet and I need some place to keep the starts. "Now this is FUN"

Yet the whole thing is still portable and can be taken apart "waiting to have that fun"!!!

Now I have in mind to raise plants to sell next year - i have done this before and had good success.

Yeah, Lar ,...I also was thinking that mini GH might not be quite stable in windy condition and needs to be reinforced.

Sey

It's up with the cover on letting the sun stretch it out -- wind blowing with 45 gust. It ain't moving. Tomarrow plants go in. Don't know why I was in such a hurry. But I think I'll be planting in about three weeks--weather permitting.

Good to know, Lar

I am also about 3 weeks from tentative plant out. Instead of mini greenhouse I have couple of mini hoops plus a cold frame , to use during hardening off.

We are almost there .

Sey

Here is my makeshift greenhouse. Tomatoes and peppers are staying there for almost two weeks now. It seems they like it in there.

But it was unusually warm here, the night temperatures were in 40s. The next two weeks will be colder. I have a soil warming cable under the bed and I am going to turn it on at night temperatures in 30s.

Antmary-- your plants look fine. We have been in the low 20's at nite and I seem to be able to keep the temps around 50 at nite.

I think that they'll be fine too. I am planning to put more peppers and tomatoes in the greenhouse soil after Saturday, after we'll pass freezing event.

I haven't started my tomatoes yet. About 5 weeks is plenty for them. I will start them this weekend. I have plastic down and at this rate the westher will be ready for them in a month at normal LFD.

I do have my sweet peppers coming up now, a couple hots growing slow as ever (and some cotyledons turning purple again... hmm... ) and my eggplant will be coming up any day now, tons of brassicas that will go out as soon as they are big enough, artichokes, and my first ever onion and leek starts from seed. The onions will be first to go out this weekend.

Here's a habanero... not purple in the peat mix, purple in the coir seed starting mix. Maybe not as insulating? Temps can't be below 60F. I think I will pot up the cotyledon ones to a not full pot with peat mix.

Artichokes

Brassicas and alliums

I will be starting some extra tomatoes for my father in law. I will be growing less of them this year because my wife can't eat them really and they produce buckets. But still got maybe 5-6 plants planned. Has anyone grown Chef's Choice before? I got some seeds from Johnny's.. can't help but try a new variety. I grow the non traditional mild varieties.

Looks like you got a great start going.

Very nice, Peter.

Why are you keeping those onions inside ? They are cool crops and love cool spring weather. But you need to harden them off first.

Chili peppers like Habanero take for ever to grow. This year I am not growing any. Maybe I can get a couple of mild ones (like Cubanelle, Poblano) from nurseries for grilling and munching.

UPDATE:

my seedlings now are growing real fast and becoming plants. Two more weeks, I will take them outside for hardening off.

Sey

I forgot to mention my Siletz and Legend cool weather experiment started on 1/25. Here they are yesterday, ready to transplant into earthboxes now that the rain has stopped. Already flowering!

Here are the three largest plants from my 2/17 sowing. I think it's time for solo cups, don't you?

Sey,

Yes, I should be moving them outside -- I didn't want to transplant them yet as they were still kind of small. I was going to leave the bigger ones out 24/7 and transplant this weekend (the smaller ones aren't hardened off yet), but they are now predicting 27F this weekend so I am going to wait until that passes.

Nice looking stuff everyone, looking forward to mine. :)

Here they are @ 26 days from sowing.

Sey

I potted up 60 this morning and many more tomarrow

60 and many more .., Lar ? Why not !!

by the time I separate the doubles, I will have close to 45. hehe

I might also get a few plants from nurseries. Not much garden space but I have lots of pots and fabric bags. hehe

Sey

Yeah- -i have many pots and bags and I promised some and sold 18 but not ready yet. Next year I'm gonna sell more.

I potted on half of my matters today

Think I'll still have room for the next half

I see, your are giving them spring training already. Thats good.

I will do it in about 10 days. .

Today was nice outside, 60F and SUNNY. When I see the first temperature reaching 70F then I'll know that the weather improving. So far nothing higher than 64F. But no more40s for the highs. Night lows mostly in low 40s. until the end of March.

