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Should we have a fun 2009 grow contest?

POTAWIE said:
Well I'm 13+ hours late but I finally got my seeds in a damp paper towel in a bag on the hot part of my floro light. Now I just have to dig my way through the snow into my greenhouse so I can find my trays and pots etc.
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Derek, when you get seeds to sprout in a paper towel how long before you put the in a pot and what size pot do you first put them in? I have never used the paper towel method.

Dale
 
thepodpiper said:
Derek, when you get seeds to sprout in a paper towel how long before you put the in a pot and what size pot do you first put them in? I have never used the paper towel method.

Dale
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me neither...great question Dale
 
fineexampl said:
a heating pad was on my shopping list, but all the ones i saw have a 60min automatic shutoff safety feature. i thought of a warming tray too, but i could not find that. still looking though. i might try the pet store actually.
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I bought this back in early December from Amazon, but it was around $5 cheaper with free shipping then. http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-CK64050-Germination-Station-Heat/dp/B000HHO1RO
The heat mat is only 17 watts and keeps the temp at 82F. It has no timer or adjustment but seems to work as I have some seeds sprouting within a week. Here it is at The Garden Depot for only $25. That has got to be a deal. http://www.thegardendepotinc.com/1898.html
 
As soon as I see a sprout I transplant to cells or small pots and just bury them a little. The paper towel method is great for old or unpredictable seeds, it lets you germinate before placing in cells so you know they will all sprout and you'll have no empty spots. I generally use the 72 cell trays or sometimes 144's when I'm doing a lot of seeds at once. Anything smaller is a PITA and generally best left for automated seeders/transplanters.
 
My 1st Fatalii's have sprouted!! :cool: These were planted on January 4th in rockwool.

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- a hairy little bugger :lol:

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bigt said:
My 1st Fatalii's have sprouted!! :cool: These were planted on January 4th in rockwool.
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When I first read that I missed the second sentence.:shocked: Hydro or not, thats fast! I was thinking we would see the first one at 5-10 days, not 8-9 hours!
 
I just put 30 pablo Fatalli seed in the starter tray this am. It is really cold here this week and just feels like seed starting season is finally here. All systems are a go here. I am not really looking forward to watering all the little plants in a month or two.
 
Come on PRF...you know that is half the fun of it...taking care of the little boogers...
 
It is just very labor intensive right before they go outside. I remember taking 2+ hours last year watering all my plants last year around March. I do really enjoy the excitement of checking my seed starting tray every hour on the hour waiting for little hooks breaking the surface.
 
You know you guys are really getting me in shape, every time one of you posts about running to check for sprouts guess what I end up doing. Run Run Run.

Dale
 
It's only time Mike...if you will go to the container store and get those 36" long X 18-20" wide plastic containers used for "under the bed" storage, you can help yourself on that chore...or else just set them in the bathtub...
 
AlabamaJack said:
It's only time Mike...if you will go to the container store and get those 36" long X 18-20" wide plastic containers used for "under the bed" storage, you can help yourself on that chore...or else just set them in the bathtub...
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AJ,

I have a tub that is close to that size and I'll be able to water at least one tray at a time (18-36 plants). I was watering 50 plants individually last year so except for having to haul a lot more water there should not be too much difference in time. I'm figuring about a minute per tray.

One other thing is that I don't plan to transplant them too quickly - I'll let them get four inches tall or so. That will mean using less than half the space I have set aside plus the lighting. And it won't take that long to water about 20 trays. But if it does, I still look forward to it.

Hopefully by this Friday I will have more than 100 seedlings to greet each morning - have about 40 so far and today means close to another 300 have been in the potting soil.

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
I got a feeling it is going to take me a while to water all my plants this year, especially since I bottom water.

Mike
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I find bottom watering saves me a lot of time. All my plants are in trays so I just pour water in the bottom and leave, it take only a few minutes.
 
Potawie,

That's what I plan. The trays hold either 32-cell or 18-cell flats. My biggest concern is aphids. Getting rid of an infestation could take a long, long time.

Mike
 
We're having a blizzard today so what better time to start peppers? I started with 5 red fataliis and 5 yellow ones. Well of course had this big 98 cell thing of rockwool so why not go for it. (Note: rockwool is like insulation..duh! My hands itch even after washing.) Since I had spots to fill I planted some of the seeds from the first round of the seed parcel, and all of the ones I got from Trini. This is my first experience with rockwool so we'll see how it goes.
 
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