2

3/10/2010 4:30:16 PM

Quote :

"Anyone have any tips/suggestions for me. Should I invest in growing from seeds or is picking up the seedlings an ok way to go?"

starting seeds is cheaper, a little more satisfying, and you can order more varieties online. I ordered from Park Seeds, they're based in SC and have a huge selection. Buying the baby plants is easier, but it's too early to buy them now.

you should try heirloom tomatoes! The main reason I grow my own veggies is for the superior taste, and you can't beat heirlooms. also cherry tomatoes do well in containers.

Is there a particular reason you're using the hanging buckets? They seem like a gimmick to me.

3/10/2010 9:37:23 PM

speaking of upside down plants...I bought this at Curb Appeal in Southport



like any clay pot, it will crack. Had it for ~2 years and it cracked this winter I did all the winter prep for it, but still no dice.

It's a really pretty planter though

3/11/2010 12:34:22 AM

Quote :

"Is there a particular reason you're using the hanging buckets? They seem like a gimmick to me. "

Well the kicker is that it looks like the eave/overhang from the porch combined with the height of of the sun in the summer makes it so very little direct sunlight gets on my actual porch. However, if I use the hanging method on the crossbeams over the railing they'll get plenty. Plus from what I've read, aside from having to water maybe a little more constantly, there's not a real drawback from using the hanging method...so I thought I'd give it a try.

As far as starting from seeds go, what's the best way to do that? Get a couple little planters I assume, but how about light/heat requirements?

3/11/2010 8:27:41 AM

this is my seed setup



south facing window.
I used Jiffy strips (you can use egg cartons...I forgot to save) to plant my seeds and once they're bigger I'm going to transplant in to larger pots. I will be waiting til it's closer to the last freeze (threat of frost I'll cover my plants outside) to do that.



cover seed trays w/ seran wrap after watering to help lock in moisture and create a humid climate.

then TADA!



my sprouts have gone NUTS! All the flowers & the cucumber are growing...still waiting on peppers, rosemary, cilantro and tomatoes to start

[Edited on March 11, 2010 at 9:24 AM. Reason : ]

3/11/2010 9:21:08 AM

Thats pretty cool!

How many seeds do you drop in per little section? I'll only be growing one or two tomato plants, a pepper, and a cuke. Then a few herbs to cover the top section...maybe 12 plants tops.

3/11/2010 9:39:42 AM

I did about 4 in each one to increase the odds

I'm prolly going to end up giving some seedlings away, but that's ok

as my first year doing seeds, I'm pretty excited. I just documented this morning's growth...I hope I'll start seeing the ones that haven't come up yet soon.

3/11/2010 9:48:07 AM

I put two or three seeds in each one if I'm planting from a pack of seeds that I bought for this year, and 5 for seeds I've kept from last year's plants or last year's pack of seeds, just to account for extra failures in the storage process.

I've got a black plastic tray with a clear cover to start mine in. I bought mine at Atlantic Avenue gardens, but:

http://lawn-and-garden.hardwarestore.com/77-494-trays-and-peat-pots.aspx

the tray is on the top row and the cover is a few rows down. It saves me having to futz with the plastic wrap, but it all works the same.





And I plan on growing about twice as many plants from seed that I'll eventually want to plant, just to account for some not sprouting or random death or forgetting to water or leaving them outside too much when I harden them off. I still end up just chucking a few extras.


ETA: It probably won't matter too much for you, but label your seed pots. I've already mixed up a few seedling of regular pumpkins and giant pumpkins and I lost track of bell peppers vs. cayenne



[Edited on March 11, 2010 at 9:55 AM. Reason : []

3/11/2010 9:53:13 AM

OK, so I guess it's time to start discussing remedies for deer.

We tried everything last year but lost an entire crop and had to start all over again.

I am building a fence around the entire garden this year

3/11/2010 10:14:59 AM

As stated earlier, we still live in an apt as we wait to clean up the mess with closing on our house. All of our exterior windows on the front of the house end up being kind of shaded because we have a covered porch/patio on both sides of our apt front door. Should we even try to grow any of our seeds in an egg carton now or should we just wait until we move to plant the seeds we have outside? (or maybe by that point pick up some seedlings). We picked up some seeds from Whole Foods that our friends always use and get some great tomatoes and squash and we are getting antsy haha.

3/11/2010 10:17:44 AM

^^A fence is the only thing that really works. I've tried the sprays and pellets and stuff and it was like I was garnishing a salad.

3/11/2010 10:27:56 AM

Last year we did hair, urine, ropes, rotten eggs, spraying with cheyenne, etc etc. Nothing.

So yeah, building a chicken wire fence this year in 2-layers. First layer will be straight. Second layer on top will curve outward to deter jumping over it.

