I learned a big lesson in seed starting...

[spyfferoni]

Label the cells even if you make a map!!! I made a map when I planted my peppers seeds, but the other day I noticed that some of the peppers to the outside edge of the flat weren't germinating as well as the ones to the middle, so I rotated them. It wasn't until the next day that I realized what i had done. I think I can figure out most of them---by rotating them again and hoping that they end up in their original spot, but I won't be saving seed from them unless it is just for my own use. I still have seeds left for most, so I'll be more careful next year. I'll be able to identify the bells, but many of the varieties are new to me and there isn't a lot of information for them online.
Needless to say, I was much more careful when I seeded my tomatoes and I labeled each cell.

Learning as I grow.

Tyff

[feldon30]

Oh dear!

I put tomatoes at one end and peppers at the other. I suppose putting a marker or tag in one corner and designating it as Top Right would help.

[bonekittyslug]

Yes, too easy to get things mixed up.

I cured that problem by making a label that said "#1 Front" and stuck it on...you guessed it.. the front of the tray. Now with the map everything stays proper even if I turn the tray.

[dirtdigging101]

oh yeay i know the feeling , just so sure when i'm planting that i will not mess up. i know i have miss labeled some of my red octobers as brandy boy and visa versa too. maybe at transplant time i can sort it out

[Tomstrees]

I made sure there was no peat inbetween trays - and used a number system for each tray with a map ...
Fingers crossed it works !

lol ~ Tom

[spyfferoni]

My problem was I had the flat filled with 6 packs and most 6 packs are 2-4 varieties. I should of known better!

[ddsack]

I can't get around using individual labels in each set of cells. Some areas near the edges of my heat mat are cooler, so I end up shuffling the cell packs every which direction like a Rubiks Cube so they can take their turn in the center of the tray. I did make a chart using Feldon's nice templates for my peppers, but it's not going to be of much use after I start shuffling the cells.

I make my own labels from cut-up gallon milk jugs, the white plastic purchased ones are all too long. I want them short enough so they stick up less than an inch above the soil line. The clear domes fit better, and less chance of the markers being knocked out by playful cats or clumsy people. I cut them in long triangle shapes, so there is enough room to write on the top edge, they don't have to be perfect. The base of the milk jug makes a nice little tray to store them.





My pepper trays are currently using all the heat mat space. I might not use the heat mat on my tomatoes, but even so I will have the same shuffling problem once they start sprouting. I rotate the outside cells inward so the outer rows of seedlings don't always lean toward the lights, in no particular order, it depends on which sprout first, or which look more spindly.

[Miss_Mudcat]

Spyff,

I did the same thing just recently with a 1/2 tray of tomatoes. Luckily I had left a few cells empty and with Potato and Regular leafed varieties I was able to orient it in the right direction.

What I can't get over is how absent mindedly I did it... with nare a thought until I got out the map and noticed PL where RL was supposed to be.... It's tough gettin' old.

Lisa

[spyfferoni]

I can't use the excuse that I'm getting old, but I swear with each baby I have I loose some brain cells. I think the 3's are worse than the terrible 2's. Yes, I have a 3 yr old right now.

Tyff

[sirtanon]

My solution to this sort of thing is a lot like some others have mentioned. I take some nail polish (the wife's ) and mark one corner of each 6-pack or flat that I use.. THAT one corner marks cell # 1. So, for the packs, I have a Blue-1, Red-1, Pink-1, etc..

[shelleybean]

I use the plastic labels that are only four inches high. These fit under the plastic dome nicely except for the domes made by Jiffy. For some reason, those Jiffy domes are smaller than the others I have and a four inch label stake doesn't allow the dome to sit on the tray properly. They come in packages of 50 and cost about $3 at my two local garden centers. Heirloom Seeds also sells them but I can't recall their price. These work well if you use small pots like I do or you use the plastic cells in the trays, along with the domes. I just checked the label. They're made by a company called Rapiclip. I've used these for the last six years or so and have no complaints.

[gardenmama]

I have found that 9 oz size disposable white plastic drinking cups make great labels for seed flats. I pinch the cup together until the rim cracks in two, then keep pinching until I have 12-16 cracks around the rim. These cracks extend easily with a tug and soon I have a nice sunburst (or very leggy spider as my daughter calls it). A few snips with the scissors to cut each spider leg into 2 pieces and I now have 24-32 2" long labels. They are the right size to fit in my 20 row seeds starting flat and easily fit under the dome lids as well. The added advantage is that they are extremely cheap, so you can label every cell if you use a 72 cell (12 x 6-pack) Jiffy system.

Sorry I can't post a pic or two, I'm in TN helping my parents pack up their home of 29 years as they get ready to move to a Senior Living community. DH is on seedling watch until I return Sat afternoon. He had an intense 30 minute lesson on monitoring germination, proper misting of the newly germinated and most importantly, petting of the 2 week old seedlings. I had just sown the 2 batch of seeds, and transplanted 1/2 of the original sowing (about 500 17 day old seedlings), prior to leaving yesterday, so he has lots to keep him busy!!

[gardengalrn]

Sirtanon....sure....wife's nail polish Tyff, I have come to the conclusion that while we love our children, they do induce a rapid brain cell destruction sequence, starting at the age of 2 or so. They are still cute at that age and containment is possible so only a few cells are being destroyed at any given time. The mother brain works overtime and thus repairs itself during periods of nappage, preferably nappage by both mother and child. By the age of 15-16, the real progressive nature of this ailment becomes apparent. Brain cells are now dying off at a rapid rate and cannot be repaired or replaced. You become someone who is slightly brain damaged, you have no social skills, you don't know a thing about clothes, you don't understand anything to do with your child, and you don't understand a thing they say. "Botard" is perhaps a variation on the Mad Cow Virus or perhaps...a version of "moron," in either case you don't condone it's usage. This is the only disease that perhaps gets better with age...we'll see.
P.S. Sorry, rant...

[dirtdigging101]

ok, tell me it is not soo doctor lol

at least my screw up is pl vs rl so will beable to sort it out, i will do better next year

[Mischka]

Originally Posted by dirtdigging101

oh yeay i know the feeling , just so sure when i'm planting that i will not mess up. i know i have miss labeled some of my red octobers as brandy boy and visa versa too. maybe at transplant time i can sort it out

It should be very easy to distinguish the Brandy Boy from Red October. Red October is regular leaved and Brandy Boy is potato leaved.

Sorry to hear of your mishap. In addition to using a map of the seed tray, (available here http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=3474 ) I also write the name of the varieties on the seedling trays with a silver Sharpie marker...learned my lesson the hard way once, too.