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Additional Light Set Up and Seed Starting

Posted on March 13, 2010 at 10:31 PM

The small additional grow light and heat mat that I ordered arrived on Friday.   I assembled it and got it set up in the shop – placing it up on top of the small over flow light set up I already had.   With this all in place, I was ready to get the peppers and basil started.                                

                         

    

    

There were several chores to take care of in the outdoor garden area too, which was a good thing because the weather was beautiful today and it was nice to have an excuse to be outside!   I removed the plastic sheeting from the onions and the spinach bed.   Both are hardy crops and the longer-term forecast is not calling for any more really cold conditions.   I also completely reseeded the pea patch this afternoon.   The birds had gotten to the sprouting seeds when I pulled the plastic cover off to stop the rainwater puddling damage from continuing to the support trellis.    As soon as I reseeded the bed, I recovered it with Remay.   Hopefully that will keep the birds out of the bed and away from my sprouting seeds.                 

 

The rhubarb is just about ready for the first harvest of the year.                   

 

   

  

The final project for the day was to spend time repotting some of the tomato seedlings.   They are four weeks old now and ready for more root room and fresh soil.   I got about 1/3rd of them done before calling it a day.   I have quite a few tomatoes yet to pot up in larger containers.   The plan is to keep working on this over the next several days to get it wrapped up.   The repotted tomatoes went under the lights for now, but the larger ones will soon be taken out to the greenhouse and will do the daily journey into the shop at night and back out to the greenhouse in the day.   The greenhouse is getting good sun exposure now and is warming up nicely in the daytime.                  

  

     

 

Here’s a few of the repotted tomatoes enjoying an evening of artificial lighting and the warmth of a heat mat to help them recuperate from the transplanting.

 

       

 

I tried to take pictures of the bed of spinach today but the newly emerged seedlings are still so small that they are very hard to see in a photo.   I will have to wait until the bed is further along before sharing pictures of it with you.    

 

The spring garden season is really underway now. The trays of seedlings are occupying every available space under the grow lights and are starting to move into the greenhouse to make room for more.   As I pot up the tomatoes into larger containers, more and more of them will have to shift to the greenhouse too, as they take up much more room with the larger pots. 

 

How is your seed starting going?

Categories: Seed Starting, Transplanting, Greenhouse

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13 Comments

Reply Sustainable Eats
12:15 AM on March 14, 2010 
Those tomatoes are looking good - I noticed you have everything up on a sawhorse table. Is it warmer off the ground? Or why do you have them that way? Better light?
Reply stefaneener
12:29 AM on March 14, 2010 
It is such a busy and productive time. Your tomatoes look great. Darn birds.
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
01:47 AM on March 14, 2010 
Sustainable Eats - They get better light up off of the ground and it is an easier/more comfortable level to work with the trays for watering etc. I also have a heat mat under those seedlings so I want a firm surface for them to sit upon.

stefaneener - Darn birds is right! They wiped out the entire first planting. I had just a handful of peas left so it was more efficieint to just start over. Hopefully I can protect this crop better.
Reply Daphne
07:12 AM on March 14, 2010 
This year I'm not going to give my tomatoes much time to grow. Last year they outgrew their containers before I was ready to put them in the garden. I don't have a greenhouse so they have to stay under the lights and there just isn't room when they get big.
Reply hsheather
09:01 AM on March 14, 2010 
Everything looks good. I'm running out of space as well and will soon be putting things under the back up lights. Even with things going outside soon, I still need more room. Do you need me to send back the Cascadia seeds you sent? I would be happy to, if you need them.
Reply Annie's Granny
11:15 AM on March 14, 2010 
I'll plant my first (indoor) seeds tomorrow! I'm getting quite anxious to see something growing under my lights ;-) I'll be like an old mother hen for the next couple of weeks, especially since some of my seeds are getting a bit old and may not germinate. I'm also planting a lot of flower seeds, and wondering where I'm going to put them all!
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
11:31 AM on March 14, 2010 
Daphne - One of the reasons I finally broke down and bought another back up grow light is that I am experimenting with the opposite approach this year with the Siletz plants that I started super early. I am beginning to suspect that if I want a really good tomato harvest in this climate I have to have the tomatoes much further along by July in order to take advantage of the brief warm spell we call summer around here! I have a feeling that is part of what I need to change up to be more successful with that crop in this climate. As you pointed out though, it takes room in the light set up to do that.

