TimC Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 So she goes to Walmart yesterday and brings me home a few packs of seed and a "Jiffy seed starter greenhouse" thing that holds 50 plants. She knew I enjoyed my garden last year, but we didn't grow from seed....and never have. We've got these "Ferry-Morse" seeds for a buck a pack...Big Boy Hybrid Tomatos, Danvers #126 Carrots, California Wonder Peppers, and Silver Queen sweet corn. All of these say they take about 6 weeks before you can plant them outside (after the last frost), so I plan on seeding them around March 15th. I wonder how much water I should give them? Should I keep them damp or really soak them? Also, the directions say "After frist true leaves appear, cut back all except strongest seedling in each pot". I guess we'll get several sprouts and the strongest one will be evident? Any tips? It's never too early to talk garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Also, the directions say "After frist true leaves appear, cut back all except strongest seedling in each pot". I guess we'll get several sprouts and the strongest one will be evident? Put 2 seed in each starter. After they both sprout up, weed out the smaller one. Middle of March sounds like the right time to get them started. Starting too early is my mistake every year. I get anxious and wind up having to keep my seedlings inside too long. Also, don't just go from inside in the starters to outside in the ground. Your tomatoes will go into shock if you do this. Take the pots outside and let them get used to the wind and outside climate during the day, then day and night for a few days before planting them. This year I'm planning on doing tomatoes, hot peppers, spinach and green beans. Also some herbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Put 2 seed in each starter. After they both sprout up, weed out the smaller one. Middle of March sounds like the right time to get them started. Starting too early is my mistake every year. I get anxious and wind up having to keep my seedlings inside too long. Also, don't just go from inside in the starters to outside in the ground. Your tomatoes will go into shock if you do this. Take the pots outside and let them get used to the wind and outside climate during the day, then day and night for a few days before planting them. This year I'm planning on doing tomatoes, hot peppers, spinach and green beans. Also some herbs. Good advice here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 So she goes to Walmart yesterday and brings me home a few packs of seed and a "Jiffy seed starter greenhouse" thing that holds 50 plants. She knew I enjoyed my garden last year, but we didn't grow from seed....and never have. We've got these "Ferry-Morse" seeds for a buck a pack...Big Boy Hybrid Tomatos, Danvers #126 Carrots, California Wonder Peppers, and Silver Queen sweet corn. All of these say they take about 6 weeks before you can plant them outside (after the last frost), so I plan on seeding them around March 15th. I wonder how much water I should give them? Should I keep them damp or really soak them? Also, the directions say "After frist true leaves appear, cut back all except strongest seedling in each pot". I guess we'll get several sprouts and the strongest one will be evident? Any tips? It's never too early to talk garden. Lattice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted January 20, 2009 Author Share Posted January 20, 2009 Put 2 seed in each starter. After they both sprout up, weed out the smaller one. Ahhh, I wouldn't have thought of that. Middle of March sounds like the right time to get them started. Starting too early is my mistake every year. I get anxious and wind up having to keep my seedlings inside too long. Also, don't just go from inside in the starters to outside in the ground. Your tomatoes will go into shock if you do this. Take the pots outside and let them get used to the wind and outside climate during the day, then day and night for a few days before planting them. This year I'm planning on doing tomatoes, hot peppers, spinach and green beans. Also some herbs. Thanks. It was unexpected so now I've got to decide what else I wanna put down. I wanna try lettuce and spinach as well. Love me some BLT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 (edited) Put 2 seed in each starter. After they both sprout up, weed out the smaller one. Middle of March sounds like the right time to get them started. Starting too early is my mistake every year. I get anxious and wind up having to keep my seedlings inside too long. Also, don't just go from inside in the starters to outside in the ground. Your tomatoes will go into shock if you do this. Take the pots outside and let them get used to the wind and outside climate during the day, then day and night for a few days before planting them. This year I'm planning on doing tomatoes, hot peppers, spinach and green beans. Also some herbs. Good advice here. Better to start them late then early. Make sure you read up on what grows well next to each other, you don't want to find out the hard way We rotate every year except our strawberry patch for obvious reasons. Make sure you do a ph test every year and apply the needed nutrients to your soil to get the max out of your garden. We grow, Jalapenos, Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, Carrots, yellow baby squash, brocolli, green