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seeds A different way of sowing seeds

W

wordwiz

I have not been relishing the idea of actually having to sow over 1,000 seeds one by one, especially into trays that have 288 cells. Just trying to make sure each cell has a seed, that it is close to the correct depth, which type goes into which cell - that stuff would be a nightmare for me. Then I recalled how we grew tobacco and tomatoes when I was a youngster.

Dad would bring home a couple of 5-gallon buckets of flyash. We would add a couple teaspoons full of seeds and stir it (using a concrete mixer) then dump the mixture into one of those typical yard seeders. We would then rake it gently into the ground.

So I am trying something similar. Put a couple of inches of potting soil in a tupperware container, add 50-60 seeds then add a 1/4 layer of soil. Water and set over a heat source.

Over the next few weeks, I'll see how transplanting them works at various stages. Probably start when they have their first set of leaves then try wait until they have two sets, three sets, etc. They will go into either six-cell flats or 3" containers.

The goal: to have 8-inch tall plants by January 10.

If this works not only should I have healthier looking plants with much less time involved but it might also give me an opportunity to sell seedlings to nurseries in quantity. It would cost me about $30 in seeds, soil, trays and electricity for 180 plants that I should be able to sell for a buck each.

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
I have not been relishing the idea of actually having to sow over 1,000 seeds one by one, especially into trays that have 288 cells. Just trying to make sure each cell has a seed, that it is close to the correct depth, which type goes into which cell - that stuff would be a nightmare for me. Then I recalled how we grew tobacco and tomatoes when I was a youngster.

Dad would bring home a couple of 5-gallon buckets of flyash. We would add a couple teaspoons full of seeds and stir it (using a concrete mixer) then dump the mixture into one of those typical yard seeders. We would then rake it gently into the ground.

So I am trying something similar. Put a couple of inches of potting soil in a tupperware container, add 50-60 seeds then add a 1/4 layer of soil. Water and set over a heat source.

Over the next few weeks, I'll see how transplanting them works at various stages. Probably start when they have their first set of leaves then try wait until they have two sets, three sets, etc. They will go into either six-cell flats or 3" containers.

The goal: to have 8-inch tall plants by January 10.

If this works not only should I have healthier looking plants with much less time involved but it might also give me an opportunity to sell seedlings to nurseries in quantity. It would cost me about $30 in seeds, soil, trays and electricity for 180 plants that I should be able to sell for a buck each.

Mike
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting mike alternative methods of sowing are always fun and worth a trial espically if your planting in such a large quantity,Sounds like good economics to..Best of luck :lol:
 
Wouldn't that make it a bit hard to keep track of what is what?
Don't mean to criticise you, just wondering... Aside from that it sounds pretty good. This way you won't have cells with seeds that never germinate. That is a definite pro. Keep us posted!
 
I'm only growing about 16 different plants (these are for sale, though I will use a few for my garden). I'll be sowing 100-200 seeds of each type and will use a different container for each plant - Container 1 = Brandywine, 2 = Delicious, etc. Ninety percent germination will give me 90-180 seedlings to choose from. Plus, if a transplant doesn't make it, I should be able to plug another one in.

Mike
 
Chiliac,

The hardest part is going to be making space for all the plants. I figure I am going to need room for at least 33 of those seed trays (approx. 21"x11" ea.). But if I can sell most of my seeds, I will be able to buy a storage shed and heater that I can use next year without incurring the wrath of "she who controls the checkbook!"
 
It's a smart move trying to get some money from our hobby instead of investing in it only all the time. I wouldn't mind, but I am not exactly rich, so.... I don't think your way would work for me though. I don't think I could sell a few hundred plants - not even some dozens - over here.

I am familiar with your problem. There's always far too little space. I'll limit myself to two trays of seedlings for 2009, but that's still about 150 plants!!! I'm glad I have the garden now, I wouldn't know where to grow all of them otherwise.
 
Chiliac,

I don't know how many plants I will be able to sell. The local Ag Society is suppose to hold their third annual Arts & Crafts sale the first week of May and have been receptive to adding plant sales to it. It tends to draw hundreds of people. I publish a weekly community newspaper as my full-time job, so I can advertise plants for sale in it. I may even use some contacts to get some coverage in the daily paper - not everyone is selling Bhut Jolokia plants in Cincy!

Yeah, I want to sell 1,000 of them but even if I sell half that amount, I'll be able to afford my shed and heater for next year.

