Seed Starting Update

I documented the kickoff of my seed starting efforts back in March. The results turned out to be  less than satisfactory. I managed to kill about half the starts, usually because I forgot to water them after coming home from a late night at work.. By replanting I was able to salvage the tomatoes except for Opalka, a paste, which I replaced with purchased plants of Blue Beech. The peppers, given their long germination time, didn’t fare as well, so I planted out without Padron, Jimmy Nardello, sweet Red Cherry, and Tiburon Ancho.

 

I used 3/4” soil blocks for the tomatoes, intending to put them in 2” soil blocks when they got their first true leaves. The trouble with that size soil block is it has very small mass and quickly dries out if not watched and watered frequently, particularly in the bone dry inside air during a New England winter. They are also annoying with their tendency to fall over and roll around in the tray, scrambling any attempt I make to keep them sorted and identified. The 3/4” blocks are attractive because they are efficient and conserve space on the heat mat. I may try to devise some type of physical barrier to keep them upright and stationary in the trays I use.

 

 

The peppers were an experiment. I tried starting seeds in a medium, planning to transplant the germinated seedlings into 1 1/2” soil blocks after they germinated. I used a diatomaceous earth medium called UltraSorb, an automotive product used as an oil absorbent for garage floors. This was placed in a Styrofoam egg carton with holes in the bottom for drainage. The contents of each cell is easily marked on the size with a ball point pen.

 

 

This scheme did not work very well, but I am impressed with the UltraSorb. The major problem again is keeping the seeds/seedlings moist. The quantity of UltraSorb in the cells is small and coupled with its great aeration properties, the cells dry out quickly. It would be nice to use the carton lid for a tray to bottom water the cells, but the style of carton I have has the projection you see above to protect the eggs from crushing that interferes with that.

 

The other problem with the egg carton method and starting 10 types of peppers and eggplant is the wide range of germination times. With one grow light, a lot of space was taken by all the brassicas so there was no room for the heat mat. Once some peppers in the carton started germinating, they had to go under the grow light (without heat), so that extended the germination time for the rest. The big plus from trying this was the amazing, bushy root structures that the seedlings developed in the UltraSorb (which I did not photograph). That’s why I am going to try this again, hopefully with some better techniques to keep the medium from drying out.

Seed Starting 2014

It is officially spring now. The days are growing longer and the sun is definitely stronger and higher in the sky. A boy’s thoughts are supposed to turn to starting seeds, forgetting the winter that would not end. I have already started my onions and the seedlings are doing great. While I still felt like hibernating, this week I did get my tomato and pepper seeds planted.

 

 

I am starting the tomatoes separate from the peppers because the peppers take so long to germinate. I used 3/4” soil blocks for the tomatoes and will plant up to 2” soil blocks when they get some true leaves.. This year I am using a bag of McEnroe’s Organic Potting Soil I saved from last year to make the blocks. Compared to Johnny’s 512, it is much finer and has fewer twigs and rocks to pick out. I added some horticultural grade vermiculite, since it is lacking that. I covered the seeds in the dibbles with some UltraSorb, described later, and put the tray on the heat mat.

 

For the peppers and eggplant seeds, I decided to pre-germinate them in a medium and transplant them to 1 1/2” soil blocks when they get some true leaves. The medium I am using is UltraSorb, a product from Moltan and sold by Autozone stores in the US as an oil absorbent for garage floors. UltraSorb is granular diatomaceous earth, not at all like food grade DE or the powdered DEs used in swimming pool filters. It is very popular and extensively discussed on the Tomatoville forum, where it gets rave reviews.

 

 

To hold the UltraSorb, I used a Styrofoam egg carton with slits cut in the bottom for drainage. The idea is to provide enough opening to drain (and bottom water) the tray without allowing the UltraSorb to leak out. I used a razor knife to cut the slits, but found I needed a few direct holes in the bottom (made with a toothpick).

 

 

I used a Sharpie to mark each cell with the pepper variety. Each cell was filled with UltraSorb and moistened with water. I then used a pencil as a dibble to make planting holes, planted the seeds, and covered with a little extra UltraSorb. If you want to try using UltraSorb, make sure you get the product by that name manufactured by Moltan. AutoZone sells another absorbent that is made from calcined clay and it’s pH isn’t suitable for seed starting.

 

 

With that done, next step is to get some of the brassicas going, broccoli, kale and collards, and then the lettuces. This year I am also going to start the kohlrabi seedlings indoor rather than direct sow. I keep forgetting they are not a root vegetable. Indoors at least, spring is happening. Outdoors, a lot of snow has melted but we are still getting single digit nighttime temperatures. Everyone around here is tired of winter and can’t wait for warmer weather.