Anyone Starting Seeds Indoors Yet?

[Ted S.]

Just started a bunch today and trying to get them to germinate on a heating mat that will be closely monitored. Hope most of them take. Didn't have much luck with Cayanne Peppers, lettuce or Spinach last year... Gonna try them and a few more. :yum:

[Westwindmike]

Not yet, but my wife is getting ready. I put a 2 tube florescent light in a bookcase for her and she starts all of her plant there.

[Chris]

I'm trying it for the first time. Working on my setup this week.

[zapfbroad]

Back in the day.. we'd start seeding in a converted closet with lights run to shelving in november. We'd have significant growth by feb/march & moved them to outdoor hothouse until late april. That was new england so grow season was a different zone but point being they were further along to handle the transplant stress & had more defined root structure & we rarely lost any.

[seez52]

Started some peppers & maters on the 20th and have some tiny shoots already.

A couple of these are from seeds I saved from some store bought fruit. Any chance I'll get a harvest from them?

[Ted S.]

Good to hear I'm not the only one... :usa:

[Westwindmike]

Started some peppers & maters on the 20th and have some tiny shoots already.

A couple of these are from seeds I saved from some store bought fruit. Any chance I'll get a harvest from them?

You will get a plant but may not get any fruit. Most of the store bought veggies are hybrid and may not reproduce. Or so I'm told.

[seez52]

You will get a plant but may not get any fruit. Most of the store bought veggies are hybrid and may not reproduce. Or so I'm told.

That's what I was wondering. When I was growing up we always saved seed from one year to the next, but I guess that's not a good plan these days. Guess I'll see what happens.

[Ted S.]

That's what I was wondering. When I was growing up we always saved seed from one year to the next, but I guess that's not a good plan these days. Guess I'll see what happens.

 

Only time will tell, like Mike posted, some hybrid and gmo stuff might not produce as expected. I buy organic seed myself. They are a bit pricier, but mot organic seeds are non-gmo and unless otherwise explicitly stated, they aren't hybrid either.

[Caster]

Bit early. Growing season runs so late now I don't even bother planting before April.
I had tomatoes still trying to bear in November. November!

[Dennis1209]

Its been my experience just to wait for the correct climatic and soil conditions and plant the seeds outside.

 

I'm always in a hurry myself and never saw any advantage of starting the seeds early or starting the garden outside too early. I can't tell you how many years I transplanted tomato's, peppers, etc. just after the last frost and the plants stayed alive, but really didn't grow until the air / soil temperature got really warm a month later.

 

However, it is something to do to get you psyched up and ready to play in the dirt  :pleased:

 

I too am a firm believer of heirloom seeds and shy away from anything GMO when given the choice.

[Ted S.]

Interesting experiences Dennis. I'm too impatient to wait. Just experimenting with indoor seed starting. I'm doing it via plastic bags with a damp coffee filter as a growth medium. This year I also have a heat mat to help foster a better growth atmosphere.

 

Even though I just started them yesterday, I'm already seeing some early signs of germination with the lettuce seeds, specifically Black-Seeded Simpson and Parris Island. Hope this is a sign of good things to come.

[Ted S.]

This would be a neat setup!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-5962-Barrel-DiverterPro-Black/dp/B00387FP5M/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sterling-156501-Rain-Wizard-Oak/dp/B0033VJ04K/ref=pd_sbs_lg_3

 

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Ideas-RW50ST-OAK-50-Gallon-Wizard/dp/B0034PIL54/ref=pd_bxgy_lg_img_y

[kckndrgn]

Yup, got my tomatoes and peppers started along with a few other garden items.

 

I get my soil warmed by putting a bit a black plastic over the bed, which I'll be doing that this weekend.  I generally move plants to the garden mid to late March.  Figure I get a good 6-8 weeks of growth in house before moving them to the garden.

 

Ted, I have 2 32 gallon trash cans plumbed together, got my plans here:

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Green-Home/Saving-Water/how-to-build-a-rain-barrel/View-All#step1

[itchytriggerfinger]

Ted, I bought one of the rain barrels from Lowe's and it has been great.  I just cut my gutter and put a piece of corrugated pipe to dump it in the top.  There is a screen on the top to keep the crud out.  In the winter and spring I leave a soaker hose hooked up and laying in the yard with the valve open to let it empty.  It doesn't take much rain to fill up a 50 gallon barrel, so that's why I leave the soaker in the yard.  Then in the summer time I move the soaker to the flower bed and shut off the valve.  Then when we don't have rain for a while I just open the valve and let it soak the bed. 

 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_304422-50741-RB502PK_0__?productId=3056257&Ntt=rain+barrels&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Drain%2Bbarrels&facetInfo=

[Ted S.]

I wouldn't mind either of those setups. However, at my current residence I have to walk on eggshells with what I do, so if I get the chance to set up rain cans here, they have to look more decorative that functional. Sucks to be that way because a dual 50 gallon trashcan setup would cost me only the cost to build the stand, pvc pipes, and spouts since there are already some 50 gal cans laying around.....

 

Now if I'm fortunate enough to get a few acres in a wooded area sometime, things would be different because I wouldn't have to worry about people seeing a bunch of cans around the house.

Edited February 27, 2013 by Ted S.

[KaNuckles]

My maters, peppers, onions, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are all about 2"-3" tall. I made my own warming table with a little wood, styrofoam insulation, aluminum foil, sheet metal, and a rope light for heat. Soil temp around 73 deg. I have a couple of flourescents over them. Water catchment is my next project.

[Ted S.]

