Some pictures - seedlings in my garage

**nctomatoman** · March 17, 2008

It is nearing 32 tonight, so the babies are spending the night inside (that is not the height of the lights when they are spending days under them....earlier in the season, they were much lower).

Time to start transplanting!!!

The pic with the two more sparsely populated flats are mostly the Dwarf project seedlings.

Tania · March 18, 2008

nice little jungle you've got in each tray!

**nctomatoman** · March 18, 2008

yessiree....I figure about 1200 or so little babies in each flat. Should keep me out of trouble for a few weeks as they all move in to their own home...

Tania · March 18, 2008

Happy transplanting Craig!

Now it is pretty obvious that the spring is out there... somewhere... still very cold here at the PNW, but I know it's coming...

I do not dare to bring my tomato babies to a cold frame yet - only cabbages and lettuces are there so far.

duajones · March 18, 2008

Looking good there Craig! Good luck with your growing this year!

Duane

feldon30 · March 18, 2008

Awesome looking plants there, Craig!

I'm going to probably grow 100 Sungold, 100 Black Cherry, and 100 Sweet 100 plants next year, as well as some staple tomato varieties and a few others and see what people will buy.

BVGardener · March 18, 2008

Okay Craig, tell us how you keep your sanity while potting up all of those seedlings......how long does it take you? Do you work out on the cement or do you work from a table?

Is a glass of wine in order after potting up each flat of 1200?

Jay

**nctomatoman** · March 18, 2008

Good point re keeping the sanity! I have to admit to the transplanting act as therapy - something completely different from my day job...though now that my day job is going away, I wonder if it will impact my feeling about it!

Let's see, how do I do it....I vary things by actually writing out the labels as I need them. So the process - Fill 15 pots with MetroMix, poke holes in the soil, pop out the plant cluster and separate into seedlings, nudge them into the mix, water, count and record seedling number, leaf shape, leaf color (for hot peppers - since I grow many purple leaf, and can check for crossing - also helps me keep records on germination of any given seed lot for a variety), then write out the labels, put them in the pots, put the pots in the basket tray, then onto the garage floor for a few days to acclimate. I think I can do 100-150 pots her hour - essentially a row of 10 - so when I am really cranking along, I can do a flat in 5-6 hours. Peppers and eggplant are quicker (I plant less of each variety - typical aim is for a flat of 15 plants), tomatoes can take nearly twice as long, as I have up to 30 or more seeds per cell on some.

I work at a table in the garage, standing on a piece of carpet, listening to music - it is great to do on a mild spring evening with the crickets chirping outside!

dcarch · March 18, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by BVGardener

--------------------
Is a glass of wine in order after potting up each flat of 1200?

Jay

Yes. Only after writing 1200 labels

dcarch

bryanccfshr · March 18, 2008

I am having a sympathy glass for you as I type this!

BVGardener · March 19, 2008

Craig, interesting you mention music. Last weekend I took a portable radio out to the garden and tuned in some classical music. It helped the time go by while raking in the soil amendments. Where I live I can only get one station that plays classical so I have to live with their playlist.

Jay

billbird2111 · June 3, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

Good point re keeping the sanity! I have to admit to the transplanting act as therapy - something completely different from my day job...though now that my day job is going away, I wonder if it will impact my feeling about it!

Let's see, how do I do it....I vary things by actually writing out the labels as I need them. So the process - Fill 15 pots with MetroMix, poke holes in the soil, pop out the plant cluster and separate into seedlings, nudge them into the mix, water, count and record seedling number, leaf shape, leaf color (for hot peppers - since I grow many purple leaf, and can check for crossing - also helps me keep records on germination of any given seed lot for a variety), then write out the labels, put them in the pots, put the pots in the basket tray, then onto the garage floor for a few days to acclimate. I think I can do 100-150 pots her hour - essentially a row of 10 - so when I am really cranking along, I can do a flat in 5-6 hours. Peppers and eggplant are quicker (I plant less of each variety - typical aim is for a flat of 15 plants), tomatoes can take nearly twice as long, as I have up to 30 or more seeds per cell on some.

I work at a table in the garage, standing on a piece of carpet, listening to music - it is great to do on a mild spring evening with the crickets chirping outside!

See, I would have so many cups of draft beer during this process that I would probably lose count after, say, 12.

That's probably why the vast majority of my starters up and died on me this year.

Oh well, back to the drawing board.

March 18, 2008	#2
Tania Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Anmore, BC, Canada Posts: 3,970	nice little jungle you've got in each tray! __________________ Tatiana's TOMATObase

March 18, 2008	#3
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	yessiree....I figure about 1200 or so little babies in each flat. Should keep me out of trouble for a few weeks as they all move in to their own home... __________________ Craig

March 18, 2008	#4
Tania Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Anmore, BC, Canada Posts: 3,970	Happy transplanting Craig! Now it is pretty obvious that the spring is out there... somewhere... still very cold here at the PNW, but I know it's coming... I do not dare to bring my tomato babies to a cold frame yet - only cabbages and lettuces are there so far. __________________ Tatiana's TOMATObase

March 18, 2008	#6
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Awesome looking plants there, Craig! I'm going to probably grow 100 Sungold, 100 Black Cherry, and 100 Sweet 100 plants next year, as well as some staple tomato varieties and a few others and see what people will buy. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

March 18, 2008	#8
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Good point re keeping the sanity! I have to admit to the transplanting act as therapy - something completely different from my day job...though now that my day job is going away, I wonder if it will impact my feeling about it! Let's see, how do I do it....I vary things by actually writing out the labels as I need them. So the process - Fill 15 pots with MetroMix, poke holes in the soil, pop out the plant cluster and separate into seedlings, nudge them into the mix, water, count and record seedling number, leaf shape, leaf color (for hot peppers - since I grow many purple leaf, and can check for crossing - also helps me keep records on germination of any given seed lot for a variety), then write out the labels, put them in the pots, put the pots in the basket tray, then onto the garage floor for a few days to acclimate. I think I can do 100-150 pots her hour - essentially a row of 10 - so when I am really cranking along, I can do a flat in 5-6 hours. Peppers and eggplant are quicker (I plant less of each variety - typical aim is for a flat of 15 plants), tomatoes can take nearly twice as long, as I have up to 30 or more seeds per cell on some. I work at a table in the garage, standing on a piece of carpet, listening to music - it is great to do on a mild spring evening with the crickets chirping outside! __________________ Craig

March 18, 2008	#5
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	Looking good there Craig! Good luck with your growing this year! Duane

March 18, 2008	#7
BVGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 542	Okay Craig, tell us how you keep your sanity while potting up all of those seedlings......how long does it take you? Do you work out on the cement or do you work from a table? Is a glass of wine in order after potting up each flat of 1200? Jay

March 18, 2008	#10
bryanccfshr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Farmington, Nm Posts: 450	I am having a sympathy glass for you as I type this! __________________ I moved!

March 19, 2008	#11
BVGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 542	Craig, interesting you mention music. Last weekend I took a portable radio out to the garden and tuned in some classical music. It helped the time go by while raking in the soil amendments. Where I live I can only get one station that plays classical so I have to live with their playlist. Jay Last edited by BVGardener; March 19, 2008 at 11:20 AM.