I started back in January practicing getting plants started. 4 batches of seed grown to 6 weeks of age with nothing but the goal of finding out what works and what works better.
Keep in mind I never say that any method is best. there is only better and that can always be improved on. Also what works for me may not work for you and your situation.
I have a couple of terms I have come into the habit of using. First is the word sprout. A sprout in my definition is any plant that has less then 4 true leaves.
Second is a start. a start is any plant that has 4 or more true leaves but is not growing outdoors.
finally a plant. a plant is growing outdoors or must be grown in a pot larger than 6 inches in diameter for those growing completely indoors.
This post will only cover from the seed through start period.
Seed Germination.
This is a seperate issue and requires almost completely opposite conditions for best success. Different soil, different moisture and to some degree even different temperatures.
I like to use finely sifted potting soil. (note not potting mix) potting soil is different than potting mix and does not include added fertilizers. I found that seed does not start as well in potting mix or in peat moss quite as well as it does on potting soil. Both alternatives will still work but seed may be delayed in development anywhere from a couple to several days. I have example of sprouts right now that look to be about 5 days behind my best efforts of the past because they where started in potting mix rather than potting soil. Peat moss and vermiculite mix works better than potting mix and I have had sprouts start slower in it but make up the growth once transplanted. Peat Moss and vermiculite are a good alternative choice.
I use a small 4 inch by 6 inch plastic box with about an inch of soil in the bottom to start all my seed in. I get the soil soaking wet but not wet enough to have standing water on the surface. For germinating the seed i want very wet conditions and i want to keep it wet. I sow the seed on top of the soil and then cover the container with plastic wrap or place it in a baggy. I also want to keep the seed at or as close to 90 degrees as I can. lower temperatures will still work but germination is slower at lower temps.
Keep the oil wet and the temperature as high as possible until the seed germinates.
There has been a lot of discussion about light and germination of seed. I have not found it makes any difference. I have not tried exposure to actual sun light and hope to see if there is an improvement in that regard. Some comments indicate it improves germination rate. i am more interested in germination speed an uniformity. that means I want them up and growing fast and all looking the same size. I want my sprouts to look like a room full of clones so to speak. The reasons for this are beyond this scope of this post, I will just say that such conditions are indicators of good things.
I allow up to 5 days for the seed to germinate. further seed will germinate after this time but I do not use them for growing plants.
as soon as seed shows any sign it has germinated it is time for a change in conditions.
I transplant the germinated seed to 3 oz cups. I use a pair of very fine pointed tweezers and a very steady hand. I do not pick up the sprout itself. i pick up a small clump of soil that holds the sprouts root to do this. many may not have the means to transplant at this point. there are alternative methods that I will not describe in this post.
The cups are filed with sifted potting soil. I only use potting soil for this stage.
I also want the moisture to be damp not wet. I found sprouts will stop growing if kept to wet or to dry. you may not notice they have stopped for a couple of days because growth at this point is already very slow. a couple of days here and there can make a huge difference after just 6 weeks. It can mean the difference in having a plant that is only 4 inches tall or one that is 9 inches tall or more. Most of the growth from seed to 6 weeks happens in the 5th and 6th week. everything that is done now is preparing the sprout to grow as much as possible in those two weeks. I also uncover them to expose them to fresh air. oxygen has also become important.
Light becomes a primary factor as well. Most people do not realize how much light is enough for sprouts. In my case I use 4 foot 2 bulb florescent shop lights as my light source. these lights are placed no more than 3 inches away from the sprouts. Read that again. 3 inches. you cannot even reach your hand in between the light and the plants. those lights are right down on top of them. Remember we are trying to recreate the power of the sun here. we are not talking light you can read by. we need light that you can grow by.
When I turn on every light in my starter rack. I can read by the light from over 30 feet away. We are talking about a lot of light.
To know I have enough light I watch the development of the sprout. I want it to emerge from the soil. spread out the first two false leaves with no more than a quarter of an inch of stem above the soil. I want the plant to start growing leaves immediately. looking like a small cluster of leaves setting very close to the soil surface. No stalk of any kind at this point.
If the plant stretches at all it means it does not have enough light and is searching for it. not enough light means it is not growing to it's fullest potential. (some varieties are an exception from what I can tell)
I start feeding the sprouts half strength miracle grow for tomatoes plant food from the time the 4th true leaf emerges.
