I got that feeling last night. It sneaked up on me.

Fusion_power · December 29, 2013

So I planted 5 trays of onion seed. Time to dig out the celery seed and get it started. Also time to plan for pea planting in February and potatoes in March.

I need to inventory pepper and tomato seed and see what I have to start early. It is time to start dropping seed for the earliest shipments to Florida and Texas.

rnewste · December 30, 2013

Darrel,

I know what you mean - - I also got the "itch" today and started my Stupice, Siberia, Bloody Butcher, and other earlies today in seed trays. Hopefully, they will be able to go outside here in mid-February.

Raybo

Rachel W · December 30, 2013

This will be my second year in my house and my second year gardening as well! I bought a lot of seeds in the discount aisle after summer was over so I have started taking inventory this week myself.
My little box of seeds have a ziplock for each type of plant. Tomatoes in one, carrots in another, leafy greens in the next, and so on and so forth.
I realized yesterday that I need more herbs. I only have some basil and some parsley. Definitely shorted myself there somehow! I've gotta get cilantro, dill, Stevia, thyme, Rosemary, and oregano. That's just the ones I can think off off the top of my head right now.
I'm excited but I'm pretty sure its too early for me too start anything for the year just yet. I love an hour north of Seattle WA.

newatthiskat · December 30, 2013

Have planted some of my pepper seeds. going to plant some more ppers and a few tomatoes this am. Definitely getting the bug! now to find room for all the seed trays!

ginger2778 · December 30, 2013

And I just made a huge pot of sauce yesterday.

Good luck to you all this upcoming season.

Marsha

December 30, 2013

I planted six cells each of twelve pepper varieties on November 20. I planted three cells each of thirty eight tomato varieties on December 10. Each cell of both pepper and tomato received at least two seeds. All have germinated and are growing well. On December 26, I removed the Juliet, Porter Improved, and Jaune Flamme cherry tomato seedlings and trashed them. I've grown them in the past and it seemed a little boring to grow them again. I replaced them with Isis Candy, Riesentraube, and Sweet Quartz cherry tomato seed. That variety mixture of cherry tomato plants with my Black Cherry should provide a balance of size, color, and taste, I've not grown them in the past and it seems a little more exciting to grow something new to me. My intent is to grow all of the plants taller this year before plant out in early March.

I rebuilt my light table this year giving me thirty six inches of height instead of twenty four inches. It should allow me to grow my plants taller before setting them outside to harden off. I still germinate my seed about two inches below the lights and remove blocks from under the growing deck as they grow. In past years, the plants would be touching the bulbs when I moved them outside. I'm curious to see if they touch the bulbs this year.

Of my pepper plants, only Aji Dulce didn't germinate well with only two seeds of twelve planted. germinating. The Aji Dulce seed was purchased from a seed vendor who also supplied most of my pepper seeds which have germinated well. I have already removed the weaker plants from each pepper cell leaving only the strongest to grow. Only the three strongest plants of the six growing will be planted out.

I plant my pepper seed in cells full of soil and they never seem to get wobbly on small root systems. I plant my tomato seeds in only one inch of soil and then fill in around their stems with an additional two inches of soil after the true leaves and stem reach the top of each cell. My method seems to make the plants grow taller and stronger in each cell after the extra plants have been removed leaving only the strongest. My pepper plants are two inches tall and the tomato plants are mostly three inches tall.

In the past, I always up potted my plants. Last year, I didn't up pot them and they grew as well by adding soil after germination as they grew in years past. I haven't decided if I will up pot this year. I am pretty sure I will up pot the peppers because they are in smaller cells, but possibly not up pot the tomatoes from larger cells. It didn't seem to make any difference with the tomato plants last year.

All of my plants seem to be growing a little slower under four, thirty two watt; T8 bulbs than they grew under four, forty watt; T12 bulbs in years past. I need to look at the lumen output of the T8 bulbs in comparison to the lumen output of the T12 bulbs and possibly add a third T8 fixture to achieve the same lumen output as my old T12 fixtures.

I enjoy germinating plants in the winter almost as much as I enjoy growing plants in the summer because it keeps my mind occupied through the winter.

Ted

Sun City Linda · December 30, 2013

I already have cute little earlies showing.

And some Siberians ready to plant out.

I have discovered a small, protected "sweet spot" in my yard where nothing freezes. Currently, it is sheltering two potted Sungolds, both blooming and setting and a potted Prudens Purple with one tomato.

