Start of 2015 Seedling Planting!

[secuono]

Not ready yet, but getting close! Need more pots, more!!! haha
Lights will be hung up once the seeds are in and sprouting.
The left light has day bulbs, 6k or more. The right will need new bulbs. The bottom right is my fancy pants GroLight.
Had to put up a few new shelves in the house on the walls to move all the stuff that was here! Going to be the brightest hallway ever real soon!
Pots are 3/4 filled with Miracle Grow soil. Small pots are nearly 100% full. Still scouring the yard to see if I misplaced any more pots. Bought 8 new ones today after getting my car fixed up, also bought 3 bags of the soil, one bag is used up here in these pots. Hoping to get more pots and use up another bag as well as put up a 4th light on the lower left!
So exciting! Can't wait to add seeds!
It's about 70F up here, so might need to bring a few pots downstairs for sprouting. DH will hate that, lol. I'll have to move even more things around and out of the way!

Anyone else starting seedlings soon? Have pictures of your setup you'd like to share here?



Hallway is really narrow, thus the tilted picture. You can see the doorway I was standing in on the lower left.

 

[Carol Dee]

You and DH are really anxious to get going (growing) So far he bought potting soil and more starter pots, moved things around and brought home another light fixture. I think he even planted a few tomatoes seeds. (To see if they are viable says he!)

 

[secuono]

Only have 3 different packet of seeds, stores don't have any yet. Going to order some online in the next few days. If those seeds keep staring at me, I'm going to join your DH and plant some now, too....Just to see if they are viable, of course.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i got my X-mas gift yesterday.....more tomato seeds and some Peacock Broccoli seeds. today got 2 new seed catalogs. had my eye on 300 3" pots on ebay to use when i pot up my tomato seedlings and other seedlings. i reeeeealy want to get started growing.

 

[journey11]

I admire your preparedness and organization!

I've got a couple of leek root ends in water in the window sill, trying to regrow the tops, just for fun. That's all I've got growing at present.

I did catalog all of my saved seeds, but that was more the completion of last summer's chores. And I've been hoarding milk jugs in preparation for trying some wintersowing, which will be done first, before the flats are seeded. I'm going to do a few of each both ways, for a backup and comparison.

Deciding just what all to plant and how much of each is the overwhelming part of the whole seed starting thing for me! That's the bit I should be working on right now.

Priority is also on getting my sun-room/craft-room/houseplant refuge cleaned out and sorted of all the accumulated junk and supplies so I will have room to put my flats out. I have a large countertop and 3 shoplights with daylight fluorescent bulbs in them hung from the ceiling on adjustable chains. This stays up year round and the lights can be raised high and used for lighting at night if I'm in there working on something, sewing, whatnot.

This is what it looks like when set up for seeds:

 

[Ridgerunner]

I start my peppers around the first of February and the tomatoes a couple of weeks later. It doesn't work to start them any earlier, they get too big by the time it's warm enough to set them out. I'll stick a sweet potato in water on top of the bookcase the middle of February too for starts. That's about all I start myself and just buy the rest. If I started the cool weather crops like cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower, it would be time.

Secuono you've got me thinking about starting some kale and chard to see if I can get a real early crop. Usually I just sow those seeds straight in the garden in late February. Hmmm....

Something I did different last year and I liked the results. I put white paper on the sides of my grow stand to reflect the light back onto the plants. They grew straighter and not so much directly toward the light. They did not get spindly.

 

[Carol Dee]

@Ridgerunner I like the nifty paper trick!

 

[digitS']

I did catalog all of my saved seeds, but that was more the completion of last summer's chores.

That's my first task, @journey11 . I've been pretty good about not reordering the same seeds that I already have. Referring back to that "seeds downstairs" while DW and I are searching the catalogs. I can also use that list 12 months later, along with the receipts, to refresh our memories of what was in the last year's garden. Saves me, because I'm always failing to make a garden map .

I think he even planted a few tomatoes seeds. (To see if they are viable says he!)

That is real important, @Carol Dee ! I got in trouble last year by keeping seeds beyond their viability.

Admitting that error, I may as well admit that using the last of saved seed for some varieties and then failing to save more was another mistake. ... I need "sticky notes" for the garden ... do you think they'd blow away ?

Maybe I should make notes on TEG the way I take other growing season notes on TEG! "Save Seeds from These Plants, Dummy ." Like I kept track of those tomatoes I had for several days on rotation in my tool trays in the pickup .

Steve

 

[so lucky]

I try to keep an informal journal on my computer of what I planted and when, but it is in a rambling monologue including other things that happened during the year, so is pretty unhandy to refer back to. And I forget to put down important things, so it is fairly worthless, really. Except it does make interesting reading once in a while.

 

[so lucky]

I know I sound like a broken record, but for you folks who are starting your own seeds for the first time, be sure you put a little fan blowing in their general vicinity when the plants are growing. This makes them stronger, with sturdier stems. You can rotate the plants or move the fan occasionally.