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seeds A different way of sowing seeds

GB,

Yeah, it is a bit more work but besides making sure all the containers are filled, it solves the problem of long stems. Try as I may, using LEDs or CFL bulbs, with as many as 10,000 lumens at the canopy, toms develop a long stem when they sprout. By transplanting them, I can bury them to the lower leaves. Another consideration is the amount of room I have to germinate them. I have the space for 58 trays to grow but my chamber, which is heated, will hold only 12 trays. I can germinate them in a much smaller space and let them spend their first 2-3 weeks there, then move them.

Mike
 
i totally agree about the long stems. i even hang lights on the sides of my shelf but still get 'em.
what i do is i sprout them in the paper towel (which takes about as much room as a ziploc baggie) then put the sprouted seed into a four cell pack a little more than halfway filled, then when they start to get leggy i fill up the cells the rest of the way, then when they have lots of roots they go into the 3" pots buried up to the seed leaves.
i tried this thing called the root trainer this year, what a mistake...
 
GB,

Actually, I'm trying all kinds of different methods but I'm getting close to running out of time. I have until - at the latest, the middle of February to decide on a method. The cost and the amount of labor are important factors but the overriding criterion is how the plants will look come the middle of April.

Back home (Brown County, OH) tobacco farmers use what are called Todd trays. These are styrofoam trays with 256 cells, each one measuring 1" at the top of the cell and 1/2" at the bottom. There is a 1/4 x 1/4" hole in the bottom. They only measure about 1' x 2' and grow fantastic plants. Yep, they are leggy but I can stick a mature tobacco seedling from one of those cells into the ground on a 95 degree day and they don't wilt. Alas, city slickers want a nice, bushy plant, so that's why I keep trying different ways.

I better have a plan before Valentine's Day!

Mike
 
Mike, you have so many plants that it may be a LOT of work but if my peppers look leggy when I transplant I sink them quite a bit, like you do when you plant tomatoes. This encourages roots along the stem, the peppers seem to be stronger for it. The bottom leaves are about 1/2 inch above soil level.
 
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