seeds

[gobobgo]

Just got my seeds today !!! I can't wait to get em in the ground

 

[BarG]

I'm not starting mine till about end of february, mid march. Had to wait to long for last frost 2011 by starting mid february. I'm in a southern clime.

 

[gobobgo]

Thell be inside for about the first month or two once I get my lights set up ill be good I think

 

[BarG]

Did you check out Big bonners way of starting seeds , I'm gonna try it this year with a few mason jars. Can't remember which post it was . I spent way to much time separating seedlings last year, so I am trying his method for germination. Try looking under germination posts.

 

[Daniel]

Last year Larry posted a video of the entire seed planting process.It was a vacuum table that captured a pelleted seed in a hole. one seed per cell of the float tray. it was then tipped upside down over the float tray and the vacuum turned off for a moment dropping each seed into a cell. very fast planting until you consider the number of trays he has to deal with. For me I would need that machine for about 5 minutes and be done. I think the time to plant a 200 cell tray would be something like 5 to 10 seconds.

 

[BigBonner]

Daniel
I have both those seeders , but I use my hand held one that I like best . You can only use these with pelleted seeds only .This is seeds to each cell .

I use soil a jar with raw seeds dumped in , let them germinate until they are about a 1/4 inch long then plug into my trays .

Last year Larry posted a video of the entire seed planting process.It was a vacuum table that captured a pelleted seed in a hole. one seed per cell of the float tray. it was then tipped upside down over the float tray and the vacuum turned off for a moment dropping each seed into a cell. very fast planting until you consider the number of trays he has to deal with. For me I would need that machine for about 5 minutes and be done. I think the time to plant a 200 cell tray would be something like 5 to 10 seconds.

 

[dkh2]

I use soil a jar with raw seeds dumped in , let them germinate until they are about a 1/4 inch long then plug into my trays .

That's how I'm going to do it this year, Mainly because I only have room for 40 to 50 plants

 

[gobobgo]

Ok so I'm gonna build a small greenhouse about 8 by 12 feet and start the seeds the end of febuary with the soil jar method . Any thoughts or other suggestions?

 

[BigBonner]

What type of soil will you be using ?

Ok so I'm gonna build a small greenhouse about 8 by 12 feet and start the seeds the end of febuary with the soil jar method . Any thoughts or other suggestions?

 

[gobobgo]

Most likely a miracle grow porting soil mix

 

[BigBonner]

The reason I asked Is , I don't know if the jar trick will work will other types of tobacco soil . I only know it works with the type I use that is made for tobacco plants . This soil is light and fluffy .

Take a few seeds and your soil and mix them together . A hand full of slightly moist soil will do . Put the mix in a plastic sealable bag . Let it set for 4 to 5 days in a warm place , then check to see if the seeds germinated or not . then pot couple of them to see how they do .

Most likely a miracle grow porting soil mix

 

[BarG]

Bigbonner, do you think a fertilome mixed with native sandy loam would work, mixing till soil is light enough for roots to penetrate easily?

 

[BigBonner]

It may not work with sandy soil or any dense type soil or soil with large chunks .The soil I use is ight fluffy , doesn't pack tight and scatters out easy when dumped out of the jar loosly.

Bigbonner, do you think a fertilome mixed with native sandy loam would work, mixing till soil is light enough for roots to penetrate easily?

 

[FmGrowit]

I think regular plain old peat moss would work best for germinating in a jar. You don't nee fertilizer to germinate seeds and fertilizer can actually do more harm than good to very young sprouts. Sans would probably work, but you'd break a lot of tiny roots dumping the sand/sprouts from the jar.

The mix I use is almost 100% peat moss and it would work fine. Stay away from any of the walmart stuff, especially compost, potting soil and top soil. Your seeds will not sprout in that stuff...and if they do sprout, they won't grow worth a crap.

Soil-less mix is what you want to use. Talk to your local nursery or garden center and stay away from miracle grow. I don't know of any miracle grow that doesn't contain chlorides....Chlorides and tobacco don't mix.

 

[dkh2]

I used those Jiffy Peat Moss slugs last year it says they have a tad of fertilizer in them
But I never did find out exactly what kind it was. But my seedlings grew just fine.
They have a web of some kind of netting around them and swelled up like crazy when water was added to them.
To about 2 inches tall and the netting stuff kept them from swelling out just up.
I recommend you cut the webbing away from it when you trans plant them.
That is if someone were to choose to use them.

 

[Chicken]

i use regular seed starting mix,,,,,sprinkle the seeds on top of the mix,,,,and spray with a spray bottle,,,,and cover with a clear dome to raise the inside moisture level....

and it works fine for me,, { i basically use 3 of the jiffy, seed starting trays they have 72 cells per tray}

 

[BarG]

Thanks guys, this years seedlings are gonna be better than last years. [You can teach an old dog new tricks] I use well water and rain for water, and standard veg. fertilizer after setting. last year it was i believe triple 13.

 

[Daniel]

I was thinking I would go with a one seed to a cup sort of thing this year. Last year I started seed in a small tray and then transferred sprouts to cups when they where barely sprouted. That allowed me to guarantee that every cup had a sprouted seed in it. For me the question is. is it easier to put one sprout in a cup or a seed in a cup. either way I have the work of picking up a tiny object and placing it somewhere.

Sprouting in a separate tray avoids infertile seed. It allows me to create conditions for the seed that seems to be better for the seed. these conditions are not necessarily best for a growing sprout though. Seed likes wet, sprouts don't. picking up a sprout with a pair of tweezers or a seed on the end of a tooth pick is pretty much a 50-50 issue. it is goign to take time. picking up the sprout runs the risk of damaging the sprout.

Teh big difference I think I have found is that sprouting seed in small trays allows me to control the temperature they germinate better. I could actually build a small kiln to place those trays in. Also all seed will be started on teh same day even if I cannot transfer them all in one day later. they are still all the same age. All part of that uniformity thing I have.

I woudl much prefer to water with rain water once everything does get started though. I have a 250 livestock trough and a big awning in my back yard. Hmmmmmm. We don't gt a lot of rain here, but when we do it comes off that awning like a water fall.

 

[dkh2]

i use regular seed starting mix,,,,,sprinkle the seeds on top of the mix,,,,and spray with a spray bottle,,,,and cover with a clear dome to raise the inside moisture level....and it works fine for me,, { i basically use 3 of the jiffy, seed starting trays they have 72 cells per tray}

That's what I did last year

 

[dkh2]

I think regular plain old peat moss would work best for germinating in a jar. You don't nee fertilizer to germinate seeds and fertilizer can actually do more harm than good to very young sprouts. Sans would probably work, but you'd break a lot of tiny roots dumping the sand/sprouts from the jar.

The mix I use is almost 100% peat moss and it would work fine. Stay away from any of the walmart stuff, especially compost, potting soil and top soil. Your seeds will not sprout in that stuff...and if they do sprout, they won't grow worth a crap.

Soil-less mix is what you want to use. Talk to your local nursery or garden center and stay away from miracle grow. I don't know of any miracle grow that doesn't contain chlorides....Chlorides and tobacco don't mix.

So you are saying that peat moss is a soil less type to use ?

So starting the seedlings with those Peat Pads is ok too
I know you can get them all expanded out with water then squeeze them a few times to
loosen them up.