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seeds seed starting question

Minion s1

Minion s1

in the guide that i used last year it says:
"Start with the salad take-out plastic container and punch some drain-holes for water with a fork in the bottom. Fill container with potting soil and sprinkle with the starter-fertilizer solution to settle soil. Plant seeds, spacing 1/2" apart, and cover with no more than 1/8" of potting soil. Water with the Seed starter solution, and use the solution instead of tap water, whenever the containers need to be re-watered. Do not use tap water or well-water on very young seedlings., because the chlorine or minerals may damage the seedlings." (seed starting solution is miracle grow, bloom booster)

well last year 2/3 of the seedlings i grew died, and i got 1 of them to live after i flushed the soil, and added some bone meal
and i'm starting to think i had been doing something wrong; and i don't want to have a repeat of last year...


should i keep doing what this guide tells me?
 
I wouldn't. The containers might be fine. I use nursery flats, but some people use yogurt containers, plastic cups, etc. and get good results. Just make sure there are holes in the bottom for drainage.

The seed has everything the seedling needs to survive for the first couple of weeks except light and water. That's all you need to give. I generally do not fertilize seedlings at all until plantout, but the potting mix I use to pot up from the seed starting trays does have a small amount of fertilizer. You can use a water soluble fetilizer at no more than half strength on the plants after they get their second set of leaves if you want, but don't use much. Too much water and too much fertilizer can be just as bad if not worse than not enough.

Hope that helps.
jacob
 
I don't think the guide is wrong, per se, though I don't see any reason to use their solution. I follow, basically, their recommendation, though I use tap water, albeit after it has set for a day or two so the chlorine goes away. Plus, once I wet the potting mix (sit the container in a tub until the mix is a slurry, remove and let drain, then put over a heat source with the lid on), I don't water again until well after the first seed has germinated.

YMMV,

Mike
 
I have been using bottled spring water that has been bottled right at the spring to water my seedlings. Considering I don't use much at all and a 10L bottle only costs me about AU$4, it is a rather inexpensive alternative to tap water. Unfortunately due to the fact that once plants get bigger they require more water, and also due to the fact that I am not made of money, I am forced to switch to tap water once they start getting to a decent size.
 
jjs7741 said:
I wouldn't. The containers might be fine. I use nursery flats, but some people use yogurt containers, plastic cups, etc. and get good results. Just make sure there are holes in the bottom for drainage.

The seed has everything the seedling needs to survive for the first couple of weeks except light and water. That's all you need to give. I generally do not fertilize seedlings at all until plantout, but the potting mix I use to pot up from the seed starting trays does have a small amount of fertilizer. You can use a water soluble fetilizer at no more than half strength on the plants after they get their second set of leaves if you want, but don't use much. Too much water and too much fertilizer can be just as bad if not worse than not enough.

Hope that helps.
jacob
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well i'm not using the containters they reccomend...this is the setup i'm using
setup.jpg




what i did was, soak each cell with the bloom booster that i had added to a gallon of distilled water, and i use a spray bottle with the same solution to keep the top layer of the soil wet

i just got my first sprout today...should i just go ahead and flush the tray cells, and start using tap water?
 
drop light to about 3" above sprout till leaf come up to light,then move 1" at a time till grown. do not use jiffy pellet at all. to acidic for seed lings. use ferry morse starter soil for best results.coffee cups from costco hole bunch for cheap.i water all my small plants with RO water less chance fo bactera. pick up water at costco about .95 cents a gal. don't add anything to water till you place outside hope this helps.have done samething for about 10 years. works for me.
 
I will have to look into the Ferry Morse soil HA....

I use tapwater with a touch of Liquid Karma (Botanicare) and I try and only use Hoffmans Seed Starting Mix...pretty expensive but worth the results for me...I have found it to be the most light weight and CLEAN of the few mixes I have tried...tried light warrior last year and was really disappointed with the size of the perlite..waaaayyyy too big...I also used Jiffy Mix Seed Starting mix and was disappointed with the "twigs" in it....

As far as the grow area goes...good looking starter area...how many plants and how long 'till plantout for you?
 
most Lowes have ferry morse starter soil.have 4'X8' grow table to harden plants and get to size to put in ground,after two to four weeks under lights, about 4 -6 weeks outside and into the ground,I put spoon full epson salt into hole and water with fish and kelp mix. plants grow real fast,
 
I use straight well water, and forget the miracle grow or other nutrients. Just make sure to use a loose well drained soil or soil-less mixture and whatever container you use make sure there are plenty of drain holes
 
I always use plain well water, or bottled water for seedlings, and one of the soilless starting mixes like Ferry Morse, ect.

Seedlings come out of the gate with all the nutrition they need, and too much fertilizer, either from buildup in the soil or too much at one time, can damage fragile roots, so I always leave it out until the seedling has several sets of true leaves.
 
Hello guys, stumbled across this site yesterday an you sucked me right in! Sooooo much good info =)

I will receive my seeds from the Chili Pepper Institute some time the first of next week. This will be the first year I have started from seed so I'm a noob at the early state. I'm not new to once they are outside however. Have had a garden around between living at home with the parents and raising my own family for say, 15-16yrs or so.

Here's my questions guys. I purchased a Burpee Ultimate Growing System 72 plant starter kit from good ol' Depot. I plan on taking the weekend and playing around with the kit before I get seeds. One thing is the soil temp. I want to take the pellets out and put some potting soil in for a trial. I have an ol' school heating pad around here somewhere that doesn't have the safety off. I'll set it up on top of the fridge.

Can I use an instant meat thermometer to check soil temps? I want to get any adjustments right before I put seeds in her. Shooting for the 80-85F I see many suggesting here.

Second, I have a freshwater fish tank. I have always watered outside with my water changes. I see you should not feritlize seedlings, which I understand. Is it too strong to use the water change in the grow system? If so I will just use Johnson County tap.

I am also making my own light fixture this weekend. I plan to use 4 CFLs. I got the highest K tha the Depot carries. They are 120V 14W 5000K daylight bulbs. I know I could order some 6500k's but I want things I can replace with a short drive. Hate mailorder...... Also I have ZERO intent on growing inside. I just want to get them big enough and strong enough to go outside where all my plants belong. I'd rather let the good Lord do his magic than worry about my fiddling thumbs!

Thanks again guys for all the great info and any advice is always appreciated =)
 
Yes. Anything that will record an accurate temperature will work. Instant read is best IMHO. It seems you don't have to have as much of the temperature sensing tip in the soil to get a good reading.

I would not use the fish water, at least until the seedlings have sprouted, grown for a couple weeks or more, and you have potted up into a potting medium and put them under the lights. Even then, only use about 1/4 to 1/2 fish water thinned with regular tap water or filtered water. Depends on what kind of soil you use to pot up, too. A lot of potting soils already have nutes in them. You don't want to over do it. Peppers don't need much in the way of nutes.

woody3says said:
Can I use an instant meat thermometer to check soil temps? I want to get any adjustments right before I put seeds in her. Shooting for the 80-85F I see many suggesting here.

Is it too strong to use the water change in the grow system?
Click to expand...
 
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