Big Grow Light Stand Annex

Much has been going on in the garden lately. I have planted broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, chard, peas, potatoes and my first installment of extra-early tomatoes outside. Inside has been even busier. I now have peppers, cucumbers, zucchini and over 100 tomato seedlings under the lights. The problem is that I still have 10 giant extra-early tomato plants also under the lights. Things were getting pretty crowded!

I couldn't fit everything in and I couldn't get the lower lights to go any higher. The plants were growing into and over the lights.

The only way to fix this without abandoning my extra-early tomato plan was to build a light stand annex. I rounded up another old table, some more hooks chains and shop lights and presto - a lovely annex on the other side of the room!

They are already growing up to touch the lights, but I can keep moving the lights up higher now.

Moving these plants around has reminded me that I never shared with you my creative container choices. Anything goes when I get into the larger pot size.

I won't be able to use these double pots again since I had to cut out the bottom. I have already planted some of these out in the garden and I had to completely cut away the pot to get the plant out. The sand pail is a better idea. Just remember, if you use something that wasn't originally intended to be a planter, you need to drill holes in the bottom for drainage. This sand bucket won't hold water anymore!

I have already transplanted five tomato plants in the prepared outside bed. Soon I will have pictures of them. They were Early Girl, New Girl, Orange Blossom, and two 4th of July plants. I did manage to put black plastic down over the bed to heat up the soil but I have not yet built my makeshift lean-to greenhouse to go over them. I haven't had to yet because it has been unseasonably warm this week in the mid 80's! Next week's weather will not be so tomato friendly though. It is supposed to only get to about 50 degrees with overnight lows in the 30s - yikes! That is why it is crazy to plant tomatoes outside here in April. I hope I can get my plastic up soon and it works!

In the meantime I will be potting up the inside tomatoes to even bigger containers. They are looking very happy in their cozy warm indoor environment.

Too bad I can't grow them to fruit stage inside. Sooner or later they have to brave the elements outside. I am still dreaming of ripe tomatoes here in northern zone 5 by June 1st! Wish me luck!

How to grow healthy seedlings under lights

There were several questions asked on my last early tomato post so I thought I should expound on what has worked well for me. I have grown most of my vegetables and annuals from seed under lights for years. I have made many mistakes along the way and have developed a system that works well for me. There are a few simple tips that I have learned that might be helpful to you.

The five most often overlooked tips for growing successful seedlings:

1. Use a lot of light!

If you think your seedlings aren't getting enough light, you're right. And if you think they have enough light, they could still use more. With florescent light fixtures I am trying to mimic the bright and powerful sun, so the more the merrier. I like to have two fixtures per flat (four 40 watt bulbs). I don't use special light spectrum grow bulbs. They are an unnecessary expense. Although it is important to use new bulbs each year because the light bulbs lose some of their brightness as they age. I keep the lights on between 16 and 18 hours per day.

2. Keep the plants close to the lights!

I make sure the light fixtures are only an inch or so above the top of the plants. Remember, we are trying to give them the power of the sun, not the moon. Don't think in terms of how much light we need. I would rather err on the side of the plants touching the bulbs than too far away from them. Being too far from the bulbs causes tall spindly plants.

3. Use good growing medium!

I use the soil-less seed starting mix in the beginning and transplant up to a mixture of potting soil and peat moss. Do not use straight potting soil because it doesn't hold water well enough. You need the peat to keep the roots constantly watered.

4. Give them plenty to drink with bottom watering!

All of my containers have holes in the bottoms to allow water in (or out). Peat pots work the best for this. I put the cell packs, newspaper pots or peat pots in a plant tray that will hold water. Then I fill the tray up about half way and the porous soil medium wicks up the water to feed the roots. I water almost every day. I am convinced that this is where the most mistakes are made with growing seedlings. Constant light can dry out the soil quickly which stresses the plants. If you try to spray your plants from above, they probably don't get enough water. This is why I am struggling with using soil blocks. Since they aren't in a pot you can't bottom water them. I haven't used them for my early tomatoes. I will try again with the main season tomatoes.

Incidentally, making sure my plants are watered frequently enough is why I don't use automatic timers to turn the lights on and off. If I have to do it manually I am more able to monitor the soil moisture.

5. Get your timing right!

Make sure you know when you plan to move the plants outdoors and the growth habit of each kind of plant you are raising. Research the recommended seed-to-transplant time for each vegetable or flower. For instance, tomatoes should only be under lights for 4 to 6 weeks before transplanting and you shouldn't transplant them until all danger of frost has passed. In my area, the average last frost is May 15th. That means that I should wait to plant the seeds of my 27 main season tomato varieties until mid-April. If timed correctly, you do not need to pot-up very often. Of course for my extra-early tomatoes I transplant them two or three times and have them under lights for 8 to 10 weeks but that is unusual. For most of my flower and vegetable seeds, I try to wait as long as possible. Real-estate under grow-lights is at a premium, even for a big bench like mine. Be careful not to take up unnecessary space by planting too early.

