What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

My homemade seed starter greenhouse.

 

[TJAnonymous]

For me, it's hard to gauge sometimes. Last year, I planted 19 Amish paste tomatoes (9 for me, 10 for a friend) and got... 19 AP tomatoes. I planted 9 of various other varieties, and got... 2 or 3.

This year, I'm going to plant 20 AP, and probably 1.5-2x what I want for the other varieties, which will be different from last year.

I start plants in decent sized pots, so I put 4 seeds in each pot. I figure I can snip off the weakest and leave the best 1-2. Seed is cheap, time is irreplaceable.

For something I want 2-3 of, I'll plant 4. Like habaneros and jalapenos for DH.

That's a good way to look at it. I think maybe I'll start up a few more starts and then try to sell them at the farmers market if I don't need them. I just hate wasting seeds/plants.

 

[Sally PB]

Stupid question.
Lets say a plant needs a fertilizer 5,5,5 but all you have is 10,10,10. Can you just use half of that amount and be ok? or the other way around?

Not entirely sure how that works.

"If you need to add equal amounts of N, P and K, either one works just as well. However, you will have to use twice as much of the 5-5-5 to provide the same level of nutrients as the 10-10-10."(copied from the internet)

If the ratios are the same, it's the same stuff. Just more or less concentrated. The higher the number, the more concentrated.

So half as much 10-10-10 is correct, yes.

 

[Wolfie2]

Use dead egg cartons

What's a dead egg carton? End product for me is compost.

 

[Ascholten]

Thank you, that is what I thought, but wanted to check with others. thinking of making like 3 'pots' of fertilizer, majoring in one element each, so that within reason I can mix and match what I need for various needs.

Now obviously I can't buy just the pure elements, they won't exist very long in pure format, let alone be usable, but something that would be a carrier without other crap that causes overly complicated math Ideally i was looking for like a 10-0-0 0-10-0 and 0-0-10, one is easy, bone meal, the other, seen some odd stuff, the third hmm have to look more

Aaron

 

[NewBoots]

Stupid question.
Lets say a plant needs a fertilizer 5,5,5 but all you have is 10,10,10. Can you just use half of that amount and be ok? or the other way around?

Not entirely sure how that works.

Thanks
Aaron

If it's liquid I'd double the water and if it's dry, I'd mix it with sand or fine soil.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

My homemade seed starter greenhouse.
View attachment 2964820
View attachment 2964819

I cover mine with a small kitchen towel to keep it dark until they sprout. I use a seedling heat pad too.
Good idea with the covered pans!

 

[TJAnonymous]

I cover mine with a small kitchen towel to keep it dark until they sprout. I use a seedling heat pad too.
Good idea with the covered pans!

Don't some seeds need light as well as humidity to germinate?

 

[vall]

I can't remember the rule... at/below what percentage should I throw them out?

I've received seeds with a big "40% germination rate" sticker on them. I'd probably keep anything above 0% but label with % and date.

OK fellow gardeners.... I have a question about those of you who are very experienced with seed starting. How many seeds do you start of any given variety? I made 2 seed starter cups for each variety of tomatoes. That seems like a precarious amount. If the starts die or fail to germinate, I don't have hardly any extras started to fall back on... But it also seems like a waste to start a bunch of plants if I only want 2 or 3 active plants of each variety. I can't bring myself to chuck out perfectly good plants and I would have no one to give the extras to...

2-4, when I want two plants. Plant math.. somehow all 4 find a spot somewhere in the yard if necessary.

Now obviously I can't buy just the pure elements, they won't exist very long in pure format, let alone be usable, but something that would be a carrier without other crap that causes overly complicated math Ideally i was looking for like a 10-0-0 0-10-0 and 0-0-10, one is easy, bone meal, the other, seen some odd stuff, the third hmm have to look more

Haven't done it myself but urea, bone meal, potassium sulfate (or SulPoMag but that has Mg). Micros you can usually buy in sulfate form too. This is a good read on diy fertilizer: https://soilanalyst.org/soil-analys...lligent-gardener-growing-nutrient-dense-food/
The worksheet will do most of the math, and you start with a base of say soybean meal so it could be organic too.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Don't some seeds need light as well as humidity to germinate?

They need warmth and humidity. I guess it won't hurt but I don't think they need it. You can do whatever. I like your set up. I use artificial lights so I can hover the lights right above the sprouts.

https://www.epicgardening.com/do-seeds-need-light-to-germinate/