December 30, 2013

Linda,

It has been a much colder winter this year than years past. I had to break ice on the water trough this morning for the cows and pour some hot water into the watering can for the chickens to melt the ice. I've had to do it three or four mornings each week for the past month. I didn't do it at all last year. Our coldest month is January normally so I can't imagine it getting much colder next month than it has been. If January gets even colder this winter, I will just order a good supply of whale blubber on the internet and stay in the house living on whale blubber. I'm hoping the extended cold weather will eliminate some of the over wintering insects for next years garden. There would have been no way any of my garden plants could find a "sweet spot" to survive or thrive through the winter.

Ted

Sun City Linda · December 30, 2013

We have only had one round of killing frost so far where I live in inland SoCal. It took out all the rest of my tomato plants which were out in the open. That's when I discovered that the plants facing South under a small overhang against my house survived. It is a pretty small area, but large enough for two Earthboxes! I am planting Siberians in one of the EBs today and the Prudens and one SunGold in the other. I have had tomato plants under the eves overwinter before so I am hopeful!

NarnianGarden · December 30, 2013

It's still too dark here, waiting until the end of Jan/ first week of Feb.

The it's going to be sunny and bright enough on my window - time to officially open the season!

Geezer · December 30, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger2778

And I just made a huge pot of sauce yesterday.

Good luck to you all this upcoming season.

Marsha

From looking at that picture, y'all sure know how to hurt a Yankee!

Evil Ed

Patihum · December 30, 2013

Got the feeling but it will be a couple of weeks before I can start even onions. It was nine degrees when I got up this morning.

ljp · December 30, 2013

I love an hour north of Seattle WA.[/QUOTE]

Happy to hear you and your friend are getting along.

pdxwindjammer · December 30, 2013

I started inventory on my pepper and tomato seeds to see which ones I am going to grow in 2014. Unfortunately, I won't be able to start my super hots until after Jan. 22nd because I will be on vacation in New Orleans. Then I will immediately start my super hots, then the rest of my peppers toward the end of Feb., then tomatoes in mid March. Most people don't plant tomatoes or peppers in the ground until after May 15th.

Rachel W · December 31, 2013

Ha ha! LJP! Auto correct changed so many words that i typed i didn't even care what it really said when i was done! And it shows lol!

December 29, 2013	#1
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	I got that feeling last night. It sneaked up on me. So I planted 5 trays of onion seed. Time to dig out the celery seed and get it started. Also time to plan for pea planting in February and potatoes in March. I need to inventory pepper and tomato seed and see what I have to start early. It is time to start dropping seed for the earliest shipments to Florida and Texas.

December 30, 2013	#6
tedln Guest Posts: n/a	I planted six cells each of twelve pepper varieties on November 20. I planted three cells each of thirty eight tomato varieties on December 10. Each cell of both pepper and tomato received at least two seeds. All have germinated and are growing well. On December 26, I removed the Juliet, Porter Improved, and Jaune Flamme cherry tomato seedlings and trashed them. I've grown them in the past and it seemed a little boring to grow them again. I replaced them with Isis Candy, Riesentraube, and Sweet Quartz cherry tomato seed. That variety mixture of cherry tomato plants with my Black Cherry should provide a balance of size, color, and taste, I've not grown them in the past and it seems a little more exciting to grow something new to me. My intent is to grow all of the plants taller this year before plant out in early March. I rebuilt my light table this year giving me thirty six inches of height instead of twenty four inches. It should allow me to grow my plants taller before setting them outside to harden off. I still germinate my seed about two inches below the lights and remove blocks from under the growing deck as they grow. In past years, the plants would be touching the bulbs when I moved them outside. I'm curious to see if they touch the bulbs this year. Of my pepper plants, only Aji Dulce didn't germinate well with only two seeds of twelve planted. germinating. The Aji Dulce seed was purchased from a seed vendor who also supplied most of my pepper seeds which have germinated well. I have already removed the weaker plants from each pepper cell leaving only the strongest to grow. Only the three strongest plants of the six growing will be planted out. I plant my pepper seed in cells full of soil and they never seem to get wobbly on small root systems. I plant my tomato seeds in only one inch of soil and then fill in around their stems with an additional two inches of soil after the true leaves and stem reach the top of each cell. My method seems to make the plants grow taller and stronger in each cell after the extra plants have been removed leaving only the strongest. My pepper plants are two inches tall and the tomato plants are mostly three inches tall. In the past, I always up potted my plants. Last year, I didn't up pot them and they grew as well by adding soil after germination as they grew in years past. I haven't decided if I will up pot this year. I am pretty sure I will up pot the peppers because they are in smaller cells, but possibly not up pot the tomatoes from larger cells. It didn't seem to make any difference with the tomato plants last year. All of my plants seem to be growing a little slower under four, thirty two watt; T8 bulbs than they grew under four, forty watt; T12 bulbs in years past. I need to look at the lumen output of the T8 bulbs in comparison to the lumen output of the T12 bulbs and possibly add a third T8 fixture to achieve the same lumen output as my old T12 fixtures. I enjoy germinating plants in the winter almost as much as I enjoy growing plants in the summer because it keeps my mind occupied through the winter. Ted Last edited by tedln; December 30, 2013 at 12:09 PM.

