necessity of uppotting and tray for manging starters?

[Urbanheirlooms]

My very small greenhouse does not have supplemental heat, so at nights it can get below freezing and I cannot leave newly sprouted plants in it at night. Using the 6 packs as opposed to 4" pots is pretty much a must as I cannot possibly move all of my plants in and out of the house in larger pots. I simply adjust my timing of when I start my seeds so that they are ready to be planted out when the frost date hits. My frost date here is May 20 (even though I am in 7B, I live in the mountains at 2,400' elevation). I haven't started tomatoes yet, but have my broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts & onions going. Everyone has different conditions and resources and we just have to adjust to what we have available to us.

[DK2021]

Originally Posted by Urbanheirlooms

My very small greenhouse does not have supplemental heat, so at nights it can get below freezing and I cannot leave newly sprouted plants in it at night. Using the 6 packs as opposed to 4" pots is pretty much a must as I cannot possibly move all of my plants in and out of the house in larger pots. I simply adjust my timing of when I start my seeds so that they are ready to be planted out when the frost date hits. My frost date here is May 20 (even though I am in 7B, I live in the mountains at 2,400' elevation). I haven't started tomatoes yet, but have my broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts & onions going. Everyone has different conditions and resources and we just have to adjust to what we have available to us.

There are carriers for 4" pots which you might be able to get from a local nursery or farm supply at no cost. At least that is how I acquired mine.

[Urbanheirlooms]

Originally Posted by DK2021

There are carriers for 4" pots which you might be able to get from a local nursery or farm supply at no cost. At least that is how I acquired mine.

That is a good idea and would work for many folks. My real issue is the amount of plants I start. I usually start well over 100 plants and plant out at least 36 plants and give others away.

[DK2021]

Originally Posted by Urbanheirlooms

That is a good idea and would work for many folks. My real issue is the amount of plants I start. I usually start well over 100 plants and plant out at least 36 plants and give others away.

That's about what I do too (just tomatoes) and I also grow quite a lot of other vegetables. But I have learned to resist starting my tomatoes too early. I'm in zone 7a and I plan to start peppers only this week-end and tomatoes next week-end. And if I delay all this another week, it won't hurt. My mistake (more than once) is being impatient and starting the solanaceous seeds too early!

In the meantime I have distracted myself by getting on with planting perennial flowering plants, brassicas, and cold-tolerant greens.

[paradajky]

Originally Posted by DK2021

There are carriers for 4" pots which you might be able to get from a local nursery or farm supply at no cost. At least that is how I acquired mine.

That's what mine are, except, they are just mesh on bottom, not solid. I resolved the issue by lining one with a garbage bag.


That said, nothing's sprouted in nearly 2 weeks. Weird. Subsequently, I picked up a 1020 tray with a 72 starter cell, dome, and some autozone floordry. Just put new seeds this evening, onto a heat mat, let's see what happens.