AMKuska's 2022 Garden

[ducks4you]

Thanks! I hope to clean and bleach the 72 cell grow chamber and start them this week. I have had too many baby seedlings damp off on me, so I'm taking the 2022 expert advice seriously.
Do/did you put more than one leek seed/cell?

 

[AMKuska]

The organic seed company that I buy from sprays the seeds with a fungicide when moist conditions (like Washington) are expected. I've never had a problem with fungus.

 

[AMKuska]

Very bored today so I planted bok choy, lettuce and spinach. I don't think I'll have enough room if everything sprouts, but so far only 4/30 peppers up so....I'm safe right?

 

[meadow]

Saw the picture of your garden bug when reading old pea threads. What a doll baby!! How adorable that she is now helping plant the seeds too. 🥰

 

[AMKuska]

Saw the picture of your garden bug when reading old pea threads. What a doll baby!! How adorable that she is now helping plant the seeds too. 🥰

She definitely loves the garden! She still loves eating all her vegetables, playing in the dirt, and growing big and beautiful plants. <3

 

[AMKuska]

I planted some bunching onions and some carrots in containers today. The current situation in Ukraine has me stressed out. I worry about food shortages, about the war spreading, about how the people over there are doing.

If the situation magically fixes itself, I plan to give starts to each of my neighbors, since most of them grow their own gardens anyway.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Thanks! I hope to clean and bleach the 72 cell grow chamber and start them this week. I have had too many baby seedlings damp off on me, so I'm taking the 2022 expert advice seriously.
Do/did you put more than one leek seed/cell?

I'm not an expert but I have had great success growing onions and leeks in large pots like in the pic. Those are my leeks growing! I had horrible damping off problems too when I used small cell trays or even small containers. Leeks and onions have long roots and they thrive in these big containers.
Here is what I do: not that you asked lol

Fill the big pot with good potting mix, leaving about 2 inches headspace.
Sprinkle the seeds generously all over the soil.
Sprinkle more soil on the seeds so they are about 1/4 inch under the soil.
Water with a sprayer.

Place a saran wrap over the pot and place it on your seedling mat and under a light. They will emerge in less than a week! Once you see the first few seedlings pop up, remove the saran wrap and place the pot under grow lights.
I've not had to water at all with the saran wrap method until after the seeds germinate. If you notice that the soil is too wet, remove the wrap and let the soil breathe for a day or so.

And like @AMKuska said, leeks and onions are very hungry crops so I feed them every 2 weeks. I use water soluble fertilizer and bottom water.

Pic on the right is onions.

 

[ducks4you]

I planted some bunching onions and some carrots in containers today. The current situation in Ukraine has me stressed out. I worry about food shortages, about the war spreading, about how the people over there are doing.

If the situation magically fixes itself, I plan to give starts to each of my neighbors, since most of them grow their own gardens anyway.

I, too am planning on giving away extras, too, if I have them, for somebody else to plant in their garden, especially if they have had some failures.

 

[AMKuska]

Here is what I do: not that you asked lol

What a remarkably helpful post! Please feel free to keep adding your wisdom to this thread. I often look back on these threads to resolve gardening issues or remind myself of planting dates. I just went our to wrap up my seeds and I'll let you know if it works.

I might not have problems with damping off, but I surely have problems with slow slow germanation. If this works to crack those seeds in less than 10 days I'll be thrilled!

 

[ducks4you]

I'm not an expert but I have had great success growing onions and leeks in large pots like in the pic. Those are my leeks growing! I had horrible damping off problems too when I used small cell trays or even small containers. Leeks and onions have long roots and they thrive in these big containers.
Here is what I do: not that you asked lol

Fill the big pot with good potting mix, leaving about 2 inches headspace.
Sprinkle the seeds generously all over the soil.
Sprinkle more soil on the seeds so they are about 1/4 inch under the soil.
Water with a sprayer.

Place a saran wrap over the pot and place it on your seedling mat and under a light. They will emerge in less than a week! Once you see the first few seedlings pop up, remove the saran wrap and place the pot under grow lights.
I've not had to water at all with the saran wrap method until after the seeds germinate. If you notice that the soil is too wet, remove the wrap and let the soil breathe for a day or so.

And like @AMKuska said, leeks and onions are very hungry crops so I feed them every 2 weeks. I use water soluble fertilizer and bottom water.

Pic on the right is onions.

I can understand that the root systems Need a big pot. I have Many of these type pots, saved over the years.
This was timely advice, bc I am starting leek and onions this week.