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
Chiliac,

I don't know how many plants I will be able to sell. The local Ag Society is suppose to hold their third annual Arts & Crafts sale the first week of May and have been receptive to adding plant sales to it. It tends to draw hundreds of people. I publish a weekly community newspaper as my full-time job, so I can advertise plants for sale in it. I may even use some contacts to get some coverage in the daily paper - not everyone is selling Bhut Jolokia plants in Cincy!

Yeah, I want to sell 1,000 of them but even if I sell half that amount, I'll be able to afford my shed and heater for next year.

Mike
Click to expand...

The thing is mike you never no what you will sell,But the whole chilli thing seems to get more popular by the day,ive got requests for a number of plants to sell in the spring and for a
charity in the sumer my wife helps out at a dog rescue and we do charity work to raise funds for that.Was surprised in the summer i sold over 60 plants in 4 hours at an event in the cotswolds and could have sold twice as many,So got my fingers crossed for you my friend :lol:
 
Talas,

Another avenue I am checking into is Farmers Markets. There are about 30 of them in this city. Plus, each community or neighborhood (Cincinnati has 48 different "neighborhoods" that have their own local council) has a Senior Citizens group. All in all, there are close to 100 such entities in the county. The seniors love to plant a tomato or three and some like peppers, cucumbers, etc. If I work at this, I don't think selling 1,000 plants would be that hard, given that I could do it over about a month.

Mike
 
I have about 35 seeds that have germinated so far but should have another dozen or so. I'm tempted to use some of my cloning nuits in the water to help them develop bigger roots.

Since this is nothing but a learning experience, the plan is to transplant about a third of them next Sunday (they should have two sets of leaves by then), another third the following week and the last third in three weeks. Or if enough germinate, 1/4 at a time.

It would not bother me in the least if I can have great looking plants for sale and be able to grow them all in a 24 sq. ft. chamber for all but a month.

Mike
 
Eleven days later, this is what the bowl looks like. Kinda leggy plants, but that's fine. They will get transplanted into 3" deep (minimum) cells. I hope to start the process next week, once they get another set of leaves.

bowlofseeds.jpg


Mike
 
If you wait much longer the roots will be tangled and you might damage them transplanting. I just think it's a bad idea to start them in one pot unless you transplant pretty much immediately. I definitely wouldn't wait on them to get 2nd set of leaves.

And I think they need more light, cotyledons pointing upwards means light level too low.

just my thoughts though
 
Tx,

This is how we grew seedlings for transplanting when I was a child, though it was outdoors in dirt. We grew some toms but mostly tobacco. And, can you believe it, it was possible to pluck 50 or more plants from an area the size of the bowl!

I noticed the plants are a bit leggy and I'm coming to the conclusion that is the nature of maters when they are young. They are getting over 6,000 lux of 51K white light.

The important thing is this is just an experiment to see how the seedlings transplant. I have several weeks to keep trying different things to see what works best.

Mike
 
This evening, I tried my first transplants. Four into some 2" cells, three into 3" pots. No trouble with extra plants coming up, though a couple did break off. Next week, I'll try the same exercise but with plants that have two sets of leaves.

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
This evening, I tried my first transplants. Four into some 2" cells, three into 3" pots. No trouble with extra plants coming up, though a couple did break off. Next week, I'll try the same exercise but with plants that have two sets of leaves.
Click to expand...

It looks like it was a successful operation. Twenty-four hours later they are standing strong and are starting to show the first set of true leaves. I did mix some of my cloning nuits in with the water since it is suppose to help rooting.

Mike
 
I tried another batch, this time peppers. The top of the "bed" erupted. Apparently a bunch of plants in the same area germinated at the same time and lifted the top 1/8" of soil, about one inch in diameter, up in the air.

This method seems to be a lot better than sowing a seed in each cell. So far, not a single transplant has died, I can sprout exponentially way more seeds in a much smaller area, pick the best looking plants for a new home, stagger when they are transplanted, get ride of long stems... I haven't seen a significant drawback yet, except perhaps using a few more seeds than necessary.

Mike
 
After two or one weeks of growing, I can't tell the difference between plants that were transplanted with only two leaves and those that had four. I tried another one tonight - one that was still in the "bed" but one of the larger ones. It's about the same size as the first and second week transplants but maybe as they all grow, one group will stand out.

Mike
 
i'm not understanding how this is less time intensive... was that the goal? i mean clearly this works, and isn't too far off what i do by sprouting them in a paper towel to make sure i have a seed that will grow, but isn't it harder to transplant a delicate seedling?
 
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