Vegetable Gardening Page 25
Moving your seedlings or starter plants to your garden
Planting seeds in your garden
Are you ready to plant some vegetables? Now the fun really starts. You can plant vegetables two different ways — from seed or by transplant:
When planting seeds, you either sow the seeds indoors and then transplant the young seedlings in your garden (when the time is right, of course), or you sow the seeds directly in your garden.
To skip the whole seed process altogether, you purchase young transplants (seedlings ready to be transplanted) at your local nursery or through the mail and then plant them directly into your garden.
Both methods have their advantages, and timing is critical to success. You can plant seeds quickly and without much thought. But working deliberately and carefully — whether planting indoors or out — pays off in sturdier, more vigorous plants. In this chapter, I guide you through the planting process, giving you information about correct seed spacing, planting depth, soil and germinating conditions, and fertilizing so you produce strong-growing, vigorous plants. I also show you how to plant transplants, whether you grow them yourself or buy them.
As I say throughout this book (maybe because my dad used to say it in all situations): Timing is everything when you plant vegetables. If you really want to be successful, you need to find out the planting dates for your area. Each vegetable has its own optimum growing conditions — a right soil temperature, daytime temperature, length of day, and so on — but all these factors vary greatly, depending on where you live. So make sure you check out Chapter 3 for important climate-specific information. Okay, I've made my point — on to the planting.
Choosing Seeds or Transplants
Whether you choose to grow vegetables from seeds or transplants, each planting method has its own advantages. Here are some advantages to starting from seed:
A wider choice of varieties: Your local garden store or nursery may carry only three or four varieties of tomato transplants but offer a great selection of seeds. And mail-order seed catalogs (see the appendix for addresses) offer hundreds of varieties of seeds and specialty types, such as organically grown seed.
Healthy plants: You don't have to settle for plants that are leggy (tall, weak, spindly stems) or root-bound (roots crammed into a small pot) and that may have been hanging out at the nursery too long. Such plants usually don't get off to a fast start when you plant them in the ground. Also, when you start from seed, you don't have to worry about introducing any insects or diseases into your garden that may be lurking on nursery-grown transplants.
Reduced cost: Especially if you have a large garden, starting from seed can save you some dough. A six-pack of seedlings may cost you $3.00, whereas for the same price you can buy a seed packet with 100 seeds.
A lot of fun: The excitement of seeing those first seedlings push through the soil is something special. Two feet of snow may be on the ground outside, but by sowing seeds indoors, you can enjoy a little spring.
The advantages to growing seeds stack up pretty impressively. But planting nursery-grown transplants has a major benefit as well — convenience and immediate gratification. Growing plants from seeds takes time and diligence, but going with nursery transplants gives you an instant garden. And if you have problems with transplants, you can always buy more. If you have problems with the special seed varieties you started, it's usually too late to start them again indoors, so you're out of luck growing that variety that year.
Growing seeds is like taking care of a new pet. You have to check on seeds everyday, maybe several times a day, to make sure they're happy. Unless a reliable neighbor or friend can care for your seedlings, say goodbye to your winter trip to the Caribbean. Also, you have to think in advance of what you'll be growing and need to start indoors. In this harried world, it's often easier to decide a week or so before planting what vegetable varieties you need and to buy transplants than to plan months in advance to start seeds. Plus, you have to store unused seeds somewhere where you won't forget them next winter. A metal tin in a cool, dark part of the house is best.
After you consider the advantages of each planting method, you need to make sure that you time your planting for the most productive results. Keep reading for full details on starting veggies from seeds and growing veggies from transplants.
Deciding on Your Seeding Method and Decoding a Seed Packet
Suppose you decide to grow your veggies from seeds. Now what? You have another choice to make: Will you start your seeds indoors or outdoors? If you plant seeds indoors, you have to transplant them into your garden later. With direct seeding, you skip the indoor step and sow the seeds directly into your garden. Which option should you choose? Probably both, if you're serious about growing vegetables. But consider these points when making your choice:
Starting indoors gives you a jump on the growing season. If you start at the right time (remember, timing is everything), you can have vigorous seedlings that are ready to go into the ground at the ideal time. In areas with short growing seasons, starting seedlings indoors really gives you a head start.
The best candidates for an early start are plants that tolerate root disturbance and benefit from a jump on the season. These veggies include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, leeks, lettuce, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Another group of vegetables that have to be transplanted carefully but do benefit from an early start include cucumbers, melons, and squash.
Seeds are easier to start indoors. You have more control indoors, enabling you to more easily provide the perfect conditions for hard-to-germinate or very small seeds. You can provide the ideal temperature, moisture, and fertility so your seedlings grow strong and sturdy.
Some vegetables don't like to be transplanted and are better sown directly in the ground. These vegetables include many of the root crops, such as carrots, beets, turnips, and parsnips. They're cold-hardy vegetables, so you can direct seed them pretty early anyway. Crops such as corn, beans, and peas also are pretty finicky about transplanting and grow better when you sow them directly in the ground. (I discuss sowing seeds outdoors in detail later in this chapter.)
