Help Sowing Seeds

[Nrcheek]

I would love to sow my own seeds this year for my garden, giving me more time to grow things as well as well as other of the many pluses. My challenge is having a room with a lot of daylight. I do not have the space in my home to layout my trays and take this on. I do have a workshop out near my garden with enough room, but would iack the light and heat that would be needed. There are shoplights hanging, and i have a small grow light, but would need some input as to whether or not it would be feasible to sow my own seeds for tomatos, peppers, brocolli, and various others that I want in my garden this spring. I'm in zone 6b,

 

[Chuck]

Without enough heat to maintain a soil temperature of about 75F or higher your germination will take quite a bit longer and the germination rate will be lower. Then the light becomes a bigger problem. I start my seeds indoors with plenty of heat. I have no problem with germination but then the light becomes a problem. My seedlings get direct sunlight from about 8 AM until about 1 PM and indirect sunlight until about 4 PM and they always get leggy. Depending on the wind and outside temperature I move them outside as often as I can. Tomatoes and peppers take a lot of light. If you can provide much much more light then I would try to start seeds, but with what you have stated you have now I doubt very much if you will be successful.

 

[Greenhorn]

How much and of what? You suggest no room indoors which I can understand, but then again with a 11" x 21" space and a little head room if you want a light, you can do a 1020 with 72 seed starts.
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-su...-9496.html?cgid=trays-domes-and-flats#start=1

 

[Nrcheek]

Generally where i get in trouble is when i have to transplant out of the original seed starting flat, and into the bigger ones with my tomatos

 

[Chuck]

Generally where i get in trouble is when i have to transplant out of the original seed starting flat, and into the bigger ones with my tomatos

If I understand correctly you plant numerous seeds in a single container and have trouble transplanting the seedlings into another container? If so, this is how I do it. Place the container containing the seedlings into a casserole dish or if a large flat into a container larger than the flat. GENTLY run warm water over them until the soil is washed away. I do this in my wheelbarrow so as to save the soil but in reality there isn't that much soil to save. After this is done you will see that the roots are all intertwined and tangled up. Just pick up a seedling in each hand and GENTLY pull them apart. The roots will separate easily.. Place the seedling into you prepared container and saturate the soil from the bottom up.

 

[Nrcheek]

Sorry i should have vwwn more specific. I tend to run out of room with my larger containers, i dont have an area with enough light (or warmth in my workshop) . So i get sick plants by the time i reach that stage

 

[Nrcheek]

Ive thrown around the idea of a small greenhouse to put plants in once they hit the stage of needing a lot of light . Does anyone have one ?

 

[Chuck]

Ive thrown around the idea of a small greenhouse to put plants in once they hit the stage of needing a lot of light . Does anyone have one ?

A green house is a good idea IF you can keep it warm enough. From seed to planting out is about 8 weeks. We don't know where you live or your hardiness zone. If you live in a northern state I think you have a lot of late cold weather so heat is imperative, both for soil temperature and for the ambient temperature. If a tomato plant or pepper plant goes below 45F for any length of time it will stop growing and it takes time for it to start again. Both peppers and tomatoes need continuous and regular heat to maintain their steady growth. They should never ever stop growing.

 

[Nrcheek]

A green house is a good idea IF you can keep it warm enough. From seed to planting out is about 8 weeks. We don't know where you live or your hardiness zone. If you live in a northern state I think you have a lot of late cold weather so heat is imperative, both for soil temperature and for the ambient temperature. If a tomato plant or pepper plant goes below 45F for any length of time it will stop growing and it takes time for it to start again. Both peppers and tomatoes need continuous and regular heat to maintain their steady growth. They should never ever stop growing.

Im in zone 6b. Indiana. So we can certainly get some late winter mischief up here. Can a simple infared light do the trick ?

 

[Chuck]

Im in zone 6b. Indiana. So we can certainly get some late winter mischief up here. Can a simple infared light do the trick ?

Infared heaters certainly work. I guess it would depend on how cold and windy it was.