beans, and cucumbers. Homemade salsa, pickels, strawberry jam, green beans and sliced jalapenos are something we get to enjoy year round. At my farm we also have over 25 fruit trees and 4 long rows of grapes, so we have lots of grape juice and plenty of fruit to eat all summer. There's only so much canning you can do a year before you get really sick of it. Good luck, you still have lots of time to read up on it before you get to the actual work. Edited January 20, 2009 by Hat Trick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Did you put those bad boys in the ground yet or what, Tim? I am strongly thinking about doing a small garden this summer so I am searching all the garden threads. I know Whomp did a garden or two and put up threads but this was the first one I hit and now I want to know how the seeds turned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Did you put those bad boys in the ground yet or what, Tim? I am strongly thinking about doing a small garden this summer so I am searching all the garden threads. I know Whomp did a garden or two and put up threads but this was the first one I hit and now I want to know how the seeds turned out. Coincidence. Bought some seeds today: Parsley, Tomato, Spinach and some marigold flowers for the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 we have the green house fired up with about 1000 plants going right now.... all of them legal plants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballjoe Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 It's that time to get them seeds started. I just want to add from the suggestions above. Do not over water. I give the seeds a good watering when I first plant them but after that I am very careful. The kit you have acts as a greenhouse and will keep the things soewhat moist. You can use a spray bottle to add water as needed. Also the seedling will need plenty of sunlight. However, do not put them directly in the sun. I am expanding my garden this year. I am getting pumped. Actually, I am going to plant my spinach and broccolli this weekend. Happy Gardening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 (edited) Planted my seeds this past weekend. I ended up with 4 greenhouse containers that hold 50 pots each. I also had some spare 1x6's and made a raised bed out by the shed. I put some fencing around it since we have a ton of rabbits. It's not very big, but should be okay for the carrots and such. I tilled it up and it's all ready to go when in 6 weeks or so when the plants are blooming. We're doing the basics from the seedlings...carrots, green peppers, corn and tomatoes. We'll probably buy some lettuce, green beans and peas to go down later in the year. It's amazing how inexpensive this stuff is. A dollar or two of seeds will (hopefully) give more food than we could ever use. My parents are even planting their first little garden for the first time in a loooong time and the lady across the street bought one of those upside tomato plants. I didn't have the heart to tell her to dig 3 small holes in the ground and she'd have more tomatoes than she could handle for under 10 bucks instead of buying that thing. Anyways, it's a neat hobby. Edited March 18, 2009 by TimC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 My BIL apparently thinks the world is coming to an end even faster than I do. He recently bought 20 acres with a natural spring and 3 acre garden on it, 3 Jersey milk cows, and a migrant worker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 My BIL apparently thinks the world is coming to an end even faster than I do. He recently bought 20 acres with a natural spring and 3 acre garden on it, 3 Jersey milk cows, and a migrant worker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Two seeds enter. One sprout leaves. [/post apocalypse] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballjoe Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Planted my seeds this past weekend. I ended up with 4 greenhouse containers that hold 50 pots each. I also had some spare 1x6's and made a raised bed out by the shed. I put some fencing around it since we have a ton of rabbits. It's not very big, but should be okay for the carrots and such. I tilled it up and it's all ready to go when in 6 weeks or so when the plants are blooming. We're doing the basics from the seedlings...carrots, green peppers, corn and tomatoes. We'll probably buy some lettuce, green beans and peas to go down later in the year. It's amazing how inexpensive this stuff is. A dollar or two of seeds will (hopefully) give more food than we could ever use. My parents are even planting their first little garden for the first time in a loooong time and the lady across the street bought one of those upside tomato plants. I didn't have the heart to tell her to dig 3 small holes in the ground and she'd have more tomatoes than she could handle for under 10 bucks instead of buying that thing. Anyways, it's a neat hobby. Now is a good time for planting your lettuce. It is a cool weather crop and easy to grow from seed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Now is a good time for planting your lettuce. It is a cool weather crop and easy to grow from seed. Yup - time to plant lots of stuff right now. Love the early lettuces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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