Sey

Yes Sey they are in a portable gh out side with a small heater that cycles about once an hour from 52deg to 65deg. The outside temp is 32 deg right now-- well see.

That sound like challenging to me, Lar.

What are the low forecast for the next 10 days ? and what are your day highs ?

Sey

Lar, what heater do you use? I am in the same situation. It is predicted 28-26 for the next couple of nights and around 48 during the day. I have a soil warming cable in the greenhouse, which warms soil around 65 degrees, so the plants sit in a warm soil. And I hope that it'll keep the air inside greenhouse from freezing.

Sey-- the lows look like 20's / low 30's high's in the low's. Gonna be FUN

LAR

Auntmary-- it's an old portable that we have had around here for years. It has a thermostat and I stayed up one nite getting it set and so far low is 48 and when it gets to 64 it goes back down. It takes about a hour. Keep my fingers crossed

One thing you can do is to put in a 60watt lite bulb and cover your plants with a row cover-- i know this works and Hudson does something like this

Good luck

LAR

I have used Jiffy7s this year (Because I ordered 100 by mistake) - 28 fit in a seed tray and I have 4 of them sitting on top of the fish tank at the moment. I have never used lights or heat pads - the seeds grow when they grow - I rarely sow before mid March to 1st April. As soon as the seeds germinate, they go outside in the greenhouse - I keep a lid on the trays and also cover with a layer of fleece at night. The little plants grow slowly but very sturdily and I expect to pot up about 3 times before they are finally transplanted in June - by then, some will be in flower and they will be in 4inch square pots (1/2 litre).

New to me this year are Amish paste (I make a lot of sauce), Black Opal, Ruby and Dr.Carolyn...I also grow Bloody Butcher, Tres Cantos, Quadro, Marianna's Peace, Black Cherry and a few others I can't remember without checking the trays (memory span of a bored toddler).

Had a scar this morning- - my wife woke me at 4:30 and I looked at the temperature gage in the portable greenhouse and it said 34 deg. I ran out in the 22 degree weather and found that the sipper had broken and the door was wide open. Grabbed the duct tape (there is that word again) ad buttoned it up the best I could. Came back in and watched the temp come back to 60 degree. I may have dodged the bullet.

Here is what the look like now.

Boy that was close!! What happens if the power goes off during the night? That is always a threat?

Lar, this a gardener's worse dream. But you have nice looking plants anyway!

Hudson--I'm usually up all hours of the night so I keep an eye.out-- but after a while you get to rely on the heater that you forget. I have a propane heater for backup

My wife is terminal and this week she is in a lot of pain.so I get up to give her stuff. Just hope she can hang on till the first matters get here. She talks about home grown tomatoes.l used to grow Rutgers and she would go down the hill with two five gallon pals and carry them up and can or make juice--ain't nothing like home made tomato juice.

Thanks antmary-- hope I can keep them going for awhile- expecting snow the first of next week so don't want to put them out just yet.

Close call, Lar Thank your wife !!

Your plants look fine now.

Sey

So sorry to hear about your wife! Hope things go as well as possible for you both!! I agree about the tomato juice - we plan for juice every year!

What activates your back-up heat system? I have a manual operated propane space heater for backup - but unless I know the power is off - what good is it?

Same here -- i have to start it up. But like I say -- i am up all hours of the nite.

Think next year if I'm still growing I'll get am Alam that will till me when Temps get down.

Forgot to add "ain't this FUN"

I gave all the plants a nice dose of compost tea this afternoon and everything looks good so far. Fingers crossed

Hi Lar and everybody !

Are you having fun yet ?

Lar, is the snow gone to East yet ? :)p

We have been having heat wave. Yesterday it shut to 87F. Today will be a high of 77F. Then it is going back to 60's.

Today is my dwarf project plant out day. I will take some pic.

Sey

More coming tomorrow. It's been real nice till now. Raining. Then snow

Did get one Big Beef and NBD plus a few others planted out under Walls of water type tee pees. Need to get a lot more planted but will have to wait.

Pics coming later

LAR