At 4 weeks from sowing the seed my sprouts should have developed into starts with no less than 4 true leaves that are at least 1 inch long. they have now outgrown the 3 oz cups.
I transplant the starts to 6 inch pots that are filled with a soil as close to the garden soil they will grow in as possible. in my case a tray full of 6 inch pots filled with garden soil is simply to heavy. So I use a mixture of garden soil and potting soil or potting mix to fill the pots. These trays will have to be moved during the hardening off process so weight is something you need to pay attention to. The starts will also grow from having 1 inch long leaves or so to 8 to 9 inch leaves in the next two weeks.
At the end of the 5th week I start moving the starts outdoors each day for exposure to full direct sunlight. I expose them for 1 hour on the first day. i then evaluate how they reacted to decide how long they will be exposed the following day. if they did well i will double the time on day two. if they show signs of wilting or burning I will give them just one hour the following day.
Agian on day three if all is well I double the time again to 4 hours. In actual practice it is witht he 4 hour exposure that I expect to see the first trouble. so watch them closely and bring them in if they show signs they are being harmed. sometimes they are only able to go three hours or so this first day. On day for I will give them a 4 hour exposure again. Usually I find they do fine on the second day with a full 4 hours. On day 5 I try to get as close to an 8 hour exposure as I can but most likely they will only tolerate about 6 or so. On day 6 they get 8 full hours or more, on day 7 they are left out from sun up to sun down but watched closely for drying out . wilting or any sign they will burn. I have never had a problem with my plants on day 7 and they have actually started acting like they prefer the full sun. they have thicker leaves already and have turned a darker green. They have put on what I like to think of as there tan. They simply look to me like a tougher plant. The following day they will be planted to the garden. Which in my case is 5 gallon buckets but that is the subject of another post.
Good luck to all of you and remember. maximum harvest starts when you drop that seed on wet soil. That seed carries full potential. it is our job to harm it as little as possible throughout the growing season. We make small mistakes along the way. less than ideal conditions even for a moment here and a moment here do nothing but reduce the potential of that seed. minimizing the mistakes is the real goal. the seed will then do the rest.
Keep in mind I never say that any method is best. there is only better and that can always be improved on. Also what works for me may not work for you and your situation.
I have a couple of terms I have come into the habit of using. First is the word sprout. A sprout in my definition is any plant that has less then 4 true leaves.
Second is a start. a start is any plant that has 4 or more true leaves but is not growing outdoors.
finally a plant. a plant is growing outdoors or must be grown in a pot larger than 6 inches in diameter for those growing completely indoors.
This post will only cover from the seed through start period.
Seed Germination.
This is a seperate issue and requires almost completely opposite conditions for best success. Different soil, different moisture and to some degree even different temperatures.
I like to use finely sifted potting soil. (note not potting mix) potting soil is different than potting mix and does not include added fertilizers. I found that seed does not start as well in potting mix or in peat moss quite as well as it does on potting soil. Both alternatives will still work but seed may be delayed in development anywhere from a couple to several days. I have example of sprouts right now that look to be about 5 days behind my best efforts of the past because they where started in potting mix rather than potting soil. Peat moss and vermiculite mix works better than potting mix and I have had sprouts start slower in it but make up the growth once transplanted. Peat Moss and vermiculite are a good alternative choice.
I use a small 4 inch by 6 inch plastic box with about an inch of soil in the bottom to start all my seed in. I get the soil soaking wet but not wet enough to have standing water on the surface. For germinating the seed i want very wet conditions and i want to keep it wet. I sow the seed on top of the soil and then cover the container with plastic wrap or place it in a baggy. I also want to keep the seed at or as close to 90 degrees as I can. lower temperatures will still work but germination is slower at lower temps.
Keep the oil wet and the temperature as high as possible until the seed germinates.
There has been a lot of discussion about light and germination of seed. I have not found it makes any difference. I have not tried exposure to actual sun light and hope to see if there is an improvement in that regard. Some comments indicate it improves germination rate. i am more interested in germination speed an uniformity. that means I want them up and growing fast and all looking the same size. I want my sprouts to look like a room full of clones so to speak. The reasons for this are beyond this scope of this post, I will just say that such conditions are indicators of good things.