Now, If you have never tried starting your own seeds indoors with florescent lights, I hope posts like these don't make it look too complicated. I love managing the plants under lights. For me it is great fun. It is especially rewarding because I know that I can truly raise organic vegetables. I get to control the plants' environment from start to finish. It is also fun to grow seedlings because you get a chance to get your hands dirty when it is still too cold to dig in the outdoor garden. I would recommend any gardener give seed-starting a try.

2008 Extra Early Tomato Update

I often feel like I write too much about my tomato endeavors here, but I have been asked in a comment and in emails about the status of my extra-early tomato plants. If you agree that I write too many tomato posts, I apologize. Its just that there is a bit of satisfaction in trying to beat mother nature and coax something along to an early harvest. For me (and for those asking me to write this), that obsession lies with tomatoes! It is fun to get to eat a nice juicy organic garden fresh tomato a full month earlier than your neighbors. Its even more fun to have enough early tomatoes to share with you neighbors.

So that is what I am shooting for this year. Last year I only grew two early tomato plants. This year I will have a lot more - at least 12. As of now, I have about 30 plants growing under lights. Last year, I raised only Early Girl tomatoes as my early variety. This year I am trying six different varieties. Last year my goal was to have ripe tomatoes by June 24th (my birthday), and got the first ripe tomato on June 15th! This year I am hoping for May 31st!

So how am I doing? Is that goal possible? I'm really not sure. I do feel like I'm further behind than I should be. I started the first seeds on Valentine's Day and I stuck to my holiday theme by transplanting tomato seedlings yesterday on Easter.

The problem is that I wasn't able to start all the early varieties at the same time. I only started Early Girl and New Girl on February 14th. They were transplanted to peat pots on February 28th. I started Orange Blossom and 4th of July on February 17th, but didn't get them transplanted to peat pots until March 10th! The last of my early varieties are Sub Arctic and Siletz. Those seeds didn't come in until late, so they were seeded on February 28th and transplanted to peat pots yesterday, March 23rd. Here is an example of the size difference between the plants transplanted on February 28th and the ones transplanted yesterday.

Big difference. Originally I wanted to grow several different varieties to find out which one is the best early tomato. As you can see, scientifically I have failed all of the varieties except Early Girl and New Girl. They are the only ones that might still be on pace. For them, yesterday was time to transplant again. For this third step they get put into CD spindle covers that are about 7 inches deep. They need to have holes drilled in them first for drainage.

These are great containers for this purpose because they are big enough in diameter and taller than a conventional 4 inch pot. This is great for tomatoes because each time you transplant a tomato plant, you want to plant it deeper than what it was in the pot it came from. You can bury the entire stem up to the first true leaves because roots grow from the buried stem which makes the plant stronger. Here is a before-after comparison of a plant in the peat pot and then in the CD pot.

So am I far enough along to be fortunate enough to harvest before June 1st? That is two full weeks earlier than last year. Judging solely by my indoor transplanting schedule, I don't think I'm two weeks ahead of last year. Where I hope to make up ground is in the outdoor preparation.

I have two raised beds from last year that I will be planting these early tomatoes in. I have put black plastic on the soil to begin warming it. I also plan to erect a frame down the middle of the beds to be able to drape 6 mil clear plastic over. The frame that I'm talking about will look just like the wood of my pea trellis. Later, I will use the wood frame to support the plants like my tomato towers from last year.

But now I'm getting ahead of myself. Hopefully the plants will be put out by the middle of April. Our average last frost date is May 15th, so even with extra protection I will have to watch the weather.

Is this all too much trouble just to reap ripe tomatoes a month or so early? Not if you are a tomato fanatic like me!

I'll let you know more as it develops.

What is your favorite seed company?

All month we have been seeing posts about the stacks of seed catalogs that appear in gardeners' mailboxes. I love reading about people's excitement for seed catalogs.

Just for the record, here is my new 2008 seed catalog collection:

I'm curious, what effect do all of these catalogs have on gardeners decisions as to where to buy their seeds? So what better way to find out then to ask some gardeners?

Do you buy your seeds from a catalog or catalogs, from the web or from your local store? If you buy from a seed company's catalog or website, which companies are your favorites and why? If you have an answer for me you can comment on this post or you can write a post of your own. If you do write a post about it, let me know and I will link to it.

Just in case I don't get many answers (or any), I’ll now let you know what my favorites are and why.

This year's top six! I have ordered from five of these in the past and this year I will order from a new one.

The company I ordered from for years is Park Seeds. I'm not sure why it was my first favorite. I guess I had success with their seeds and just kept ordering from them without trying any others.

Johnny's Selected Seeds is another favorite because they have many organic selections. I originally learned of them from Eliot Coleman.

Totally Tomatoes is a fun company because they are, well - totally tomatoes! I didn't know there were soooo many different varieties of tomatoes!

