Many gardeners like to grow their own transplant vegetables and flowers for various reasons. Perhaps the most important reason is the fact that they can grow the varieties they like. Too often we are disappointed to find that our local plantsman does not have some of our favorite varieties unless we have made arrangements with him when he starts his seed.
A cable-heated hotbed or a greenhouse is the ideal way of growing these plants. Some gardeners start seed successfully in a bright window in their home and later transplant the young seedlings to a cold frame or hotbed.
Many err by starting seeds too early. Most transplant crops require six to eight weeks from seeding until the plant is ready to be put out into the garden. Some in this group are tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, petunias, snapdragons and alyssum. Some crops require longer – up to ten weeks. These include celery, pansies and lobelia.
Different flowers and vegetables have varying tolerances to freezing. For example, pansies and cabbage iilants are quite frost tolerant. Tomatoes and petunias are very susceptible. One should consult weather bureau maps or local records indicating the average date of last killing frost in the spring for one’s own specific area.
Fern pans and flats are frequently used for seed sowing. The seed may be sown broacast, or in rows. As a rule very small seeds are handled broadcast, and larger seeds sown in rows. Seeds may be started in soil or in vermiculite. If the latter is used, it can be watered with weak fertilizer solution to add nutrients as some of the young seedlings appear.
The use of soil brings about the problem of damping off disease. This may be overcome by sterilizing the soil, containers and equipment used in seed germination either by heat, steaming or fumigation. Seeds can be treated with such materials as Captan. Some dust the soil surface with red copper oxide (Cuprocide), or place a layer of shredded sphagnum over the surface to reduce damping off loss.
As soon as the first true leaves have developed, the seedlings are ready for transplanting. They may then be transplanted to other flats and given more room, or they may be transplanted to individual containers.
Clay pots, plastic pots, cut down milk cartons, plastic soda bottles or pressed peat pots all serve well as containers for individual plant growing. Pressed peat pots are considered ideal, since the plant can be planted – pot and all – into the garden with absolutely no disturbance to the roots.
“Did you know as an example, hundreds of topics and thousands of articles can be found at plant-care.com”
Related posts:
- Very well, the Chia Herb Garden might be the answer. Let’s face it, not everybody features a green thumb. Quite...
- May – The Month Of Planting And Garden Making May is the main planting and garden making month of...
- Small Garden Grown Your Own vegetables By The Square Foot Traditional vegetables consist of long, single rows of vegetables spaced...
- Get Started With Container Gardening Sometimes, the urge to garden possibly will be stomped out...
- Advantages of Using Garden Aerators on your Garden If you want one of the best looking gardens, use...