Dense Planting Illustrated - WARNING - Pic Heavy! Latest video 3/17 - transplanting - Page 8

**nctomatoman** · March 15, 2008

I agree that Sungolds are a bit different - because the seeds are so small and they are so popular, I probably plant 35 seeds to a cell. The small seedlings at transplant stage are a bit more sensitive to most other varieties - we make sure to keep the potted young seedlings on our garage for a few days before they go into the sun - and ensure that they are well watered. Sungold also can get funky looking foliage if they are subject to cold windy rain early on.

FarmerCathy · March 15, 2008

Yeah, they are a little sickly compared to my robust coustralee and Stump O' The World plants. I will have to note that for next year.

maupin · March 15, 2008

Craig--this is my first year trying the dense planting method, and it is working quite nicely. If you could only make it stop raining I would sing folk songs to your name.

ronbrew · March 16, 2008

Maybe I'm ahead of myself here but I was wondering How you take out each cell after they are all clumped together like that. If it was one cell only you could turn it over carefully with your hands and all the soil and seedling would come out in one clump keeping everything intact. But when you have a whole tray and you want to take out each one at a time I'm wondering how you do that? Maybe it's so dense you can pull them all up with your hands without injuring them or?
Ron

Miss_Mudcat · March 17, 2008

Ron, I just take an old dinner fork and slide into the side of each cell and gently scoop out the clump of plants, then I pull them apart. At 4 weeks from sowing, the plants are pretty darn tough!

**nctomatoman** · March 17, 2008

Yes, Ron - I pop out the cell of up to 35 seedlings - because I use nice, fluffy soilless mix, the plants can be gently pulled apart with no issues at all! Sure, a few roots are broken, but you just plant them deeply into their new home, give them a drink, ease them into the sun - I have a 99+% success rate (and figure I can do about 150 4 inch pots per hour!)

gardenhappy · March 20, 2008

WOW,i'm impressed!!! I thought i was crowding with 5 seeds in each 1'' cube!!!! Thanks for sharing this and i have to give it a try!!!!

fatboy · April 2, 2008

What is your garage temp at when you put you seedlings out there?
How do you get your seeds to spread out so nice in your flats?

the999bbq · April 3, 2008

What this post learns me is that you should not be afraid to drop a seed too many ;-) However I will stick to my "precision sowing in 3cm newspaper rolls" I guess - take-away chopsticks with moist tip are a seed magnet so I can put 4 seeds into these rolls with ease (and speed). The amount of soil needed is relatively small (not as small as the deno method of sowing of course ;-) ) but I don't have to sow 3000 tomatoes....

The rolls in the picture are 4 days after sowing, the seedlings are up for about a day and are already leaning to the light outside. With my setup it is easy to take the rolls out the propagator and under the lights. I tried large flats and pricking seedlings out, and I tried the flats with individual containers where you need the agility of a magician to get the seedlings out. In my setup my 1,5 year old daughter can take out a single container.
Dense sowing to me means lots of varieties in a relatively small space...

When I transplant them after they have been under the lights for some time I only have to 'disturb' the four brothers and sisters at most.

Peter

Leroy · April 3, 2008

Nice Peter. What are you using for trays?

the999bbq · April 3, 2008

The eight newspaper rolls are in plastic food containers of 10 by 10 cm (normally with lid). I had the opportunity once to go through the remaining stuff in a building that was used as a Korean restaurant and found two big cardboard boxes full of these things ;-). Fifteen of those containers fit perfectly in my standard heated propagator (40/60), where they sit on a layer of wet sand. One of the newspaper rolls is sacrificed to house the temperature probe for the thermostat (+/- 23°C at the surface). Usually I take out the rolls by the label, unless all eight are germinated sufficiently of course. This setup makes it easy to rearrange the rolls so that they are always grouped by eight, food containers that are emptied this way can be used immediately for the next batch of heat loving seeds. I start with peppers, than paprikas, than tomatoes, than melons/cucumbers/... and fill up the gaps in between the sowings with other seeds (basil,...) to keep the propagator as full as possible at all time.