December 30, 2013	#8
tedln Guest Posts: n/a	Linda, It has been a much colder winter this year than years past. I had to break ice on the water trough this morning for the cows and pour some hot water into the watering can for the chickens to melt the ice. I've had to do it three or four mornings each week for the past month. I didn't do it at all last year. Our coldest month is January normally so I can't imagine it getting much colder next month than it has been. If January gets even colder this winter, I will just order a good supply of whale blubber on the internet and stay in the house living on whale blubber. I'm hoping the extended cold weather will eliminate some of the over wintering insects for next years garden. There would have been no way any of my garden plants could find a "sweet spot" to survive or thrive through the winter. Ted Last edited by tedln; December 30, 2013 at 01:48 PM.

December 30, 2013	#2
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	Darrel, I know what you mean - - I also got the "itch" today and started my Stupice, Siberia, Bloody Butcher, and other earlies today in seed trays. Hopefully, they will be able to go outside here in mid-February. Raybo

December 30, 2013	#3
Rachel W Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Everett WA, zone 8b Posts: 95	This will be my second year in my house and my second year gardening as well! I bought a lot of seeds in the discount aisle after summer was over so I have started taking inventory this week myself. My little box of seeds have a ziplock for each type of plant. Tomatoes in one, carrots in another, leafy greens in the next, and so on and so forth. I realized yesterday that I need more herbs. I only have some basil and some parsley. Definitely shorted myself there somehow! I've gotta get cilantro, dill, Stevia, thyme, Rosemary, and oregano. That's just the ones I can think off off the top of my head right now. I'm excited but I'm pretty sure its too early for me too start anything for the year just yet. I love an hour north of Seattle WA.

December 30, 2013	#4
newatthiskat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: texas Posts: 1,451	Have planted some of my pepper seeds. going to plant some more ppers and a few tomatoes this am. Definitely getting the bug! now to find room for all the seed trays!

December 30, 2013	#7
Sun City Linda Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SoCal Inland Posts: 2,705	I already have cute little earlies showing. And some Siberians ready to plant out. I have discovered a small, protected "sweet spot" in my yard where nothing freezes. Currently, it is sheltering two potted Sungolds, both blooming and setting and a potted Prudens Purple with one tomato.

December 30, 2013	#10
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	It's still too dark here, waiting until the end of Jan/ first week of Feb. The it's going to be sunny and bright enough on my window - time to officially open the season!

December 30, 2013	#12
Patihum Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Southeast Kansas Posts: 878	Got the feeling but it will be a couple of weeks before I can start even onions. It was nine degrees when I got up this morning.

December 30, 2013	#13
ljp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Edmonton Alberta Posts: 189	I love an hour north of Seattle WA.[/QUOTE] Happy to hear you and your friend are getting along.

December 30, 2013	#14
pdxwindjammer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 625	I started inventory on my pepper and tomato seeds to see which ones I am going to grow in 2014. Unfortunately, I won't be able to start my super hots until after Jan. 22nd because I will be on vacation in New Orleans. Then I will immediately start my super hots, then the rest of my peppers toward the end of Feb., then tomatoes in mid March. Most people don't plant tomatoes or peppers in the ground until after May 15th.

December 31, 2013	#15
Rachel W Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Everett WA, zone 8b Posts: 95	Ha ha! LJP! Auto correct changed so many words that i typed i didn't even care what it really said when i was done! And it shows lol!