Many questions starting from seed

[mich04]

Hi,
I decided this year that I am going all out with growing tomatoes. Over the last couple of years I have been growing tomatoes. Starting with around 10 plants two years ago, it was easy. Than I did around 200 hundred last year with 30 green pepper plants. Now I want to push close to 1500 this year plus like 500-800 green pepper plants. I had bought the tomato plants previously but now want to start from seed. I am renting a house now with my wife and we have a basement that is concrete, cool and I would say more dry than damp. Somebody had left 3 light ballast with standard 40 watt cool white florescent light bulbs two bulbs per ballast down there. my questions are

1. What size trays would be most efficient?
2. Do I really need to transplant them to bigger trays?
3. What light bulbs do I need to grow the plants?
4. How much soil will I need?
5. What type of soil will I need to start?

I guess if I knew how big of trays I needed I could figure out the soil requirements with simple math. I do want to keep cost low, but not if it increases the risk of failure. Thank you in advance.

[brokenbar]

Well...for me, I use those Rubbermaid-like, "under the bed" clear containers. They are roughly 3 feet long, 2 foot wide and 7" deep and cost me 7.99 each at Walmart but I have used them for 5 years, none leak and they are also great for bringing in all my green tomatoes at the end of the season when frost is imminent. I can fit 4 rows of 9, large styrofoam or plastic cups so that means 36 cups. I never have to repot them. I have a dual element light for every container. The lights are on chains for easy raising and lowering. I use Miracle Grow Potting mix and I just started 20 full trays (720 Pepper Plants) and used 8, 2 cubic foot bags (large) of potting mix and 720 large cups. Now this is just how I do it. Many on here use plugs and trays and other methods so wait and see what they have to say. This method works for me and means I don't have to handle the plants anymore than necessary but it is certainly not the only way of doing it. I will be starting 500 tomatos as well as melons, gourds, eggplant and pumpkins beginning the first of April. At that time, the peppers will be ready to move to conventional black flats (that all leak...even the brand new ones some times!) in the greenhouse.

[pete]

I start 720 plants a year. I use 20 flats with 36 plants per flat. I get the 6X6 3.25" deep cells. I do not transplant into larger cells, and I do plant out when the plants are only 6-10" tall. All this fits on a 4' wide, 2 feet deep shelving unit with 5 shelves. I put 3-4 48" dual ballast lights under each shelf to light the plants below. They are supported by a chain on each corner that attaches to a 1/4" rod that runs front to back. I have styrofoam to raise the flats up to the lights and remove layers as needed as they grow.
I use the cheapest lights I can find, cool or warm.

All these seedlings only use 6-8 cu. ft. of seed starting mix. I add extra perlite to the mix.

Here is a pic, but it is not set up with flats in place yet.

[Roger0799X]

For what its worth, I purchase Peat Pellets in a plastic tray with hood from Wal-mart each year. I then decide how many plants and what seed variety I choose to use. I diagram this on paper and then a couple squirts of warm water on selected Peat Pellets. Their position on paper allows me to know from the Pellets in the plastic tray the variety and how well they are doing. This allows me to follow their growth. I track this carefully for next season and only buy what was successful.

The Pellets will swell up to about 2" and they are ready to place seeds - 2 or 3 with the help of a pair of tweezers, 1/4" into Pellet. I water them with a squirt bottle when Pellets turn brownish. The tray is then placed on top of a freezer. Normally, in 4-5 days young plants pop-up about a 1" high. When all selected Pellets have seedlings up, I select the strongest plant and discard the other two.I then place them under grow lights with a timer for 10 hrs on and 14 hrs off. When the plants are up and growing, I keep raising the lights and after 6 weeks introduce them to the outside but only a few hours at a time, increasing time spent outdoors for about 10 days until final planting. Grow your own is my mantra!
If you need planting instructions, write me back...

[dice]

You might look at the "Dense Planting Illustrated" sticky
(first thread in this forum) for some ideas with that many
seedlings.

[nctomatoman]

You rang?!?!?!

Right now I have the equivalent of about 5000 plants growing in a table in my office. I've been using this method successfully for 15 or so years (and refine it a bit each year). I am actually doing a video documentation of how I start the seeds and hope to post it to my blog tomorrow.

Check out this post.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=437