The biggest advantage for me is the fact that I don't have to disturb the slower seeds and that I can take out the seeds as soon as possible. It seems that not only the low light conditions in late winter/early spring make them leggy but also the warm environment - one day they are up, the next day they are 2 or 3 inches towards the light. Now I can lift them out in seconds whenever I pass by the propagator (before I leave to work, when I come back home, whenever...) - I try to leave the lid close as long as possible to create the 'tensed humidity' in the first few days.
I was lazy at first, labelling only one container in a row of the same variety but that didn't go well with the 'resourcemanagement' (usually the container with the label where among the first to go, thanks Murphy), and two accidents later (dropping a container of 8 rolls) I decided never to leave a roll unlabelled.

This is how I do it now, and it works so good for me that I can recommend it a lot. Making the rolls is a matter of seconds too (I use a solar lamppost of a lamp that my dog ran into pieces as the 'mold'), I prepare them in front of the tv (call it nitting for men)

Peter

maricybele · January 18, 2009

Nc Tomatoman, Approximately what temperature is your garage and what size do move the tranplants to the cooler garage?

**nctomatoman** · January 18, 2009

Hi! My garage is quite cool prob 40-45 at night, up to 55-60 during the day, depending upon the weather. I find that the more time they spend in full sun on nice days the better - so I do slowly move them into full fun and back inside at night...

Will be getting things going soon - each season I learn more...and as I do, I will post more!

Moonglow · January 18, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

Hi, Lisa -

Here's the scoop - it is easy since I use one month milestones.

roughly speaking -

Plant seeds Feb 15
Transplant to 4 inch pots March 15
Plants ready to sell Aprl 15

Thank you, Craig! What an awesome thread and full of photos to boot!

I'm a fan of the one month milestones and will follow the method. Step 3 for me will be "Plants ready for EarthBoxes

."

Jackster · February 1, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

Hi! My garage is quite cool prob 40-45 at night, up to 55-60 during the day, depending upon the weather. I find that the more time they spend in full sun on nice days the better - so I do slowly move them into full fun and back inside at night...

Will be getting things going soon - each season I learn more...and as I do, I will post more!

hi Craig,

After you transplant them into the 4" pots, do they go back under the florescent lights? I imagine the space that would take up would be pretty big!

Jackster

March 15, 2008	#106
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	I agree that Sungolds are a bit different - because the seeds are so small and they are so popular, I probably plant 35 seeds to a cell. The small seedlings at transplant stage are a bit more sensitive to most other varieties - we make sure to keep the potted young seedlings on our garage for a few days before they go into the sun - and ensure that they are well watered. Sungold also can get funky looking foliage if they are subject to cold windy rain early on. __________________ Craig

March 17, 2008	#110
Miss_Mudcat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Central Georgia Posts: 366	Ron, I just take an old dinner fork and slide into the side of each cell and gently scoop out the clump of plants, then I pull them apart. At 4 weeks from sowing, the plants are pretty darn tough! __________________ Farmers don't wear watches; they work until the job is done!

March 17, 2008	#111
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Yes, Ron - I pop out the cell of up to 35 seedlings - because I use nice, fluffy soilless mix, the plants can be gently pulled apart with no issues at all! Sure, a few roots are broken, but you just plant them deeply into their new home, give them a drink, ease them into the sun - I have a 99+% success rate (and figure I can do about 150 4 inch pots per hour!) __________________ Craig

March 20, 2008	#112
gardenhappy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: PLANT CITY Posts: 255	seedlins WOW,i'm impressed!!! I thought i was crowding with 5 seeds in each 1'' cube!!!! Thanks for sharing this and i have to give it a try!!!!

April 2, 2008	#113
fatboy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: MN Posts: 17	What is your garage temp at? What is your garage temp at when you put you seedlings out there? How do you get your seeds to spread out so nice in your flats?

March 15, 2008	#107
FarmerCathy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Carmichael, CA Posts: 42	Yeah, they are a little sickly compared to my robust coustralee and Stump O' The World plants. I will have to note that for next year.

