Comments on: Start Your Small Kitchen Garden from Commercial Flats?

By: admin

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:33:36 +0000

Ben: Thanks for bringing this up. There is a fine line between “seed-starting warm” and “seedling-killing hot.” The flourescent lights I use are warm to the touch, but never hot, and leaves can lay against them for hours without drying out. Three-to-six inches below the lights, the temperature hovers in the seventies. People setting up seed-starting spaces should keep this in mind: incandescent bulbs put off a lot of heat. Put an incandescent bulb close enough to provide adequate light for a seedling, and heat from the bulb will probably cook the plant.

Your point about moisture is also important. Ideally, I’d like the air around my seedlings to be humid, and I’ve considered wrapping plastic around the space above my seed-starting shelf to keep the humidity up. Still, as long as the temperature remains pleasant (70F to 80F degrees), watering to keep the soil moist should keep your seedlings happy.

By: admin

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:12:58 +0000

Cindy: No rules… just observations, suggestions, and encouragement. There are so many right ways to manage a garden. I regularly insist that I’m lazy, and that influences recommendations I make. I was very impressed with the energy you brought to your first ever kitchen garden last season, and I’m looking forward to seeing how things go for you this year what with lessons learned and all.

By: Cindy Scott Day

Cindy Scott Day — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:05:29 +0000

I broke your rule last year — my 1st year — as a veggie gardener, and I found it very satisfying. But of course, I did make mistakes, started some things too early, others too late, etc. This year though I have the knowledge that I gained from getting in there and just trying.

Last year I was pretty sure cabbage worms entered my garden via the cruciferous seedlings that I had purchased. (Of course, it’s hard to be certain – it’s just a hunch.) So this year I’m going to try starting everything from seed. The crucifers, greens, and tomatoes already are planted. They will spend a good part of the month of March under lights, but once the temps move up a little more, they will head out to my sun porch and my old station wagon, recently retired into a make-shift green house after a 16-year career hauling kids from place to place.

The fact that stores carry seedlings too is reassuring, because I could always mess up. But I absolutely love starting from seed whenever I can.

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Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:47:09 +0000

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By: Ben

Ben — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:45:09 +0000

Starting seeds yourself is very satisfying!
I’ve been trying to start seedlings this season, but unlike yourself I have been trying to keep mine cool and moist instead of warm. Hot temperatures have caused my seedlings to bolt to seed or just crisp up and die.