Tips are Welcomed

[ron pettaway]

Hi Ron, !

Hi

 

[ron pettaway]

I didn’t find Newnan on here, but you can find something close to see what some of your recent last frost dates have been on this link.

http://www.caes.uga.edu/publications/pubDetail.cfm?pk_id=7778

We talk about the last frost date and last freeze date as if it were a real number. It’s not. It’s a range. I randomly looked at Dublin station since it’s close to the middle of Georgia. The earliest last frost date I found was February 19 in 2003. The latest was April 9 in 2000. That’s quite a range, 49 days if my math is right and that in just a four year span. How do you use that? Well, to me it’s a lot like asking my wife what the schedule is for an upcoming event. “When are we leaving?” “I don’t know”. So I tell her “I’ll plan accordingly”. She usually doesn’t hit me and I’m usually ready on time.

A spare bathroom can be real good place to start seeds. We all use different methods, but some of the things in common is you need enough warmth for the seed to germinate. That can differ for different seeds, but warm is better than cool. You need to get the moisture right. That’s probably my biggest challenge. Too much and they drown or get “damping off” disease. Too little and they dry up and die. Once they sprout, you need to provide light. Some of us with good southern exposure can use a window but I don’t have that. I use a fluorescent light suspended above plus I hung sheets of white paper on the sides of my support frame to reflect that light back in from the sides. That worked real well for me, the best I’ve ever done. If you don’t have enough light or it’s too far away, they can get really spindly, which makes it hard to work with them.

When the weather warms up enough, you need to harden off the plants. That’s where you expose them to the sun and wind to toughen them up. I put them on the north side of a workshop where the chickens and dogs can’t get to them and they are in the shade. My prevalent winds are from the south so they are protected from most wind too. Wind can really dry them out. I start with about 2 hours a day and gradually build up to all day exposure, moving them out a bit from the building so they gradually get more sunlight each day. I keep them inside a sheltered building with lights as appropriate. This is another risky period because the wind or sun can kill them before they toughen up and it’s easy to let them dry out if the wind and sun are hitting them, especially if they are not in very deep dirt or starting soil mix.

We all do all these things differently; different crops, different climates, different facilities to work with. There is a learning curve involved but you are off to a good start. Good luck!

Thank you for taking so much time to write this. I really do appreciate your help and I took your advice and put them outside..We will see how it goes.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Hi Ron! Are you doing the hardening off steps that Ridgerunner described? As in...easing them into the outdoors? I don't know if they'll be alive in a week if you don't harden them off...brief visits outside in the shade, etc.

 

[ron pettaway]

Wow the few hours outside yesterday really did harden the stems on my veggies..before they were like jelly..now they are firmer... going to put them outside for a few more hours today..Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It is a gradual process. Those plants are fairly delicate to start with. You can't overdo it.

 

[Just-Moxie]

Hello Ron in GA! I am a SC neighbor to you. Just head due East on your map, find Augusta, take a left and we are almost at the western tip of Lake Murray. Prob 200 miles east of you. We might have similar growing seasons, and conditions.

 

[ron pettaway]

Hello Ron in GA! I am a SC neighbor to you. Just head due East on your map, find Augusta, take a left and we are almost at the western tip of Lake Murray. Prob 200 miles east of you. We might have similar growing seasons, and conditions.

Hey neighbor..south carolina?? I thought everyone there was evicted from state to make a bowling alley ..

 

[Smart Red]

Hey neighbor..south carolina?? I thought everyone there was evicted from state to make a bowling alley ..

Yep! You're going to fit right in! Let me be the 8th? 9th? 10th? One of the many here to welcome you to our gardening group. So please that you found us.

 

[meatburner]

Yet another ........

 

[Just-Moxie]

Hey neighbor..south carolina?? I thought everyone there was evicted from state to make a bowling alley ..

They did? and I missed out on all the fun!!????