3/11/2010 10:39:40 AM

Quote :

"it was like I was garnishing a salad."

hehehehe

3/11/2010 11:37:19 AM

So I was definitely swamped with work this week and completely forgot about my plants on the balcony. If the frost didn't kill them I bet the lack of water as

3/11/2010 6:36:24 PM

CalledToArms, you can start seeds inside if you use a light. here's some advice from the tomato lady posted earlier

Quote :

"FIRST, MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF ALL- All plants started indoors need a good strong source of light, being by a window sill WILL NOT work! Not unless you have a Florida sunroom or a real heated greenhouse. Get a big cheap fluorescent shop light (or 2 or 3 if you need them) for about $12 and hang them a few inches over the seedlings/plants on the chains that they come with. You don't need any special fancy "grow lights." Then keep pulling up the chains or put the plants on blocks or bricks and keep removing them as the plants grow taller. I mean inches from the plants for maximum light and growth!"

3/12/2010 4:57:37 AM

^ I've never had a problem starting seeds on a windowsill before. Seeds need warmth, not light.

3/12/2010 9:29:26 AM

Yeah my window set up is working quite nicely. I just planted these on Sunday and they are all going nuts!

3/12/2010 3:53:54 PM

my seeds are getting "leggy" ... it's a south facing window but I guess not quite enough. I re-potted them deeper yesterday.

3/12/2010 9:22:37 PM

3/14/2010 1:20:41 PM

nice!

3/14/2010 1:30:15 PM

Thanks Nerdchick

3/14/2010 8:17:31 PM

I just planted friday night

I've got my old aquarium converted into a little greenhouse (saranwrap) with an incandescent pointed its way (because as elkaybie said, heat is important here. I'm needing to keep it at 80F, for my tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. I've got a little meat thermometer hanging in there :beatup, and my oregano, broccoli, thyme, and basil right beside it.

Broccoli is breaking loose and it's SO CUTE!

I've got the lamp on a timer. I'd love to run it during off-peak hours, but something tells me that might not be the best idea in the long run

I've got these fellas in the sunniest room in the house, and have the lamp on 30 minutes, and off 30, for 13hrs, starting at 7am. It seems to be enough...so far. It's actually a north facing room: the southern side of the house is either very shaded, or the roof overhang keeps most sunlight out.

[Edited on March 15, 2010 at 5:50 PM. Reason : ds]

3/15/2010 5:47:58 PM

First time I have ever planted any was last night, but I think I over-watered them to start out ha I was just dribbling a little water out of a spoon but the soil was a lot wetter than I thought it would be after I did it. I was trying to not over-water but I think I still underestimated the small amount of soil and how it would soak it up. We'll see if these do anything. I have them in a drainable egg carton covered with saran with an incandescent over them.

3/15/2010 6:00:16 PM

What I do to avoid the overwatering problem is to either
1) have a string between the container and a dish of water
2) cut holes in the bottom of the container, and set it in a shallow dish of water

right now, my broccoli, thyme, oregano, and basil are in chopped off soda bottle bottoms, with holes, in a pizza pan.

I'm still misting the top of the soil, though, since herb seeds are SO tiny and planted so shallowly.

3/15/2010 6:21:30 PM

I went over into the neighbor's pasture yesterday (with their permission of course) and collected a whole big load of horse poop. Spread it all over the garden. I plan to repeat tomorrow when I get off work. Then I'll turn the garden this weekend and put up the fence. I love this time of year.

3/15/2010 6:36:03 PM

So now that I've got my seeds planted, how often should I water them. Also the packaging recommended that the top of the fridge was a good place to put the seeds until they sprout...is that cool?

I might have to take some pictures of this process if anyone is interested...but I bought 4 5-gallon buckets at lowes with some chains and eye hooks from hanging from the crossbar...I've drilled 1 1/2 inch holes in the bottom of each and am just waiting the X-weeks until my seedling are ready for replanting.

3/16/2010 1:52:22 PM

^ can't wait to see pics!

^^ I heard straight manure is too strong for plants ... not sure about that though. have you done it before?

3/16/2010 8:14:24 PM

my cucumber and zucchini were getting leggy so i re-potted today

3/16/2010 8:20:56 PM

planting my basil today!

3/17/2010 11:24:00 AM

^^^straight manure is too strong for plants...but if you use it as fertilizer and till it in, all is well

3/17/2010 11:45:12 AM

I've got a cucumber sprout!

My tank stopped maintaining at 80F, so I set it outside today

I am worried that my seeds might have begun to rot :-\
but that cucumber sprout makes me feel a bit better about things.

