Feeding young plants?

[Goldie321]

My tomatoes seedlings have just been put into peat pots from the starter trays to start their real growth and I'm wondering if they should get any type of fertilizing at this stage. If not, when do you start feeding them, what kind of fertilizer and how often? I've usually bought my plants and am really new to starting from seed. I'm in west central Florida so the trays are outside (high temps around 80 and overnight lows bottoming out around 50 or a little higher) on the deck getting indirect sunlight most of the day (morning more direct).

[b54red]

I usually give mine a dilute dose of Miracle Grow or some other liquid fertilizer when I pot them up. If they are hardening off outside I will sometimes give them another dose after they have wilted bad or if they start looking too pale.

Bill

[dpurdy]

Goldie321,
A lot has to do with what your filling your peat pots with. If you use a potting soil with added nutrients you shouldn't have to fertilize them. If your using a soil less mix without fertilizer you can start to fertilize when the first true leaves appear (not the little oval leaves which are called cotyledons. The cotyledons usually supply enough stored food for the sprout until the first leaves form). Usually the cotyledons will disappear when the first leaves develop. When your first set of leaves form you can start fertilizing with the maximum of 1/2 strength. I would recommend using a fertilizer with a NPK of 1-2-1 or a fertilizer with more phosphorus than nitrogen or potassium. This will help with root development. I like to use Neptune Harvest fish & seaweed fertilizer which has a NPK of 2-3-1. I've had good results using this product. There many synthetic and organic fertilizer that you can use, just be careful when you use synthetic fertilizers. I would suggest that you use 1/4 of the recommended dose when using synthetic fertilizers. I've gotten myself into trouble in the past using synthetic fertilizers. I know many who use synthetic fertilizers and do just fine, but I like to keep my plants growing using only organic fertilizers. That's just my preference. I hope this helps.
dpurdy

[Goldie321]

Thanks for the info. No fertilizing agent in these pots by Jiffy. My plants will stay in them until they are ready to go into the 5 gallon containers that will make up my garden this year. Nematodes wiped out my tomatoe and eggplant plants last year (but not before I got a half way decent harvest in), and the containers give me a chance to grow in a nutrient rich soil. This Florida soil is crud! Will probably go with the half strength Miracle Gro; but, how often do they need feeding at this age?

[OldHondaNut]

There are some tomato varities that are resistant to nematodes but I bet you already know that.

I found 5 gallon pots much harder to use than in the ground. I am trying again but with Gardeners Delight cherry pruned to a single stem. Others have good luck with 5 gallons but not me.

[Goldie321]

Originally Posted by OldHondaNut

There are some tomato varities that are resistant to nematodes but I bet you already know that.

I found 5 gallon pots much harder to use than in the ground. I am trying again but with Gardeners Delight cherry pruned to a single stem. Others have good luck with 5 gallons but not me.

I've never pruned my tomato plants. Maybe now with the containers that would be a good idea.

[nnjjohn]

I read on the MG seed sarter mix that it is fortified with enough food minerals .. another words, I am not spraying plant food on mine until transplanting, unless I feel they need food.. i can't imagine MG seed starter is not enough for growing plants,, it is reputably a huge company .. i do not think they want to risk selling deficient bags of seed starter potting mix. I am using a 72 cell seed starter tray kit with the 7 inch dome.. miracle grow seed starting potting mix (so it reads on the bag and not to be confused with regular potting mix) Why mg puts the words seed starter and potting mix on the bag almost confused me.. i know it is a good seed starter because I see some of my seeds sprouting today after day three. I been spray misting once each day the top of mg which what I believe is mostly peat mix with mg additives.. anyway, the fun is just starting.. i hope this season is finally the one that i grow my own plants as good or better than store plants. wanted to add.. i saturated the mg seed starter in the kits water tray by filling the tray with filtered water about an inch and dropping the cell tray with the dry mix in it into the water tray .. eventually the filled mg mix in the cells sponge the water from the tray.. the heat pad stays on the dome stays on (the dome condensates hence the name mini greenhouse ,,keeps the mix from drying out),, seeds are just under the mix 1/8 in. or (sow) and i check daily to be sure mix is on the moist side as the seeds germinate.. i am using two new grow led bulbs (red/blue/white) 4watt mounted clamp on fixtures according to what I read , these lights have the spectrum needed to grow plants.. i'm not sure yet if the lights are enough yet.. guess I will soon find out

[Goldie321]

I used the Burpee seed starter tray. It's a soilless medium for starting and no extra fertilizer is included. When potting up I used the Jiffy peat pots with the growing medium in the large pellets you have to add water to and wait for them to puff up (they are a size that needs coaxing thought so I used a crochet hook to help break them up and speed them along - it worked great). I added some dilute MG for veggies a couple of days after and they seem to be doing great. Standing nice and tall and you can see the formerly spindly stems are a tad thicker than they were - they are also getting that darker color you see in more mature plants. The trays of pots are outside fulltime now. Overnight lows have been around 50 with a couple of nights int he low 40s but they are holding up.