I allow up to 5 days for the seed to germinate. further seed will germinate after this time but I do not use them for growing plants.
as soon as seed shows any sign it has germinated it is time for a change in conditions.
I transplant the germinated seed to 3 oz cups. I use a pair of very fine pointed tweezers and a very steady hand. I do not pick up the sprout itself. i pick up a small clump of soil that holds the sprouts root to do this. many may not have the means to transplant at this point. there are alternative methods that I will not describe in this post.
The cups are filed with sifted potting soil. I only use potting soil for this stage.
I also want the moisture to be damp not wet. I found sprouts will stop growing if kept to wet or to dry. you may not notice they have stopped for a couple of days because growth at this point is already very slow. a couple of days here and there can make a huge difference after just 6 weeks. It can mean the difference in having a plant that is only 4 inches tall or one that is 9 inches tall or more. Most of the growth from seed to 6 weeks happens in the 5th and 6th week. everything that is done now is preparing the sprout to grow as much as possible in those two weeks. I also uncover them to expose them to fresh air. oxygen has also become important.
Light becomes a primary factor as well. Most people do not realize how much light is enough for sprouts. In my case I use 4 foot 2 bulb florescent shop lights as my light source. these lights are placed no more than 3 inches away from the sprouts. Read that again. 3 inches. you cannot even reach your hand in between the light and the plants. those lights are right down on top of them. Remember we are trying to recreate the power of the sun here. we are not talking light you can read by. we need light that you can grow by.
When I turn on every light in my starter rack. I can read by the light from over 30 feet away. We are talking about a lot of light.
To know I have enough light I watch the development of the sprout. I want it to emerge from the soil. spread out the first two false leaves with no more than a quarter of an inch of stem above the soil. I want the plant to start growing leaves immediately. looking like a small cluster of leaves setting very close to the soil surface. No stalk of any kind at this point.
If the plant stretches at all it means it does not have enough light and is searching for it. not enough light means it is not growing to it's fullest potential. (some varieties are an exception from what I can tell)
I start feeding the sprouts half strength miracle grow for tomatoes plant food from the time the 4th true leaf emerges.
At 4 weeks from sowing the seed my sprouts should have developed into starts with no less than 4 true leaves that are at least 1 inch long. they have now outgrown the 3 oz cups.
I transplant the starts to 6 inch pots that are filled with a soil as close to the garden soil they will grow in as possible. in my case a tray full of 6 inch pots filled with garden soil is simply to heavy. So I use a mixture of garden soil and potting soil or potting mix to fill the pots. These trays will have to be moved during the hardening off process so weight is something you need to pay attention to. The starts will also grow from having 1 inch long leaves or so to 8 to 9 inch leaves in the next two weeks.
At the end of the 5th week I start moving the starts outdoors each day for exposure to full direct sunlight. I expose them for 1 hour on the first day. i then evaluate how they reacted to decide how long they will be exposed the following day. if they did well i will double the time on day two. if they show signs of wilting or burning I will give them just one hour the following day.
Agian on day three if all is well I double the time again to 4 hours. In actual practice it is witht he 4 hour exposure that I expect to see the first trouble. so watch them closely and bring them in if they show signs they are being harmed. sometimes they are only able to go three hours or so this first day. On day for I will give them a 4 hour exposure again. Usually I find they do fine on the second day with a full 4 hours. On day 5 I try to get as close to an 8 hour exposure as I can but most likely they will only tolerate about 6 or so. On day 6 they get 8 full hours or more, on day 7 they are left out from sun up to sun down but watched closely for drying out . wilting or any sign they will burn. I have never had a problem with my plants on day 7 and they have actually started acting like they prefer the full sun. they have thicker leaves already and have turned a darker green. They have put on what I like to think of as there tan. They simply look to me like a tougher plant. The following day they will be planted to the garden. Which in my case is 5 gallon buckets but that is the subject of another post.
Good luck to all of you and remember. maximum harvest starts when you drop that seed on wet soil. That seed carries full potential. it is our job to harm it as little as possible throughout the growing season. We make small mistakes along the way. less than ideal conditions even for a moment here and a moment here do nothing but reduce the potential of that seed. minimizing the mistakes is the real goal. the seed will then do the rest.