WAS able to resist.........

[David from Dothan]

.....the overpowering urge to start seeds 6 weeks TOO soon. Started Phoenix Tomato, Giant Belgium Tomato, Rose of Sharon, Cilantro, and Sour Sop seeds today. Okay.......ACTUALLY, I had a little divertive help........Spent the last 6 weeks finding out that I get to go have 2 stints put in, 15 months after having quadruple bypass surgery. Proof that there is a "silver lining" in every cloud that pops up.....You just gotta look for it......The race is on........

 

[DirtMechanic]

I have been "aging" some heat mats. Somewhere in this house there are some grow lights. I even bought a wifi smart plug to run them on the timer function. I suppose it is time to clean out the shop and get started on the spring projects like seed starting.

 

[Chuck]

Where I live now is the opportune time to plant tomato and pepper seeds. 6 weeks germination and growing time is perfect

 

[DirtMechanic]

I would agree with one obvious caveat being the warmth. The thread about soil temperature led to the largest celebrity tomatoes my wife had seen. I firmly believe soil temp is a constant that the plants expect, and depriving them of that energy leads to a truncation of too many phytohormones to mention plus the deprivation of those hormones. The result is stopping the train. Sure it will get there, just nowhere near as effectively.

 

[Chuck]

I would agree with one obvious caveat being the warmth. The thread about soil temperature led to the largest celebrity tomatoes my wife had seen. I firmly believe soil temp is a constant that the plants expect, and depriving them of that energy leads to a truncation of too many phytohormones to mention plus the deprivation of those hormones. The result is stopping the train. Sure it will get there, just nowhere near as effectively.

Absolutely correct. Soil temps of 82F is optium for germination IMO. If one can start seeds and MAINTAIN a rapid growth rate from the time of germination until fruit set he will see a dramatic increase in production. Where most gardeners fail in having a lot of large fruit is planting their seedlings in a soil that is too cool. This causes a slowing down in the growth rate and by the time the plant catches up it is getting too late in the season, too warm, for a good fruit set. If one can it is better to transplant seedlings into a larger container and maintain a higher soil temperature until the ground temperature approaches or exceeds 70F.

 

[La Garden]

A little closer to the end of the month and I will be throwing caution to the wind and planting.