[nnjjohn]

I suppose there are pros and cons comparing seed starter mediums. I have tried only a few but will certainly keep trying something new or recommended here should I have a problem growing from seed. I seeded an early tray and have a reserve tray should something go wrong. Some of the seeds I used are a couple seasons old but I stored them in a dry end table draw. I also placed an order of choice heirloom seeds from remy on this site. I decided I want to grow more variety.. maybe six or seven this season from beefs to cherries ..good luck and hope all goes well down south

[ScottinAtlanta]

I use one tablespoon of fish fert per gallon of warm water for an initial jolt on potting up, and then that's it unless planting out is delayed for more than 6 weeks.

[Father'sDaughter]

When I was using MG Seed Starting soil, I would dump it into an old plastic bowl in the sink and mix in water by hand, a splash at a time. Sort of like kneading dough. I would add enough water that I could squeeze a handful of the MG and have it form a ball, but one that would crumble when pressed on. If it got too wet, I'd just add more from the bag. It really resists absorbing water when it's dry, but once it was completely moistened this way, it always seemed to wick it up more readily when bottom watering.

[OldHondaNut]

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

When I was using MG Seed Starting soil, I would dump it into an old plastic bowl in the sink and mix in water by hand, a splash at a time. Sort of like kneading dough. I would add enough water that I could squeeze a handful of the MG and have it form a ball, but one that would crumble when pressed on. If it got too wet, I'd just add more from the bag. It really resists absorbing water when it's dry, but once it was completely moistened this way, it always seemed to wick it up more readily when bottom watering.

I just put water into the bag even if it was not all going to be used. Over the course of a day I press in the sides of the bag or reach into it and knead.

[nnjjohn]

I did pretty good with the 72 cell seeding kit.. almost 100% except for one seed cells that might still germinate.. they were different sample seeds.. i plan on transplanting the seedlings in the cells that I have three seeded.. these are great tasting burpee super beef steaks hybrid seeds i bought two seasons ago.. still have seeds from that 99 cent pack for next season too. All now over two dozen seedlings to eventually transplant in small cups and potting soil. I have a question,, this stuff that came with the starter kit is a rooting compound called "CLONEX" .. anybody try this stuff? it is is a gel to be mixed with water in a bowl and has essential root enhancing hormones ,, suppose to dip the roots before transplanting.. I also have a small bottle of mg liquid plant food,, suppose to use a few drops in water bottle and i might try this once the seedlings establish true leaves.

[b54red]

I decided to leave most of my seedlings in the egg cartons until I do my grafting. Since they have so little medium to survive on I have been giving them a mild dose of Apples and Oranges Fertilizer from Urban Farms at least once a week. All that is in the egg cartons is Ultrasorb and I am using Optisorb to pot up the grafts. I have never used it before but it seems to be giving me better success with the grafts in the healing chambers with less damping off type issues. Below are a few pictures of my seedlings.

I know it looks like a lot of seedlings but since I am grafting almost all of the plants that will go into the garden I err on the side of having plenty of seedlings to work with since it makes it much easier to match rootstock and scion stem sizes when grafting. So far most of my grafts have been done with 2mm silicon clips but now that the plants are getting larger I will have to use some of the larger ones.

[nnjjohn]

Nice pictures, I do not understand grafting at all, is it about making hybrids of your own mixing genes ? what purpose does grafting serve?.. I read somewhere you like using the ultra/optisorb stuff, i suppose you do this because it is less prone to carry plant diseases and fungus?.. i used mg seed starting potting soil for my seed starter trays cells 8 qt bag was just over 4 dollars (enough to fill all my small seed kits.. the local dollar store has quality Canadian mix potting soil 8qt.bags for 1 .00 .. i will pot more than enough of about six or seven varieties and few extra backups for my tomato garden beds.. and give the rest away to my family and friends after I see them growing good sometime in May. Going to start my spices and cucs /squash seeds in April.. seeded a few assorted bell pepper today.. crazy weather,, sub freezing outside all day and Saturday high 65f here's hoping we have a good grow season.