How early is too early? Can you start seeds too early? Is it necessary to start seeds indoors? We will talk about al this and more in todays episode. Enjoy!
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Thank you all so much for watching and Grow BIG!
Luke, again thank you, for such sage advice. I’m such a beginner that I really do depend on you and several other gardening channels to straighten me out. I’m getting it slowly, with many fails on the way. I’ve spent several hundred $ buying grow lights but I don’t have enough room to start all of the seeds that I want to grow. I’m only able to use grow bags for now. Until we get into our dream home. Then I will spend a very good amount of time building a proper raised bed garden that I will be proud of for my lifetime. My wife says, but there is only the 2 of us… but I plan on feeding the community. All of this to say “ no more early seed starting for me! Seed companies and experienced gardeners know much more than me!
I’m in zone 10 on the ocean and tried starting seeds in Dec last year…. it was not successful. Ended up buying replacement starts… I’m going to try following a San Francisco planting guide because it’s close to Malibu weather. When to start is the hardest part.
I started too early last year and it stifled its growth
Luke I appreciate your knowledge & honesty!! We all get to a point where we are chomping at the bit to get started it’s good to be reminded to pace ourselves with our growing seasons.
@Migardener I ordered some seeds from your online site but you are put of a lot of seeds. Are you getting more seeds in stock soon? Thanks!
Great channel! Good advice really.
Ok so.. I live here in Ohio zone 6.
Last year my brassicas didn't do anything in the spring because it got to hot to quickly. I have LED grow lights, which are very cost effective compared to other grow lights. Cold weather crops like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower or even onions for transplanting in the spring can be started now. I also have an unheated greenhouse made from cattle panels. So indoors until a few sets true leaves, then into the greenhouse, and into the ground without transplanting in multiple sized pots before hand… I still have cabbages, lettuce and broccoli growing in the greenhouse perfectly fine from fall. Yeah they won't be growing super vigorous ATM but they sure are ready whenever the weather permits!
One thing you didn't touch on was power cost. If you have a grow light running for a month or two that isn't free electricity – even if running LEDs. And the power cost may be as much as getting a really nice start from a quality store who can afford to run many plants at once under powerful lights. I had some indoor gardens going last year growing lettuce spinach and rhubarb and my cost to run the lights was almost what buying the produce from a store would be. Of course I know what was put on my lettuce when I eat it. But still something to consider…
Last year’s experiment showed me tomato seeds planted at the same time as starts will grow fast enough to produce a second wave of tomatoes in early autumn for harvesting. My family gifted me heat mats and more grow lights this year, but I refuse to start anything until Feb. 1 since my last frost is May 15. I plan to start frost hardy herbs and spinach first since I can pop those under frost covers in March/April.
You start too early once and you'll never do it again (In my case anyway)
I start my super hot peppers early but they take quite awhile to even germinate and they are staying in an aerogarden so it does most the work for me. But my regular plants will not be started until around March. My states extension service actually makes a garden calendar every year and it tells you when to start indoors or plant outdoors it's a good tool for beginners!
just started walla walla onions .
I find that pepper plants take much longer to mature than tomatoes. I actually started my purple beauty peppers in January 2021 and kept them in a large pot this year and brought them inside when winter came. They're still flowering and producing golf ball size peppers right now in January 2022.
Can we get March t-shirts that say I am the 5% migardener
I would agree entirely for 99 percent of the time. I'm starting hot chili peppers, Tiny Tim Tomatoes, and Bonnie Best tomato. Tiny Tim Tomatoes because I plan to keep it by a window. Mostly for my sanity to survive until the warm weather comes back to NYC Lol.
The chili pepper I'm just giving a shot at prunning for a giant plant before it flowers and fruits in the summer. I want a very mature plant going into the summer and peppers are slower growing than tomatoes.
The Bonnie Best Tomato I'm going to be planting it and potting it up several times in deeper while prunning for side suckers. The goal is come the warm weather, I do a final transplant into a 20 gallon pot with sand and vermiculite and topped with compost with around 3-6 suckers poking out of the ground. And those will be grown as 6 single stems but as one plant…maybe I let them sucker one more time. But that's the general idea
Thank you!!!
What zone are you living in ?
Ok Boomer. Don't ruin our fun, some of us just like growing things and breakin rules.
One of the biggest things I have come into is trying to start all of my early spring and all of my peppers and tomatos. It is all fine and well until a few weeks go by and you are potting everything up and quickly run out of space. So remembering how much space seedlings take up in their last stage before transplating them out and if you will have the space and resources to do that potting up as to prevent stunting your seedlings
I start peppers, basil and one plant of each tomato type that has 70+ days to maturity in early Feb. The remaining plants are planted in early March.
Awe how long since you changed your outtro?
I've been fighting the urge to start seeds early since seedlings always suffer more under my care than outside in nature.
I start my seeds indoors using an aerogarden that was gifted to me. They have a seed starting tray for my model that has 25 slots for whatever I want and I transplant the sponges directly into the soil or in small starter pots if I feel I need to harden them off. The hydroponic plants actually grow much better and faster than seeds I've started in seed-starting mix. The only hard part is calculating when to actually start them inside because of the reduced growing time.
I had the problem last year of starting my tomatoes too early and had them flowering in the cups I started them in and then they got sick so I ended up having to buy starts from a local farmers market.
WE NEED FOOD SECURITY! Thus growing year round even if it means in doors. Who’s with me?
Also this video is zone dependent. Not all of us are in michigan
I made this mistake last year, wish I knew sunflowers do not like moving around. I plan on waiting until the soil warms, I really appreciate this video
Had no frost this year, or really ever so I started early. My sun gold tomatoes never stopped and I had many tomatoes in Dec Jan and now.
I’m so spoiled I am in zone 10b right near 10a so everything grows.
I'll start cauliflower now and I don't use no lamps.By the window or somewhere warm.