Good afternoon to all- Our gardens are looking good right now. Our potatoes are up and looking great, and we've been eating spinach, lettuce, carrots and broccolli all winter. I am having some doubts about the pepper seed I started- no sign of germination yet, so I may have to try again And I'm not going to waste my time this year trying to grow tomatoes. Here on the gulf Coast, no one can grow 'maters worth spit. Just too humid and hot and too many pests and diseases for 'maters to make. But I think I am going to run out and plant another few rows of green beans- the earliest plantings are up and doing well. Lord, it looks like we've made it to another gardening year- I give thanks for that! you all be safe and keep well- Ed
We planted our slips late for here, but they came up nicely. Here in Florida its time to plant sweet potatoes.
We liked those heat pads for seedlings too. We put the container that uses pellets on top of the pad.
Most plants like heat for germination, but heat after that can make for leggy seedlings. I always say heat causes growth, and cool temps and light inhibit growth. I generally like shorter, leafy plants, especially for sale.
I agree, short and stout when young, then long and lean when they mature. reminds me of another song.
I purchased material planters, The ones I got is more like a raised Bed, one is about eight foot by ten foot, the other one is smaller. I don't remember the depth so I don't know if it's deep enough for tomatoes But I can plant shallow rooted plants. With all that's going on here I hope I'm able to set them up. Can't wait to start working on my outdoor garden.
I still haven't purchased a fertilizer for my tomato and basil seedlings. I did dilute some kelp pills I purchased for me and water them with it about a week ago, I see no difference plus or minus in the plants. We use a Keurig K-Cup (pod) coffee maker, and throw away many K-Cups I got this crazy idea this morning, to take a used kcup, and reused it to make a diluted coffee to water the plants. Since coffee is acidic and tomatoes like a slightly acidic soil it should work, but I have to keep track of the pH. Coffee is said to have a lot of good nutrients for plants, we'll see.
Even coffee grounds don't affect the pH much. They are an okay nitrogen source and I think supply a few other nutrients. The kelp is a good source of trace nutrients, but the little you used won't do much either. You might be able to get kelp as fertilizer at a local ag store. It is high in potassium as well--more soluble than greensand.
The two nurseries / Stores I tried didn't have any Fertilizes I liked for seedlings, However I do have one nursery that has a large selection of fertilizers in all sizes, I've been putting off going there until I finish my list of gardening supplies. I did use greensand once years ago, I was told it was good for onions. I don't remember how it work out. Except for the lawn , I mostly use organic fertilizes like plantone, hollytone etc..