Tomato seed starter system concept

[Myronr]

I have horrible luck with starting from seed.
plants don't germinate.
plants get too little or too much water.
plants get spindly and weak.

Most of the problem is me, I forget about them and don't quite get it right.
I want to automate the process. I want to be able to put a seed in a six pack and come back in a month to 6 inch plants.

I figure that this requires 4 things, water, heat, air movement, light. This spring I figured out that my germination requires 80 deg. so I used a picnic cooler and a 15w light bulb on a thermostat. This worked pretty well, until I over watered them.

I want to take this a step further.
I can set up timers to run the water and the light.
And a thermostat to run the heater and the vent fans.
Or maybe a timer on the vent fan too.

I can do all of this in a picnic cooler http://amzn.com/B00CPDJTVQ for insulation, using the drain hole for excess water.
I think I can use a fog misting nozzle to water on a schedule.
I can light using a piece of aluminum duct work as a reflector for warm white LED lighting, on a schedule.
I can cut some holes in the reflector for some old computer fans. To do the water, I have a built in humidifier on my furnace that has a valve that taps into my waterline that runs on 24 volts. I can run an ice maker hose from that to my cooler. Controlled by a timer with a 24v wall wart plugged into it.

On the other end I will have a couple of misting jets http://amzn.com/B000A16TE0 I think I can drill and tap a piece of 1/2" PVC pipe for these to thread into.
To do the lighting I can use another timer and wall wart at 12vdc to some LED strips glued to a reflector made from a piece of dryer vent ductwork. I bought a roll of 16 feet, I am not sure I should use it all. http://amzn.com/B00JBDINW4

The schedule:
day 1 thru 5 - light off, fan off, heater at 80deg, water 2 min a day.
day 6 thru 30 - light 6 hours on 6 hours off, fan on when light on, heater off, water 2 min a day.

I would like to practice this procedure a bunch of times before February because I am guessing about a lot of this stuff.

Well, that's the plan. Please let me know if anyone has done this sort of thing.

Will the fog misters work?
How many feet of LEDs do I need?
Myron

[HydroExplorer]

I think a set it and forget it seed to 6" system is a bit of a pipe dream.

You want to fertilize the plants with weak fertilizer as soon as you get your first true leaves. If you fertilize too early you will get tip burn from phosphorous overdose. If you fertilize too late you'll get a weak plant because you starved it. They'll recover but you'l get much better results if you don't have the problem in the first place.

You also want to get light on the seedlings early after they sprout. If you get proper light and airflow on your seedlings early in their life you get a much stronger and stalkier plant. You primarily need blue spectrum light for seedlings.

I don't know about the misting nozzle once the seeds are sprouting. High relative humidity is good for seeds and clones. Plants that have leaves can suffer calcium deficiency if relative humidity is too high around the leaves. This issue looks different in different types of plants so it is confusing to diagnose.

I would recommend mylar for a reflector (more reflective). You can just use a space blanket and glue it to whatever structure you have. Alternatively, you can get a more expensive product that is basically mylar bubble wrap. It has the light reflection/radient barrier qualities + added insluation factor. You can buy it at home depot but it's kind of expensive.

[Myronr]

Originally Posted by HydroExplorer

I think a set it and forget it seed to 6" system is a bit of a pipe dream.

Ouch, my feelings are hurt. You are probably right.
I appreciate your comments. I think I will try anyway.

[HydroExplorer]

Originally Posted by Myronr

Ouch, my feelings are hurt. You are probably right.
I appreciate your comments. I think I will try anyway.

By all means. Sometimes it's a really good idea to do something that someone says probably won't work. That's how you learn why, right?

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by Myronr

The schedule:
day 1 thru 5 - light off, fan off, heater at 80deg, water 2 min a day.
day 6 thru 30 - light 6 hours on 6 hours off, fan on when light on, heater off, water 2 min a day.

Myron,

It looks like you're trying to hard and also probably overwatering. Observation is the big key and each plant and variety is an individual (we are not Borg), so automation only works to a point unless you get real crazy (I'm an automation engineer). You could hook up all types of sensors to run all kinds of gadgets - but then you'll end up with a cost of $3,249.68 per tomato.

Schedule:
Day 1: Soak the heck out of peat pellets and plant seed, put in a warm place with very little ventilation (80F is nice, light does not matter, do not water again). Monitor for sprouts. If longer than 7-10 days, plant backups and re-water the previous seed.

Day ? - true leaf time (it will vary with each plant): Once sprouted, remove from germination area. Remove mesh from around peat pellet and place in a Dixie cup partially filled with potting mix. Loosen the packed peat pellet by rolling it between thumb and fingers and fill gaps with additional potting mix. Water generously and place under grow lamp 6-8" (your timer idea will work from here). A thermostat can help with some automated ventilation would be a plus trying to keep the humidity at less than 80%. Monitor the growth and keep the lamps from getting too close. Only water when the soil looks dry/cracking on the surface.

True leaf Day? (it will vary with each plant): Repot plants in a 4" pot and move to "grow out" area. Fertilize (half-strength) and water generously. Other concepts same as above just larger area with grow lamps, heating and ventilation.

Hardening off period (before planting out): Move outdoors or into a greenhouse with plenty of natural light and ventilation. Move indoors if temperatures will drop below 50F for any appreciable amount of time.

Misting Nozzles:
Probably not a good idea. Tomatoes are not ferns. They do not like their leaves wet for extended periods. Drip would be better at the root area.

[Myronr]

Originally Posted by rhines81

You could hook up all types of sensors to run all kinds of gadgets - but then you'll end up with a cost of $3,249.68 per tomato.

Alright... although I do like automating stuff, people do stuff the old way for a reason, because it works.

Maybe I should practice a few times before game day in February.

Thanks for the advice.

[luigiwu]

I'm a newbie-ish to growing tomatoes. This is my 2nd year starting from seed. I find starting seeds the most easiest and least stressful part of the whole grow season! I highly HIGHLY (and I can't emphasize this enough) recommend you watch NCtomatoman's dense sowing series which is pinned in a thread.

All you need is a seed starting mix, after that a decent potting soil and voila. I only bottom water and I find that is probably part of my success. You can't ever really 'over water' as a result.

[AlittleSalt]

Myronr, practice makes perfect.

I'm devoting this whole year to learning by doing, asking, and reading proven ways of growing. I like your automated ideas too.

[Myronr]

Originally Posted by luigiwu

watch NCtomatoman's dense sowing series

I will watch this.

Originally Posted by luigiwu

All you need is a seed starting mix, after that a decent potting soil and voila. I only bottom water and I find that is probably part of my success. You can't ever really 'over water' as a result.

I was also using potting soil (wrong) it makes the soil too wet, and no oxygen can get to the sprout.

[luigiwu]

My mistype, potting MIX - always MIX - MIX MIX MIX for anything container-ish!

[crmauch]

I rarely use seed starting mix anymore for anything. For the most part (from what I understand) -- SSM is just ground up potting mix.

I also bottom water (buy solid trays + a 'tray' of six pack inserts). When they are ready to pot up I use paper pots w/ potting mix. Still bottom water.

Sometimes if the soil mix is drier than I like or I'm sprouting fine seed surface-sown, I'll use a spray bottle to keep the top of the soil moist.


I like your idea of an automated seed starting environment, but I do think your dream of going from seed to six inch transplant may be overreaching (but what are the stars for? ) GO FOR IT!!

[peebee]

Here's a link to an easy way to germinate seeds, works for me and a lot of members here:


http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=32445