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Pooler, GA

Hello everyone,

I'm brand new to BPs and need some advice on seed starting. I have tested a few, and got mediocre germ rates. Any advice/howtos would be appreciated.

I am ready to plant outside btw, so no indoor growing needed, although I do have a very large LED starter setup from my peppers that is now empty if it is recommended.

Basically, what I did for my test subjects was scrape all sides other that the point with 120 grit sand paper 5 times.

Then I soaked the seeds for 8 hours. I planted in a 5050 tray and made soil moist. I used a DIY incubator set to 85 degrees measured in the soil. I am using standard promix btw.

Anything I should do different on my real seeds?

Should I plant the seedling outdoors immediately when it pops from the soil, after a few inches, or wait a few weeks?

Any other advise?

Thanks

4/18/2016 3:12:53 PM

Syracuse, NY

concerning once your seeds germinate and you've successfully, carefully transplanted them or it from your 5050 tray (that i don't know what that is, maybe 50 cells by 50 cells?) to one 4- or 5-inch peat pot for each one, full of the same seed-starting mix of already, i, and probably i alone, strongly suggest keeping them under basic fluorescent lights 40 watts each (x 2 usually, perhaps)
at a distance of 1/2 to 1 inch MAX(!) above the seedlings' highest leaves to keep them from getting 'leggy' and unmanageable...24/7. yes, 24/7: there are a million theories on this, but i feel that the plants do just fine once they are planted out, and i stick by that. keep them there and adjust the lights upward daily in sync with the seedlings until the first true leaf gets to be as big as one of the seed leaves (so, in reality, the 3rd leaf);
important: GENERALLY, the plant will grow in the direction OPPOSITE the direction of this 'first true leaf'---it'll be the one in the middle, lol---therefore, there is no need to keep them in this scenario any longer than 7-10 days max., because you now know what general direction the plant will grow in---u can even plant them at a 90-degree angle TO that direction, so that if one or more does not follow this advice, you'd only have to correct it by 90 degrees, and not a full, damaging 180 degrees. yeah, when it looks at you and says 'feed me', you'll know---eg

4/18/2016 7:08:53 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Not to much water...this is the down fall of most new growers. Over watering

4/18/2016 7:39:08 PM

Pooler, GA

Thanks. Dont know why I was thinking 5050 tray... Meant 1020 tray... Mine use 48 cell inserts btw.

4/19/2016 1:11:09 AM

Syracuse, NY

i have used 'Jiffy-Mix for Seed-Starting' for years; i am presently going to get 'Black Gold' (searching from http://blackgold.bz/store-finder/) and pictured here:(http://blackgold.bz//?s=seed+starting) which is also a nice article(!) and this is what Joel Holland uses (although the label is different) and i will try it over the next few days---...using 8 quarts of good-quality seed starting mix and a clean 5-gallon bucket...and, even before adding any water is a great time to add Mycorrhizae or whatever amendments you are going to---i always add Bio-Gro Endo Plus 1/2 cup (Holland's Land O' Giants) to inoculate my seeds that are 'for real'; okay, using 1/3 gallon of water, no more,
pour half of that into a clean 5-gallon bucket, quickly pour in all of the ss mix plus 'whatever', (helps to have it totally open first) and then pour in the rest of the water---stir angrily and vigorously with a corn broom handle until totally uniformly moist throughout. be sure to 'dig right in'(!) and get to all of the dry stuff---
then, totally soak your 4" - 5" peat pots in a lemonade pitcher, held down underwater for 10-15 minutes, drain them and then fill them each fully with the ss mix, compacting gently and set aside in a reasonable container to inhibit drying-out until you plant one of your sprouts in each peat pot---i always put each peat pot in a quart ZipLoc bag and snip one of the bottom corners, swing them BOTH up against the sides and put a rubber band around them; in this way, when you hand-water your seedling and see the excess @ the bottom, you can let the snipped corner down to allow temporary drainage, and then re-secure it once that is done.this is also what i SPROUT my seeds into @ about 85*F--good luck! eg

4/19/2016 4:03:04 PM

Winston Salem, NC

88-91 degrees in a slightly moist paper towel in a ziplock bag pops a root out in 24-48 hours without fail for me. I'm impatient, so I need to see that root pop out. At that point I'll put it in my seed starting pots and put it back in the oven at that temp until it breaks ground. I will say that if you are going to go that warm, you better have good temperature control and dont put it directly on a hot surface that could be warmer than 91, a few more degrees and you could have a very expensive roasted seed.

4/20/2016 12:41:09 PM

Colorado

pro mix is fine for germinating seeds. make sure you squeeze any extra water out-you want damp not wet. as linus said too much water is prob. your problem

5/11/2016 10:39:19 AM