March 15, 2008	#108
maupin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Northern Thailand Posts: 77	Craig--this is my first year trying the dense planting method, and it is working quite nicely. If you could only make it stop raining I would sing folk songs to your name.

March 16, 2008	#109
ronbrew Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bay Area California Posts: 23	Maybe I'm ahead of myself here but I was wondering How you take out each cell after they are all clumped together like that. If it was one cell only you could turn it over carefully with your hands and all the soil and seedling would come out in one clump keeping everything intact. But when you have a whole tray and you want to take out each one at a time I'm wondering how you do that? Maybe it's so dense you can pull them all up with your hands without injuring them or? Ron

April 3, 2008	#114
the999bbq Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 191	What this post learns me is that you should not be afraid to drop a seed too many ;-) However I will stick to my "precision sowing in 3cm newspaper rolls" I guess - take-away chopsticks with moist tip are a seed magnet so I can put 4 seeds into these rolls with ease (and speed). The amount of soil needed is relatively small (not as small as the deno method of sowing of course ;-) ) but I don't have to sow 3000 tomatoes.... The rolls in the picture are 4 days after sowing, the seedlings are up for about a day and are already leaning to the light outside. With my setup it is easy to take the rolls out the propagator and under the lights. I tried large flats and pricking seedlings out, and I tried the flats with individual containers where you need the agility of a magician to get the seedlings out. In my setup my 1,5 year old daughter can take out a single container. Dense sowing to me means lots of varieties in a relatively small space... When I transplant them after they have been under the lights for some time I only have to 'disturb' the four brothers and sisters at most. Peter

April 3, 2008	#115
Leroy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Oklahoma /6 Posts: 78	Nice Peter. What are you using for trays?

April 3, 2008	#116
the999bbq Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 191	The eight newspaper rolls are in plastic food containers of 10 by 10 cm (normally with lid). I had the opportunity once to go through the remaining stuff in a building that was used as a Korean restaurant and found two big cardboard boxes full of these things ;-). Fifteen of those containers fit perfectly in my standard heated propagator (40/60), where they sit on a layer of wet sand. One of the newspaper rolls is sacrificed to house the temperature probe for the thermostat (+/- 23°C at the surface). Usually I take out the rolls by the label, unless all eight are germinated sufficiently of course. This setup makes it easy to rearrange the rolls so that they are always grouped by eight, food containers that are emptied this way can be used immediately for the next batch of heat loving seeds. I start with peppers, than paprikas, than tomatoes, than melons/cucumbers/... and fill up the gaps in between the sowings with other seeds (basil,...) to keep the propagator as full as possible at all time. The biggest advantage for me is the fact that I don't have to disturb the slower seeds and that I can take out the seeds as soon as possible. It seems that not only the low light conditions in late winter/early spring make them leggy but also the warm environment - one day they are up, the next day they are 2 or 3 inches towards the light. Now I can lift them out in seconds whenever I pass by the propagator (before I leave to work, when I come back home, whenever...) - I try to leave the lid close as long as possible to create the 'tensed humidity' in the first few days. I was lazy at first, labelling only one container in a row of the same variety but that didn't go well with the 'resourcemanagement' (usually the container with the label where among the first to go, thanks Murphy), and two accidents later (dropping a container of 8 rolls) I decided never to leave a roll unlabelled. This is how I do it now, and it works so good for me that I can recommend it a lot. Making the rolls is a matter of seconds too (I use a solar lamppost of a lamp that my dog ran into pieces as the 'mold'), I prepare them in front of the tv (call it nitting for men) Peter

January 18, 2009	#117
maricybele Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Oregon zone 8 Posts: 99	Nc Tomatoman, Approximately what temperature is your garage and what size do move the tranplants to the cooler garage? Last edited by maricybele; January 18, 2009 at 12:48 AM.

January 18, 2009	#118
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Hi! My garage is quite cool prob 40-45 at night, up to 55-60 during the day, depending upon the weather. I find that the more time they spend in full sun on nice days the better - so I do slowly move them into full fun and back inside at night... Will be getting things going soon - each season I learn more...and as I do, I will post more! __________________ Craig