hsheather - Thank you for your consideration about the peas however there is no need to send them back as it was the Dakota garden peas that were eaten and not the Cascadia sugar snap peas. I have started the Cascadia snap peas inside and will give them lots of protection when I put them out. It's amazing isn't it how much space those plants take up under the lights! Never seem to have enough lights or room during the peak of the seed starting season.

Annie's Granny - I would be doomed to a much bigger light set up if I added flowers to the mix at the moment. I still just purchase some annuals for my flower pots from the local nursery because I don't want to size up my seed starting set up to handle the little bit of flower growing that I do. That's exciting that you will be starting seeds and getting underway. It did not take you long after returning to Washington to get the garden well under way!
Reply Jim G
01:21 PM on March 14, 2010 
With the cold weather making its (final?) show last week...I really think we are now in the clear. I'm putting lettuce transplants out today. They've hardened off enough because I know my mud room gets down into the 40's. Hardening off outside w/ still make them stronger - hey - there is wind outside! - that my mud room never gets of course.

The Siletz tomatoes are about 4" tall, and right up against the lights...about 1/2" clearance! The heat mat helped them germinate rapidly, but when they poked thru the soil - I simply turned it off.

Im really also considering starting my corn in the seed trays today. I did this last year - only because I wanted to try it, and to give some away to a friend. Which worked fine. I think corn could direct seed w/ no problem too.
Reply Sandy
04:25 PM on March 14, 2010 
Well, my tomatoes are still wimpy, per my post last week. Although, they are perking up a bit and the secondary leaves are starting to emerge. I gave them a light liquid fertilizer and made sure the heat mats were plugged in all day and night, so I think this suggestions I received are helping.

My rhubarb is up as well, though yours is definitely closer to harvest than mine is.
Reply Jim G
04:30 PM on March 14, 2010 
Hi Sandy,

This is a good post!

I forgot to mention, yes, on Friday I gave the tomatoes a light fish kelp/seaweed emulsion drink. It seems to give them the exact boost of growth that I *think* they need. Kinda like a organic steroid or something. It's just amazing. It was, I think $13.00 a bottle...but at the strength I use, it could last me like 10 years or so?
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
10:53 PM on March 14, 2010 
Jim G - I like to start corn inside before planting out but they are ready for transplanting really fast after seeding so I usually wait until April to actually seed them. I am hoping we have seen the last of the really cold weather and are easing into the more moderate spring conditions.

Sandy - I am sure the heat mat staying on will make a big difference and your tomatoes will catch up quicly. My rhubarb and my asparagus are making their appearance much earlier this year than last year. I think the winter was just so much more mild this year.

Jim G - I always use a weak kelp emulsion tea on seedlings and it does indeed act like a miracle growth tonic. Apparently kelp has a natural growth hormone in it that stimulates plant growth - plus nutrients the plants need. I buy a pint a year and go through it by the end of the year but that is using it on a LOT of seedlings!
Reply SustainableEats.com
12:35 AM on March 15, 2010 
I haven't seen any growth on my asparagus. They sent up the frondy things last year and I let them die back but nothing. I'm hoping that doesn't mean anything. I also am wondering if my cardoons and artichokes died this winter, as well as my 2 fig trees. I'm just not seeing anything from any of those. Nuts.
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
08:24 AM on March 15, 2010 
Sustainable Eats - I would not worry too much at this point in time. My asparagus and rhuarb are both early this year for some reason. They did not make an appearance until well in April last year. Do you have mulch on the asparagus? If so, you might want to rake it off (carefully in case some spears are emerging) so that the soil can warm up. Mulch is great for retaining water and eventually adding organic matter to the soil, but it also cools the soil which is something we usually do not need in the rainy cool pacific northwest.