No matter your decision, the seed packet you buy to start your vegetables indoors or to plant directly in the ground is loaded with useful information. You still want to use a good book (like this one!) to get all the nitty-gritty details, but much of the information you need to plant your seeds is right on the packet. Consider some things your seed packet can tell you:
The name or description should indicate whether it's a hybrid or open-pollinated variety (see Chapter 3) and whether the seed is treated with a fungicide.
The description tells you the high points about the variety, including yields, disease resistance, and suggestions for use. Remember to read with a critical eye, because companies can make all varieties sound fabulous.
Cultural information tells you information such as when to plant, days to germination, mature plant size, days to maturity, and plant spacing.
The packing date tells you the year in which the seeds were packed. Always buy this year's seeds for best germination. Even though 1- to 2-year-old seeds will still grow well, you shouldn't be paying full price for them.
Starting Seeds Indoors
To start seeds indoors, all you need is a container, soil, seeds, moisture, warmth, and light. Oh, if only everything in life were this simple. Check out Part II to find out when to start specific vegetables indoors — remember, timing is everything. Here are the basic steps for planting seeds indoors:
1. Sow the seeds in containers filled with sterile soil (which garden centers call a germinating mix).
Keep the seeds in a warm place until germination (when the first shoots start to push through the soil).
2. After the seeds germinate, move the seedlings to a well-lit location (preferably under lights).
While your seedlings are growing in their well-lit location, be sure to keep them moist.
3. Thi
n crowded seedlings.
When the seedlings' heights are three times the diameter of your pot, transplant the seedlings to a larger container.
4. Acclimate the seedlings to outdoor conditions.
Adapting your seedlings to the weather conditions in the great outdoors is called hardening off.
5. Plant the seedlings in your garden.
Piece of cake; go have a drink. Now on to the details, which I cover in the following sections. (Be sure to check out the later section "Transplanting Indoor Seedlings and Starter Plants" as well.)
Picking a pot to plant in
Any container that holds several inches of soil and that you can punch drainage holes in is suitable for growing seedlings. Several low-cost possibilities include milk cartons, paper or Styrofoam cups, cottage-cheese containers, and homemade wooden flats, which are shallow, wide, seedling trays. Flats enable you to start many seedlings in a small space, which is helpful when you water or move the plants. After you plant the seeds in the flats, the seedlings stay there until planting time.
Garden stores and most mail-order garden catalogs sell a wide variety of plastic, fiber, peat, and Styrofoam flats and containers that satisfy just about any budget. You can even purchase pots made out of cow manure. Yum. Figure 13-1 shows you some flats that you can buy, along with the appropriate lights (which I discuss later in this chapter).
Figure 13-1: Seed-starting flats and lighting that plants love.
You can use individual peat pots for plants like cucumbers, which don't like to have their roots disturbed during transplanting. Similarly, for gardeners who put a premium on convenience, premade growing cubes are a good idea. But I have to be honest; I'm not a huge fan of peat pots or peat cubes (compressed peat pots that expand when soaked in water). The idea behind a peat pot is that once planted (pot and all) in the garden, the plants' roots grow through the sides of the wet pot, and as the season progresses, the peat naturally breaks down and disappears. But sometimes when I've used them, the peat didn't break down. In the fall when I pulled up my plants, the peat pots were still intact and some roots were constricted in the pots. If you still want to give peat pots and cubes a try, follow the guidelines in the later section "Making the big move to the ground."
Before you sow any seeds, sterilize your flats and pots (especially ones that you've used before) to prevent the fungus called damping off from killing your seedlings. (See the later sidebar "Dealing with damping off" for more on this soil-borne disease.) Dip the containers in a solution of 9 parts water to 1 part household bleach and then rinse them in clear running water.
Using a mix that doesn't include soil
The most practical seed-starting mediums for gardeners are the commercially prepared soilless or peatlite mixes that are sold in most garden stores as potting soil or germinating mix. As the name implies, the mix doesn't contain any true soil. Instead, it's usually a combination of peat moss, vermiculite or perlite, ground limestone (which brings the pH to proper levels, as I discuss in Chapter 14), fertilizer, and sometimes compost, which is good for plant growth. Potting soil is lightweight, is free of disease organisms that may be present in true garden soil, and holds moisture well but at the same time offers good aeration and drainage.
Don't use garden soil to start seeds indoors. Garden soil isn't light enough (that is, it doesn't have enough air spaces) and may contain insects or diseases that can kill your tender seedlings.
Sowing your seeds
After you've chosen the proper container and soilless soil (or growing medium), follow these steps to sow your seeds:
1. Fill a container with moistened growing medium to within 1/2 inch of the top of the container.
Soilless mixes are dusty and difficult to wet initially. Pour the mix into a plastic bag, and then add enough warm water to moisten the mix but not turn it into a drippy mud pie. Mix the water and growing medium with your hands or a strong wooden spoon, closing off the opening of the bag as much as possible to keep the dust in. Remove the soil from the bag and place it in the container. Gently firm down the medium with a flat piece of wood, such as a ruler.
