This year we will be trying to grow as much as possible vertical with cages as to get more from the space we have, Making cages now for tomatoes and cucumbers and beans and going to try squash in a cage. We only have so much room to plant so we might as well get as much vertical as possible.
Anyone doing a garden?
- Thread starter spartanmanor
- Start date
Welp...I finally got all the components bought and the seed house set up. I bought a very potent LED grow light for this year since I'll have about 30% more peppers...and I dont want them leggy. In the pic the light is all the way dimmed...when cranked up its hard to even look at. Still have to get the fans setup. I also bought 10 more fiber pots at 7 gal instead of 5 gal....for the bigger Poblano plants. Thanks Smitty..you just reminded me I'll need 10 more cages also.
Seed germination testing did fairly well. Out of three seeds in each test most of them sprouted at least one or two seeds. The second test was due to some of the seeds took forever to sprout so I ran another test of the ones that didnt do well the first run. Days to sprout are kinda all over the place with 17 varieties which is expected...but I was hoping to stagger the planting working backwards from the latest ones to the quickest. Trying to shoot for a beginning of April start with as many as I can get in the dirt. For the best time as far as the moon cycle..4/4 & 4/5 is the perfect timing...but I dunno if I should wait that long.
Seed germination testing did fairly well. Out of three seeds in each test most of them sprouted at least one or two seeds. The second test was due to some of the seeds took forever to sprout so I ran another test of the ones that didnt do well the first run. Days to sprout are kinda all over the place with 17 varieties which is expected...but I was hoping to stagger the planting working backwards from the latest ones to the quickest. Trying to shoot for a beginning of April start with as many as I can get in the dirt. For the best time as far as the moon cycle..4/4 & 4/5 is the perfect timing...but I dunno if I should wait that long.
I'm going to "single stem" my tomato plants this year. I almost got to do it last year but they got away from me. The rain from the past week has softened up the soil a bit so I'm sowing more clover seeds to fill my little patch in. I bought some Hosta's for the porch pots. It's shaded there most of the day and flowering plants have never done well there. They were mighty neglected at Home Depot when I got them but a thorough watering and a bit of sun they perked right up. The tomatoes and hot peppers will be started hydroponically to get them going fast to make up for a late start. It's time to start hardening off the Bell pepper plant I've been overwintering. Hopefully it can go in ground next week. I can't wait to break out my gardening hat again 
moecurly
Member
Warm dry weather is what you need not lights..
Well...considering last frost date for my area is the middle of May they will need lights until then.
fredgarvin
Super Member
I'm guessing late May if this cold holds up like last year. Everything under the lights has sprouted so good so far. Up until last year i usually planted in late April.
You must be further up the planet than I am. I messed up last year and my seeds germinated in 3 days instead of the 14 to 28 days claimed on the packages. So I had peppers started in the middle of March with 2 months to go until I could get them outside. They was close to root-bound by then but they made it. Unfortunately the heatwave we had didnt help them at all.
I just now started the varieties that took about 10 to 12 days to germinate. Then Thursday will be another batch started of the ones that were 4 to 9 days...and April 4th will be the start of the quick ones.
Gardening retired is so much easier and enjoyable.With enough wine you can see stuff grow!
I have so far this year updated a lot of my pots and grow lights. In the pic is a 48” LED 5000K 5000lumen that is hands down much better than my other Vigaro light. And it cost $15 + shipping. I think they had two for $25 but I only needed one.
My last frost date is Mar 25 and I’m in an 8A zone, so I have a lot of stuff already in the ground. Starting to move more of the plants outside this weekend.
A couple things I found this year. I am into the air-root trimming pots and cells. I picked up starting cell packages from Bootstrap Farmer and Neversink Farms. Absolutely great cell trays and cells, and they are strong enough TO STAND ON!
Then, I found 4 cell 4” deep units from Epic Gardening, which I show starting squash, zucchini, cucumbers and melons. These are deep enough that watering is rare because they hold so much potting/seed starting mix. For all these, you get what you pay for!!
Another thing I am doing. I potted up 12 of my pepper starts in fabric bags that are to be put right into the ground. These are 4” square x 4.5”h and are so easy to use. 50 pieces was $6 on Amazon. So far so good!!
I have batch #2 tomatoes in the red cups which are maybe two weeks behind. My first batch, 2-3 seeds per cup, simply fried because I didn’t plug in the temp probe correctly so the heating mat ran wide open instead of 75-80 degrees, and cooked everything. Out of 30-40 seeds, I got ONE tomato before I discovered the problem. The redo set all germinated and are doing fine! So for peppers I have 20 units of 5 types, and tomatoes I have about 20 of 7 types. I give away my excess to my friends for their gardens, after I inject them to stay stunted and sickly so I can blame it on them
My garlic forest of 125 is outstanding this year, I do fish emulsion toned down a bit every 2-3 weeks now that it’s decent temp wise.
Spring has arrived, and I’m into it!!
I have so far this year updated a lot of my pots and grow lights. In the pic is a 48” LED 5000K 5000lumen that is hands down much better than my other Vigaro light. And it cost $15 + shipping. I think they had two for $25 but I only needed one.
My last frost date is Mar 25 and I’m in an 8A zone, so I have a lot of stuff already in the ground. Starting to move more of the plants outside this weekend.
A couple things I found this year. I am into the air-root trimming pots and cells. I picked up starting cell packages from Bootstrap Farmer and Neversink Farms. Absolutely great cell trays and cells, and they are strong enough TO STAND ON!
Then, I found 4 cell 4” deep units from Epic Gardening, which I show starting squash, zucchini, cucumbers and melons. These are deep enough that watering is rare because they hold so much potting/seed starting mix. For all these, you get what you pay for!!
Another thing I am doing. I potted up 12 of my pepper starts in fabric bags that are to be put right into the ground. These are 4” square x 4.5”h and are so easy to use. 50 pieces was $6 on Amazon. So far so good!!
I have batch #2 tomatoes in the red cups which are maybe two weeks behind. My first batch, 2-3 seeds per cup, simply fried because I didn’t plug in the temp probe correctly so the heating mat ran wide open instead of 75-80 degrees, and cooked everything. Out of 30-40 seeds, I got ONE tomato before I discovered the problem. The redo set all germinated and are doing fine! So for peppers I have 20 units of 5 types, and tomatoes I have about 20 of 7 types. I give away my excess to my friends for their gardens, after I inject them to stay stunted and sickly so I can blame it on them
My garlic forest of 125 is outstanding this year, I do fish emulsion toned down a bit every 2-3 weeks now that it’s decent temp wise.
Spring has arrived, and I’m into it!!
It does look like a lot, but I selectively plant enough for the two of us!
I have a boatload of last years tomato soldiers in my rear 4 x 12 raised bed who popped from seed, but I’ll never be able to be sure which of the six I grew in that garden are which? About 90 onions in place!
I have a boatload of last years tomato soldiers in my rear 4 x 12 raised bed who popped from seed, but I’ll never be able to be sure which of the six I grew in that garden are which? About 90 onions in place!
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My strawberries which have come through the winter in fine shape have come out of their slumber. The mild weather last month I believe has woken them up. I took this pic a month ago and they're at least 25% larger now. I've got to get more planters to spread them out, at least three more. I'll need more space for them and I've already got a plan using some pallet wood I've salvaged.
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