Seeds are up and going.

sprtsguy76 · January 18, 2010

Kind of a semi-dense seed starting set up i got here (thanks to Craigs idea). I put about 4-6 seeds in each cell (more than enough for me). I like the simplicity of it already. I'm gonna pot these up in a week or two.

Damon

ddsack · January 18, 2010

That's pretty much how I do it too. Works great. I normally only need two plants for each variety, so I plant 4-6 seeds so I have a couple for insurance, and some to give away. I do space my seeds equadistantly, one near each corner of the square. Sometimes you get seeds that sprout unevenly, and that way I can remove any early sprouting giants without much disturbance should they outgrow the slower sprouting seeds.

Your seedlings look really stocky and healthy! I don't get to start mine until the end of March.

Worth1 · January 19, 2010

Damon I always plant seeds like that.

They get to a given size and I then separate the seedlings into Bigger pots.

I have to tell you all I'm not very gentile with my plants.
They ARE plants and I rip roots and beat the root ball on the back of my truck.

They never go into shock.

Good job Damon good job indeed.

Here is a picture of the plants I started in 2008.
I'm not starting seeds this year and its killing me.
These plants are 2 months old from seed sow on 12/25/07

Worth

salix · January 19, 2010

Worth, that looks like my driveway in April/May! I agree, crowded seedlings are easily separated by just dropping the rootball and picked up individually for potting on. My theory is that they are so glad to be less crowded that they immediately start growing like gangbusters. By the way, is that shelf unit made of re-bar? ...and how tall is it (or how many shelves are there capable of holding 20" transplants)?

Worth1 · January 19, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by salix

Worth, that looks like my driveway in April/May! I agree, crowded seedlings are easily separated by just dropping the rootball and picked up individually for potting on. My theory is that they are so glad to be less crowded that they immediately start growing like gangbusters. By the way, is that shelf unit made of re-bar? ...and how tall is it (or how many shelves are there capable of holding 20" transplants)?

I think it is some grocery store scrap or something. it was here when I bought the place.
Right now it is doing duty as shelves for my paint.

Worth

GHurt · January 19, 2010

It looks like a older style bread rack that was used to unload the bread truck..Worked in retail for the first 15 yrs of my working life :0)

b54red · January 20, 2010

I just planted the seed for 18 varieties today and will plant another 20 or so in a week or two and do it again in another week or two.
I use egg cartons planting only one seed per cup. I plant 3 varieties per carton if I want two or three of a single variety. As long as I have a 50% germination rate I will have more than enough plants for myself and to give away.
Planting a single seed allows me to remove the seedling with a spoon without disturbing the roots and have little or no shock when potting up. I've also noticed I have little or no damping off since I started using this method a couple of years ago; maybe it's just the little extra air space between seedlings or maybe I've been lucky.
The egg cartons are cheap and easy to label ( just write on the flap). The biggest problem is remembering to save them.

January 18, 2010	#1
sprtsguy76 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Santa Clara CA Posts: 1,125	Seeds are up and going. Kind of a semi-dense seed starting set up i got here (thanks to Craigs idea). I put about 4-6 seeds in each cell (more than enough for me). I like the simplicity of it already. I'm gonna pot these up in a week or two. Damon

January 18, 2010	#2
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,231	That's pretty much how I do it too. Works great. I normally only need two plants for each variety, so I plant 4-6 seeds so I have a couple for insurance, and some to give away. I do space my seeds equadistantly, one near each corner of the square. Sometimes you get seeds that sprout unevenly, and that way I can remove any early sprouting giants without much disturbance should they outgrow the slower sprouting seeds. Your seedlings look really stocky and healthy! I don't get to start mine until the end of March. __________________ Dee **************

January 19, 2010	#3
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Damon I always plant seeds like that. They get to a given size and I then separate the seedlings into Bigger pots. I have to tell you all I'm not very gentile with my plants. They ARE plants and I rip roots and beat the root ball on the back of my truck. They never go into shock. Good job Damon good job indeed. Here is a picture of the plants I started in 2008. I'm not starting seeds this year and its killing me. These plants are 2 months old from seed sow on 12/25/07 Worth Last edited by Worth1; January 19, 2010 at 10:37 AM.

January 19, 2010	#4
salix Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: north central B.C. Posts: 2,310	Worth, that looks like my driveway in April/May! I agree, crowded seedlings are easily separated by just dropping the rootball and picked up individually for potting on. My theory is that they are so glad to be less crowded that they immediately start growing like gangbusters. By the way, is that shelf unit made of re-bar? ...and how tall is it (or how many shelves are there capable of holding 20" transplants)?

January 19, 2010	#6
GHurt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 22	It looks like a older style bread rack that was used to unload the bread truck..Worked in retail for the first 15 yrs of my working life :0)

January 20, 2010	#7
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I just planted the seed for 18 varieties today and will plant another 20 or so in a week or two and do it again in another week or two. I use egg cartons planting only one seed per cup. I plant 3 varieties per carton if I want two or three of a single variety. As long as I have a 50% germination rate I will have more than enough plants for myself and to give away. Planting a single seed allows me to remove the seedling with a spoon without disturbing the roots and have little or no shock when potting up. I've also noticed I have little or no damping off since I started using this method a couple of years ago; maybe it's just the little extra air space between seedlings or maybe I've been lucky. The egg cartons are cheap and easy to label ( just write on the flap). The biggest problem is remembering to save them.