2a. If you're planting seeds in a flat, follow these directions to sow your seeds:
Make shallow furrows (rowlike impressions) with a blunt stick or by pressing the narrow edge of a ruler into the medium. Then sow the seeds according to these guidelines:
• Sow small seeds, such as lettuce, at about five to eight seeds per inch if you intend to transplant them into different containers soon after they come up. Sow larger seeds, such as melons, at three to four seeds per inch.
• Sow seeds more sparingly, at three to four seeds per inch, if you intend to thin and leave them in the same container (rather than transplant into a larger container).
Either method — transplanting the seeds into a new container or leaving them in the same container — works fine; it's just a matter of what pots and room you have. Transplanting into individual pots takes up more room but allows larger plants such as tomatoes more room for their roots to grow. Smaller plants, such as lettuce, grow fine when thinned and left in their original containers.
You can broadcast (randomly spread) seeds rather than plant them in rowlike trenches, but row planting and thinning are easier.
2b. If you're planting seeds in individual containers, here's how you sow:
• Put two to four seeds in each container.
• Later, thin the seedlings, leaving the strongest one.
3. After sowing the seeds at the correct depth (see the appendix), cover them with fine potting soil or vermiculite.
Label each row or container because many seedlings look alike. You can purchase labels from a nursery or through a mail-order catalog, or you can use old ones from previously purchased nursery transplants. Using a waterproof pen, record the type of vegetable, the variety, and the date that the seed was planted.
4. Water the seeds gently with a mister or spray bottle.
A stronger stream of water can wash seeds into one section of the container or move them too deeply into the soil.
5. Cover the container with a sheet of clear plastic or a plastic bag to hold in the moisture.
If necessary, use small stakes to prop up the plastic so it doesn't rest on top of the soil.
6. Place the planted containers in a warm spot.
The cooler the temperature, the longer it takes for the plants to emerge, so keep 'em warm and toasty! Some warm spots include the top of your refrigerator or near your furnace. But be careful how you water around electrical appliances. You also can buy heating cables or mats that keep the soil warm from below. Follow the package instructions carefully.
Never put containers in direct sun; the plastic cover holds in the heat, cooking your seeds to death.
7. Check the containers daily to make sure they're still moist but not so wet that they mold.
If you see signs of mold, loosen the cover and let air in; the mold should disappear. You also can hook up a small fan to gently blow across the seedlings (without the plastic cover on), keeping the soil on the dry side. However, be careful not to dry out the seedlings.
8. As soon as you see the first green shoots emerge, remove the plastic cover and move your seedlings to a spot that provides plenty of light and the proper growing conditions for that vegetable.
Refer to the chapter covering that vegetable for information about the proper growing conditions. Until seedlings emerge from the soil, light is unnecessary, with the exception of lettuce and celery seeds. Sow these seeds by lightly pressing them into the soil or covering them very lightly with 1/8 inch of fine potting soil, and then place the containers in a bright spot or position them under a 40-watt incandescent light.
Providing the right amount of light and heat
The light that your young seedlings receive is one of the most important factors in good growth. Placing the seedlings in a south-facing window is one option but not always the best one. Even in a sunny window, plants get only a fr
action of the light that they would get outside. Windowsill plants often get tall and spindly because they get too warm in relation to the light they receive.
Try to keep your seedlings on the cool side — 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit (75 degrees maximum) — to encourage slower growth; cooler temperatures give you sturdy, stocky plants that transplant well. Although a 10- to 15-degree drop in temperature at night is beneficial, a windowsill can get pretty chilly at night when it's wintry outside. Place a blanket between the plants and the glass to keep windowsill seedlings warm on frosty nights, or move plants away from the window at night.
Growing seedlings under fluorescent lights is a good way to keep light-hungry plants happy. Ordinary cool-white, 40-watt fluorescent bulbs are fine for starting seedlings. If possible, set up your lights near a window so the plants can receive both natural and artificial light. The more expensive grow lights that you can purchase at a nursery or through a mail-order seed catalog produce the broader spectrum light that plants need for flowering and fruiting (although your seedlings will be in the garden before they're ready to flower).
No matter what kind of light you have, use one set of lights (usually 2 bulbs to a set) for every 1-foot-width of seedling-growing area and keep the bulbs 2 to 4 inches from the tops of the seedlings at all times. Keep the lights on for no more than 16 hours per day so the plants can get their natural rest period. Inexpensive timers that turn the lights on and off automatically are available at nurseries and hardware stores.
Watering your seedlings
Water fragile seedlings carefully, or you risk uprooting them. Mist them with a gentle spray, or water them from the bottom by setting your container in a pan of water just long enough for the soil surface to wet (keeping them in water longer than this can damage the plants' roots). After the surface is wet, remove the container from the water and let it drain. Keep the soil surface lightly moist but not soggy. Always water with lukewarm water, and try to do so early in the morning, if possible. This way the foliage can dry off quickly during the day to avoid disease problems.