Some pictures - seedlings in my garage

[nctomatoman]

It is nearing 32 tonight, so the babies are spending the night inside (that is not the height of the lights when they are spending days under them....earlier in the season, they were much lower).

Time to start transplanting!!!

The pic with the two more sparsely populated flats are mostly the Dwarf project seedlings.

[Tania]

nice little jungle you've got in each tray!

[nctomatoman]

yessiree....I figure about 1200 or so little babies in each flat. Should keep me out of trouble for a few weeks as they all move in to their own home...

[Tania]

Happy transplanting Craig!

Now it is pretty obvious that the spring is out there... somewhere... still very cold here at the PNW, but I know it's coming... I do not dare to bring my tomato babies to a cold frame yet - only cabbages and lettuces are there so far.

[duajones]

Looking good there Craig! Good luck with your growing this year!

Duane

[feldon30]

Awesome looking plants there, Craig!

I'm going to probably grow 100 Sungold, 100 Black Cherry, and 100 Sweet 100 plants next year, as well as some staple tomato varieties and a few others and see what people will buy.

[BVGardener]

Okay Craig, tell us how you keep your sanity while potting up all of those seedlings......how long does it take you? Do you work out on the cement or do you work from a table?

Is a glass of wine in order after potting up each flat of 1200?

Jay

[nctomatoman]

Good point re keeping the sanity! I have to admit to the transplanting act as therapy - something completely different from my day job...though now that my day job is going away, I wonder if it will impact my feeling about it!

Let's see, how do I do it....I vary things by actually writing out the labels as I need them. So the process - Fill 15 pots with MetroMix, poke holes in the soil, pop out the plant cluster and separate into seedlings, nudge them into the mix, water, count and record seedling number, leaf shape, leaf color (for hot peppers - since I grow many purple leaf, and can check for crossing - also helps me keep records on germination of any given seed lot for a variety), then write out the labels, put them in the pots, put the pots in the basket tray, then onto the garage floor for a few days to acclimate. I think I can do 100-150 pots her hour - essentially a row of 10 - so when I am really cranking along, I can do a flat in 5-6 hours. Peppers and eggplant are quicker (I plant less of each variety - typical aim is for a flat of 15 plants), tomatoes can take nearly twice as long, as I have up to 30 or more seeds per cell on some.

I work at a table in the garage, standing on a piece of carpet, listening to music - it is great to do on a mild spring evening with the crickets chirping outside!

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by BVGardener

--------------------
Is a glass of wine in order after potting up each flat of 1200?

Jay

Yes. Only after writing 1200 labels

dcarch

[bryanccfshr]

I am having a sympathy glass for you as I type this!

[BVGardener]

Craig, interesting you mention music. Last weekend I took a portable radio out to the garden and tuned in some classical music. It helped the time go by while raking in the soil amendments. Where I live I can only get one station that plays classical so I have to live with their playlist.

Jay

[billbird2111]

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

Good point re keeping the sanity! I have to admit to the transplanting act as therapy - something completely different from my day job...though now that my day job is going away, I wonder if it will impact my feeling about it!

Let's see, how do I do it....I vary things by actually writing out the labels as I need them. So the process - Fill 15 pots with MetroMix, poke holes in the soil, pop out the plant cluster and separate into seedlings, nudge them into the mix, water, count and record seedling number, leaf shape, leaf color (for hot peppers - since I grow many purple leaf, and can check for crossing - also helps me keep records on germination of any given seed lot for a variety), then write out the labels, put them in the pots, put the pots in the basket tray, then onto the garage floor for a few days to acclimate. I think I can do 100-150 pots her hour - essentially a row of 10 - so when I am really cranking along, I can do a flat in 5-6 hours. Peppers and eggplant are quicker (I plant less of each variety - typical aim is for a flat of 15 plants), tomatoes can take nearly twice as long, as I have up to 30 or more seeds per cell on some.

I work at a table in the garage, standing on a piece of carpet, listening to music - it is great to do on a mild spring evening with the crickets chirping outside!

See, I would have so many cups of draft beer during this process that I would probably lose count after, say, 12.

That's probably why the vast majority of my starters up and died on me this year.

Oh well, back to the drawing board.