3/17/2010 2:44:41 PM

^^^^^ we do it every year before we turn the garden

[Edited on March 17, 2010 at 2:49 PM. Reason : a]

3/17/2010 2:48:44 PM

decided to do sweet basil, dill, jalapenos and snapdragons this year.

i have the damndest time with peppers, so I hope I can make them work this year. never had any trouble with herbs though. advice on when to transplant peppers?

3/17/2010 4:02:18 PM

We were exactly the opposite last year. We had peppers out the ass: jalapeno, serrano, and several varieties of banana peppers. we couldn't give them all away there were so many. the rest of the garden just did kinda meh. I figured it was just because it was so dry last year

3/17/2010 4:32:28 PM

I had the same thing. Two jalepenos plants last year and I ended up with over three hundred peppers over the course of the season.


^^My rule of thumb on transplanting in Raleigh is an overcast/rainy day nearest to tax day. But you can check the weather forecast and if it's good weather beforehand you can cheat up.

3/18/2010 10:04:56 AM

I still have trouble growing really big bell peppers. Tips?

3/18/2010 10:11:35 AM

i used Jiffy starter pellets as the medium for my seedlings. anybody had luck with those? how wet should I keep them?

3/18/2010 10:31:24 AM

^^ yeah, our bell peppers did shitty last year. we got one little tiny one that i ended up feeding to the horse. going to try again this year.

3/18/2010 11:47:19 AM

I set all my plants outside yesterday for some heat and light.

Yesterday morning, I could just barely make out three specks of green in my thyme planter. Last night, I had veritable plants: stems, leaves, and upwards of 2 dozen.

More cucumbers have germinated since yesterday

And all my plants are outside again. Moving them outside is what got me out of bed when I first woke up (instead of rolling over and going back to sleep like I normally do)

3/18/2010 12:25:26 PM

er: in ^, I meant oregano where I said thyme.

My basil and serrano peppers are finally germinating.

I actually had to vent my tank today. It was 110F at 1230 today

Question: for buying established plants for transplant, when should I buy, and then transplant, for raspberries? I'm gonna rip out our dead grape plants and put the raspberries in, since there's a trellis and all. At the fence, there's too much competition, and our lone raspberry plant has hardly grown in two? years. It fruited well, but didn't spread.

3/19/2010 3:17:42 PM

5 days after planting our seeds in the egg carton and setting them up near the south-facing window we have seedlings popping through the ground in 10 or the 12 slots! Its crazy because this morning before work I only saw 2 and when I came home there were 10 haha.

How long can they stay in an egg carton slot until they need to be replanted in something bigger? We have 6 of the slots planted with some heirloom tomatoes, 4 with cantaloupes, and 2 with squash. Some of the tomatoes will probably get potted, the rest we are going to try and get in the ground when we move into the new house.

3/19/2010 7:31:36 PM

Here is a picture I took this morning. Sorry for the quality. Cell phone picture resized to email and then uploaded to TWW = grainy.



The 3 left columns are tomatoes, next 2(the ones that went from nothing to huge in one day ha) are cantaloupes, and the last column are squash.

I think I am going to turn the lights off and remove the saran wrap and just leave them in the south-facing window since I have read they don't need to be kept as warm now also. But I don't fully trust any website I read so any feedback on that would be great

We are happy we got the seedlings, but it just seems like a lot of the online sites differ in what they say to do once you are at this stage (some are saying fertilize, others are saying don't fertilize until they are replanted, some say they need to stay as warm as before with grow lights, other site are saying you can remove the wrap and just keep them by the window now etc.). Since we are hopefully moving into a new house in a few weeks, we also are not sure how quickly we can get a garden tilled up or if we will be stuck potting the tomatoes and giving the others to my parents for their garden.

[Edited on March 20, 2010 at 8:38 AM. Reason : ]

3/20/2010 8:21:51 AM

^^Raspberries: A month before last frost date is the time to plant. So, last week or so.

3/20/2010 8:22:25 AM

d'oh!

Thanks

3/20/2010 8:29:38 AM

PICS!!! my little babies are growing up!!!

3/21/2010 3:24:56 PM

what a good looking bunch of plants!!!

3/21/2010 9:01:18 PM

^^AWESOME!!!

Mine are growing up fast too...I'm a little worried about my timing w/ the last frost/moving them outside as I'm running out of pots to replant so they can have more room.

I'm gonna have to give some seedlings away; that's for damn sure.

3/21/2010 9:15:41 PM

you can plant out early as long as you cover them on cold nights. unfortunately I know I'd forget to check the forecast and it would end in tragedy.

3/21/2010 10:02:09 PM

yeah i'll prolly do that this week actually and just keep an eye on the weather. it's supposed to be pretty nice yet overcast btw these rains/storms approaching

3/21/2010 10:03:56 PM

Nerdchick I am very interested in this strawberry planter you got...will you be putting something other than strawberries in it?

3/22/2010 8:56:17 AM