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

[nctomatoman]

This is a bit rough but works well enough - we may do a retake, but until then...

http://www.youtube.com/user/nctomato.../0/CoYgX3y5ptQ

Second video - this is about what to do when the seedlings start to emerge

http://nctomatoman.weebly.com/1/post...seedlings.html

Third video (pretty brief) - discussing speed of germination/progress 5 days from planting, and seed starting mix/minimizing disease

http://nctomatoman.weebly.com/1/post...g-madness.html

March 11 update video - progress report

http://nctomatoman.weebly.com/1/post...ate-video.html

March 17 update video - plant separation and transplanting (finally!)...will probably do a retake in a week or so with better closeups, but it is a start (as of 12:45 EST, it is uploaded but being processed...won't be visible for a little while, but now should work fine - the privacy setting is correct this time)

http://nctomatoman.weebly.com/1/post...ideo-post.html

Here is a better transplanting video I made today - one handed transplanting!

http://nctomatoman.weebly.com/1/post...up-closer.html

June 12 garden update

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8udYoAG7ZOU

June 30 - series of update videos for different garden areas -

http://nctomatoman.weebly.com/nctoma...rden-blog.html

(look for the June 30 blog entry beyond today)
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NOTE - I am going to remove any of the pic links that were on topcities (they used to be here, below.....but since the ServerPro topcities site is infected with malware - and there is no way to get to the control panel...you will have to make do with the videos above...

I will find the pics again at some point and put them on my weebly server - but won't get to it for a few weeks at least.

[Dr_Redwine]

Thanks for posting that. I had read your method for planting before and had a good idea of how you do your planting. Seeing it is another animal. WOW!
DrR

[PNW_D]

Beautiful baby peppers Craig.

Do they keep the starter leaves colour?

[Grub]

Thanks Craig.

That all looks simple enough and is pretty much what I do, thanks to your and Carolyn's help, but I only put about five seeds per cell. And then I freak out about them overcrowding, especially if I wait for the first true leaves before transplant. They get pretty close. Can’t wait to see how close yours are before you transplant them.

I am assuming you wait for first true leaves before transplanting? Even then I worry about damaging the roots during transplanting. I reckon root damage combined with a bit of cool or cold weather can give my babies the stunted purples. Maybe the heat mat helps overcome this.

BTW: What is the incendiary in the second frame? Looks like a Molotov cocktail. Don’t you like the postman?

Thanks for the pics. Looking forward to following their progress. Particularly fond of the micro jungle

[nctomatoman]

Denise, it is interesting - some with the purple cotyledons have darker green leaves with purplish shading, some are variegated, some black as night - - after a while, I've learned what to expect in the cotyledons of each variety (helps to spot crosses)!

Grub, I've been doing it like this for years. They can get very dense and are still happy - and I don't feed them - just sun and water (when it is warm enough for sun!). They do need sunlight fairly quickly - become unhappy under artificial light before long.

Yes, I wait for true leaves before transplanting. The plants seperate very easily - I think it is the fluffy soilless mix that aids this. Even if a few roots are damaged with the gentle tug, the plants recover fine. I will post a series of transplant pictures at the time.

And, if the plants in the clump are really struggling with crowding, I just pop out the clump and plant the entire thing in a 4 inch pot - they can last this way for several weeks. If I couldn't do things this way, there is no way I could start 5000 or so plants without a greenhouse!

Ah, that purplish dangerous looking item is a ......

Hummingbird Feeder!!!!

(you made me have quite a laugh - was talking to Carolyn as I read that, and she now knows I've lost my mind, as I giggled helplessly at your comment!)

[Catntree]

Craig, I've followed your lead with the seed starting for a couple years, now....works great!!!!
Nice pics!

[Warped]

ill be starting from seed for first time later this year after winter and i think ill be bookmarking your seed starting pics/tips ect!

[nctomatoman]

Ah, Keeping Track! On each flat, I put a white sticker on each of the four corners - left front is T1, or E1, etc (tomato flat 1, eggplant flat 1, etc) and a "1" - right front cell "10" - I also put dots on 41 and 50. So the cells are numbered 1-50, front left to front right, rows front to back).

I have a notebook with the cell number, variety name and vial number. And it is all backed up on an Excel spreadsheet that is backed up on a memory stick, and a CD Rom.

As a preferentially disorganized person (myers briggs ENFP), all of this organized record keeping is like doing vigorous exercise!

[Grub]

Hey, Craig,

What does you wife think of the tomato seedlings in the house, the dirt and water, and your obsession, I mean hobby, in general?

I guess she would be used to it by now, but there must be occasions where you catch her ?

Thanks and maybe I will hear more about the Hummingbirds in conversations when you have an idle moment? If there is such a thing :wink:

[nctomatoman]

Grub -

Very interesting comment - what to do with the obsession? We've been married for 25 years, so my various obsessions are not new to her (she of course is my longest "obsession"!!!) - she's endured, and enjoyed, my ECM Jazz, Mahler symphonies, wine, cooking - those were pretty heavy hobbies with depth - seems like its now narrowed down to the tomato thing. She loves tomatoes as well - if she has an obsession , it is collecting fabric to make her marvelous quilts.

I am pretty good about keeping the mess out of the house, or cleaning it up if I make it. She really does lend quite a hand during transplanting time (she is very good with tiny seedlings!). All in all, we do very well with these things - probably because we leave plenty of time for each other (our incredibly peaceful trips to the outer banks avec kayaks and dogs!).

Funny - that Hummingbird feeder is more of a decoration. We find that our deep blue, perennial Salvia Guaranitica is a much better magnet, and much less labor intensive, than keeping track of the liquid in the feeder!

[frecklejuice]

Super illustration!!!

Hi Craig!!!!!

I have four flats on my back porch with 1-3 seeds in each cell. I will definately try your method for my next flat.

Thanks
Sam[/url]

[Grub]

You sound like happy campers, Craig. Good stuff.

I think these tomatoes, what do they call them, love apples, have very powerful properties. Lol

Never seen a hummingbird. One day.
Best wishes, Grubs.

[markferon]

looks like a lot wasted seeds to me since you will lose so many in transplanting or culling.

Admin Translation suggestion:

Wow, you have a lot of seedlings in each cell. Do they all make it when you transplant them?

Mischka

[nctomatoman]

Well, Mark, since I have a 99% success rate in transplanting, and actually sell or donate seedlings at a local farmer's market and to friends and neighbors, (no culling, no waste), once again you exhibit your, shall we say, shallow and uninformed response style that I've heard about and noticed on this forum.

Please try to add to the knowledge and value of this forum, instead of just offending.

[markferon]

nc no just from some posts i have seen lately I assumed you lost a lot or culled all but the strongest because that seems the way some people are in how they grow. As for me i do 1 seed per 1 in. pot for sprouting.

nc you did not have be insulting.