Seed Starters vs. Planting Directly in the Garden???

[thistlebloom]

I gardened with my boys for several years, until they got "a will of their own" as Kid#2 says. He's so funny.

Then they grew up and I didn't think it had rubbed off, but the past few years Kid#1 has been showing a dedicated interest in growing his food, and last year had an actual real garden. He also likes way more vegetables than I do now too.

....still waiting for it to kick in with Kid#2.

 

[ccheek]

Maybe it'll hit him one of these days. My parents didn't garden (even though we had a cattle ranch with plenty of room). My grandpa did though and the grandkids always had a good time helping. And like you said, we enjoyed eating the vegetables a lot more than the normal grocery store veggies. My son wanted to plant Swiss Chard so I let him and now he's so excited to try it, lol.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I'm wanting to transplant some of my beans this week. Its been such a warm winter/spring etc that I'm hoping that they will be fine. some of them are about 6" tall.

In our county, they say not to plant until after Mother's day....grumble grumble....But I need to get a head start on everything cus our hot 100 degree summer will be early this year, not to mention the lack of water.

 

[ccheek]

Mother's Day? Wow.... it seems like your growing season is almost over before it gets started, lol. Our magic day is Tax Day! Maybe they think gardening will relieve the stress from the prior weeks/months.

 

[digitS']

I once had garden neighbors who considered Memorial Day the day to start the garden; this is a common choice around here.

The guy was retired military with a 2nd career as a corporate exec. They had 4 children at home, probably the youngest was 17. That particular Memorial Day was rain aaalll day. There they were, running a rototiller, hoeing, raking, driving stakes, building a trellis ... aaalll day! The 6 of them put on quite a show out there in a garden about 1/3rd the size of a city lot ...

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

I'm waiting until Memorial Day to put in my warm weather crops, too.
Just like everything else in YOUR garden, there are generalities and specifics. For instance, lettuce, spinach, radishes, turnips and okra are examples of crops that I have successfully grown in the beds from seed. Many people have great success starting peas and sugar snap peas directly sowed. I did not, principally because of the large rabbit, and growing squirrel population in our town. Practically every sugar snap pea that I started on my porch has sprouted and is growing. Last year 1/3 came up outside, and I'm sure that they were eaten, bc I babysat them and kept them well watered and the bed drains well. When I transplant in two weeks I will probably cage them in with chicken wire, as I did with my cabbage (purchased seedlings.)
Onions do a great job for me, so much so that I am filling in space under 7 pine trees where I raised the crown and where I'm fighting weeds.
Even though they are not crops, the squirrels had done a lot of damage to my tulips in the front bed. When any kind of pest has moved in all direct sowing is naught.
Funny, though, I always end up with enough lettuce every year. =b

 

[Mel]

As mentioned, for us northern gardeners starting tomato, pepper and such is necessary or buying started plants. Years ago we had a neighbor whom was rated as a master gardener by the county extension service. She would start pepper plants very early and repot them twice before finally planting them in the garden. All about early root development I guess. Start mine in mid March, repot them at the second leaf stage , all under a bank of four 48" florescent light fixtures with daylight bulbs ( you can see it from space ) in the west window of my cool half basement till mid May then moving them to the hothouse outside to harden off.

 

[digitS']

There is a determinate, yellow cherry tomato -- Gold Nugget (LINK). A number of seed companies sell the seed. It is open pollinated according to all but Territorial Seed, so I think they must be wrong listing it as a hybrid.

Gold Nugget is incredibly early in my garden. It is a very nice tomato, good flavor.

Of course, determinates are grown so that they ripen all at once. I'm not sure how much value a cherry tomato has that ripens all at once. However, these things are so quick, I bet I could easily grow them from seed, direct-sown in the garden .

If I could do this, most gardeners should be able to. Since they are open-pollinated, volunteers should also be Good Nuggets and ripen a crop, year after year. I'd have an advantage gardeners in long-season locations have .

Steve

 

[so lucky]

@digitS', did you say it is good to remove the first blossoms from pepper plants, or did I imagine that?

 

[digitS']

Last year was the first I remember when my peppers had flowers at transplanting.

It wasn't a good pepper year.

I blamed part of the stunting of the plants on them trying to grow peppers without having made good leaf growth first.

Steve