My maters, peppers, onions, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are all about 2"-3" tall. I made my own warming table with a little wood, styrofoam insulation, aluminum foil, sheet metal, and a rope light for heat. Soil temp around 73 deg. I have a couple of flourescents over them. Water catchment is my next project.

 

Awesome!

[Guest PapaB]

My maters, peppers, onions, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are all about 2"-3" tall. I made my own warming table with a little wood, styrofoam insulation, aluminum foil, sheet metal, and a rope light for heat. Soil temp around 73 deg. I have a couple of flourescents over them. Water catchment is my next project.

 

Any pictures of your setup?

 

I'll be starting plants indoors for the first time this year. Last year we started a garden and it did reasonably well with tomatoes, sport peppers and onions. This year we're adding lettuce, carrots and sweet corn (a special variety for containers) and changing the peppers to baby bells.

 

I'm also going to try an hierloom black bean called "Cherokee Trail of Tears" from seed savers. These are the beans carried by the Cherokee over the Trail of Tears, the infamous forced death march from the Smoky Mountains to Oklahoma. Does any one here have experience growing these?

 

Since I'm disabled I can't plant a regular garden, even raised beds are too low for me. Here's the idea I came up with that works for me. I bought some black tubs at wally word for around $5 apiece, drill a few holes in the bottom, cover holes with coffee filters and lay 2 to 3 inches of broken styrofoam (scavenged packing materials, cups, etc.) on the bottom and fill with dirt. I had 5 planters on a 5 by 8 foot trailer which put them at a good height for me and let me move them for optimum sunlight.

Edited February 28, 2013 by PapaB

[jgradyc]

Bit early. Growing season runs so late now I don't even bother planting before April.
I had tomatoes still trying to bear in November. November!

^This. The last frost usually doesn't occur until late April where I live and the ground temperature is still to low until May. I get a pretty good selection of tomato plants at Flowers Nursery in Nashville, including a couple of heirloom varieties. Last year, we planted them in recycled pails and set them beside the south side of the house. It worked much better than our attempts at a garden.

[KaNuckles]

Any pictures of your setup?

 

I'll be starting plants indoors for the first time this year. Last year we started a garden and it did reasonably well with tomatoes, sport peppers and onions. This year we're adding lettuce, carrots and sweet corn (a special variety for containers) and changing the peppers to baby bells.

 

I'm also going to try an hierloom black bean called "Cherokee Trail of Tears" from seed savers. These are the beans carried by the Cherokee over the Trail of Tears, the infamous forced death march from the Smoky Mountains to Oklahoma. Does any one here have experience growing these?

 

Since I'm disabled I can't plant a regular garden, even raised beds are too low for me. Here's the idea I came up with that works for me. I bought some black tubs at wally word for around $5 apiece, drill a few holes in the bottom, cover holes with coffee filters and lay 2 to 3 inches of broken styrofoam (scavenged packing materials, cups, etc.) on the bottom and fill with dirt. I had 5 planters on a 5 by 8 foot trailer which put them at a good height for me and let me move them for optimum sunlight.

 

I will post some pics when i get home. I may start another thread and do kind of an instructional. 

^This. The last frost usually doesn't occur until late April where I live and the ground temperature is still to low until May. I get a pretty good selection of tomato plants at Flowers Nursery in Nashville, including a couple of heirloom varieties. Last year, we planted them in recycled pails and set them beside the south side of the house. It worked much better than our attempts at a garden.

If it's been relatively warm i will plant last weekend of April. but usually I wait til the first/second weekend of may. 

[timthetoolman]

We did but just cooking herbs, and some others to see if the seeds are still viable.

[sirdanny4011]

I will start my tomato seeds in a week or so because they will be ready to transplant as we to May 15. (Last Avg Forst Date + 2 weeks.). Dont start too much of else as seeds. We started as seed about 5 years ago, just so the kids couild understand about it and we all have come to love it.

[KaNuckles]

Here it is....I just wrapped some sturofoam insulation board in aluminum foil and taped it with reflectibe tape

 

 

Next I taped down the rope lights. That is a 24ft rope light. The bed is 21"x48". The runs are about 3-1/2" apart. I also made little sides out of the insulation. and wrapped them in the tape. I don't have a picture of them completely wrapped in the tape but they are. The insulation is 1/4" thick so I had to stack up 3 pieces to get the sides high enough to clear the light. I also made a few little support pieces and taped them down between the runs of lights to support the sheetmetal. Also not pictured but you get the idea.

 

Next I made a 2x4 frame with a 1/4" plywood top. I laid the contraption on top. I spray painted the bottom of the sheet metal black to help with heat absorption. Then I put the sheet metal down over it. Then I screwed through the sheet metal all the way into the wood to hold it all together. I marked and predrilled the holes through the sheet metal so not to hit the light. Next I put 1x10 boards all the way around. I had to use some old tent poles to set the lights on. Turns out 4ft flourescents aren't 4ft. But they are about 3" above the tops of the egg crates.

 

 

Sorry for the lack of good pics. I wasn't thinking about a how to when i built it. I got the idea of using a rope light on the internet. Pretty much everything else I came up with. The soil temp is about 73 in the middle and about 68 at the ends. Not too bad.

 

Plants pictured:

 

1st row: left-cabbage, right-broccoli

2nd row: left-bell peppers, right-jalapeno peppers

3rd row: left & right both tomatoes

4th row: left-onions, right-cauliflower.

[KaNuckles]

The reason I needed something for the lights to lay on is because for now it is under the kitchen table so I don't have a way to hang them. Once i get my shed set up I'm going to move them out there so I can hang the lights from chains and raise them as the plants grow.