Last year I decided to tackle my own garden so went out, ripped out some sod, prepped my soil and tossed in some plants. My garden turned out to be quite a nice hobby and is still supplying me with frozen veggies. This year, I though I may try to plant the garden completely from seed, so I went out and purchased one of those "green house" seed containers with some peat cups, dirt and some seed starting material. I waited until 8 weeks prior to planting (May 26 in Michigan). I planted my seeds last weekend (3/29) and within 4 days I had seedlings popping out of the ground. COOL! However, my gut is telling me something is up with the seedlings because they don't look like what I'd consider normal. They're very tall... upon some research I've discovered that these maybe considered "leggy". Container as of 3/29 Container as of 4/4 The taller plants you're seeing on the left are morning glories and sun flowers. On the right, a combination of cukes, tomatoes, broc, sprouts and other veggies. My peppers (bell, cayenne, jalapenos) haven't popped up yet. My question to those who've been successful with starting from seeds is 1) are the seedlings leggy, 2) how can i control the germination of each plant if they should be under the cover of the "green house" 3) should I start over (since I have a lot of seed left) and 4) should I just skip the sowing and purchase plants like I did last year? I was thinking of separating each of the seed pods so I could pull the seedling out of the green house as soon as it sprouted and place it under a 4' florescent light that I have set up to give the seedlings a minimum of 12 hrs of light. I'm also looking into the option of transplanting the seedlings into larger containers. Do I need to do this? If someone could chime in I'd greatly appreciate it. I've done some searching in the forums and will continue some research online. I figured I could get some great advice from some experienced members. Thanks!
I tend to grow mine straight into the soil but given your winters this is probably not going to work. Can you stick to things like tomatoes and peppers and lettuce and just grow them straight into normal potting mixture. Scatter seed very thinly so you don't get too many then when grown a reasonable amount prick them out, into each one to it's own pot to grow on in normal light and sun so they harden off. Make a temporary hot house out of plastic for the day. if it is still cold and bring in at night. I think lack of natural light can make them leggy. If it were me I would let the nurserys do the seed propogation and plant the young plants out into your prepared beds. You could still create a plastic cover over sensitive ones. Look up "Durgan" on the archives he is an avid vegetable man and has some great success and lots of photos. He is in "Location: Brantford, Ontario, Canada' and has just posted a spring 2009 note This is one of the notes there is also one on tomatoes Spring Garden Bed Preparation Liz
I would put the seedlings under lights. A 4 foot flourescent would be ideal. It should be just a few inches above the plants. You don't need to separate the plants, just put the whole tray under the lights. Have the light on for a minimum of 16 hours a day. A timer really helps with this as then you don't have to remember to turn in on or off.
In answer to your questions #1 Yes they are leggy but look healthy, they need transplanting into another container(individual) if possible, and as suggested 12 hours of light. When transplanting,only handle the leaf not the stem, and loosen the roots well. #2 Unless you plant the different seeds in separate small (cell Packs) its impossible to controll the germination as each type has a different germination time. #3 I think you can save those plants but you probably have time to start some more. #4 Hey planting from seed is fun and gives you a sense of accomplishment I'm a bit of an addict, and usually plant 50 flats of bedding plants and veggies ea. year. Enjoy!
The reason that most of us start our own seeds is that we can't find the right vatieties at our local suppliers. If all you want is "tomatos", buy them from the professional growers but, if you want some odd variety ie:square or purple, you need to start them yourself. Even tomatos/peppers started early will eventually have to be transplanted once or more into 1 gal pots. As for the leggy plants, they are seeking light, so get a 4 ft flourescent and add grow tubes that give the correct spectrum. Check the grmination times in a book and start seeds accordingly, plants like cukes need only need to be wrapped in wet paper towel to sprout a week before planting with no fuss. Make it easy and have fun.
You can build your own light stand that will hold the four foot flourescent fixtures. Here is a link showing the light stand and there is a link where you can download the plans. http://www.localgardener.net/pages.php?lang=en&page=articles&action=view&vid=68 It was easy to build and works well. You do need to watch that your fixtures are not too long. I had a problem with one that would not fit between the uprights, so I would recommend that your either make it a little wider or be very careful which fixtures you buy. Have fun growing your own veggies and flowers. You can buy way more varieties in seeds than you can in plants. Good luck!