The catalog I order from the most is not even a seed catalog. Gardens Alive sells organic fertilizers and many great organic gardening supplements and supplies. I also like them because I used to work at their retail store.

Now for my all-time favorite, Pinetree Garden Seeds. Why are they my favorite? I'll admit it, - they're my favorite because I'm cheap! Pine tree has always offered the least expensive seeds, period. Most seed packets are still under a dollar! The seeds I've gotten from them have always produced very well. Their catalog is not very pretty or fancy. I actually appreciate that because they do seem to pass along the savings to their customers. I will always get the bulk of my seeds from Pine tree even while sampling other companies.

Now for the new catalog that impresses me; Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. They have many rare varieties and they are all heirloom seeds! Last year I began growing more heirloom tomatoes and I want to expand to include more heirloom vegetables this year. Not only do their selections look great, their catalog is beautiful! It is full of pictures and interesting designs. Simply paging through the catalog is a real treat.

Well there you have it. If you would like to write a comment or a post about your favorite seed catalog, yours doesn't have to be as long as mine. I tend to get carried away sometimes. Seriously, I really do want to hear about where you buy from and why. I'm sure I've been missing some great companies. I'll link to your posts in one of my future posts.

Have fun perusing through those catalogs and longing for Spring planting!

Excited about my new Soil Blocker!

The time of year is fast approaching where I start hundreds of seeds indoors with my grow-light setup. Last season I wrote a post documenting all the things you need to start seeds indoors and one of the main things I listed was cell-packs or pots.

Now I realize that you don't even need them - if you have soil block makers!

I first read about soil block makers 10 years ago in my all time favorite gardening book The New Organic Grower, by Eliot Coleman. Eliot Coleman is the leading expert in effective organic vegetable production. I have implemented many of Coleman's organic techniques and alternative tools over the years in my garden but I never had a soil blocker until now.

I don't know why I waited so long. I used to spend hours packing soil into little cell packs. Now I can just create blocks of soil as the pots. Now that I see it in action I am going to buy the other sizes of block makers too. You see, the beauty of the system is that you can start a seed in a small block and then transplant it into a larger block when needed. The larger size soil blocks are made with indentations the exact size of the smaller block! I bought my soil blocker from Johnny's Selected Seeds and they have a great PDF file on their website that explains this better.

If you're not following how the blocker works, it is designed to compact the seed-starting medium into the blocks and then "press" out the blocks with a spring-loaded mechanism.

I used to think the soil blocker costs were too high but now I'm reconsidering that. The smaller sizes run around $30 each but the larger 4" size is over $100. All I have now is the medium size but I may spring for the smaller size this year too. I will probably have to pass on the larger size and use pots and make-shift containers for my larger tomato transplants like I did last year. Although I do think the complete soil block maker system is so cool that I will save up and get the larger one for Christmas and have it in production for 2009! I know, I know, we still have all of 2008 to go. I will post about the smaller boil blockers when I begin using them next month. I can hardly wait!

Don't be afraid to start vegetable seeds indoors

I am constantly amazed and dismayed by how many people tell me that they couldn't possibly start vegetable plants from seed indoors. I am especially surprised when the person with that thought is an experienced gardener. I am not here to debate or to put down those who don't start veggies from seed. I just want to write a bit for anyone who thinks it is a good idea to start seeds, but is afraid to try.

Don't be intimidated because it's easier than you think. I know there is much written about all the things you need to start seeds and it may seem like a detailed science. I also know it sounds very expensive when people write that you need to have a $200 light stand with $20 grow light bulbs and heating mats and a self waterer and a timer and a soil block maker or massive amounts of peat pots and special trays and special soil and... and... and... Don't let them get you down! All of those things are nice, but most are not necessary. I've been successfully growing vegetable and flower seedlings for years, many times on the cheap!

So what do you really need? Before I answer that question, lets ask another: Is it too late to start indoor seedlings for this season?

NO. It is not too late for most vegetables. On my post about growing extra-early tomatoes, I got some comments from gardeners that they might have waited too long to start their tomatoes. For the record, I just started my main season tomatoes. The picture above shows how big they are today - just sprouts.

The question of when to plant your seeds varies with where on earth your garden is located. Heat loving vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and melons should not be put outside until all danger of frost has passed in your area. I'm sure you've read that on the seed packets before. If you don't know when your average last frost is, you can call your county's cooperative extension service. But if you are reading this post, then you are an internet person and would probably prefer to find out online. There are conflicting reports of dates from one site to another, so be sure to check a few different resources. You can see the "frost free dates for US cities" table that I found to be the most accurate based on the few cities around me at growquest.com or naturalgardening.com.

Once you've determined your last frost date, you should plant your seeds 4-6 weeks earlier, depending on the variety of vegetable you are wanting to grow. That information is usually on the seed packets as well.

Okay, now back to my first question, "so what do you really need for seed starting". The seeds don't know or care how much money you've spent to get their life started. To germinate, they simply need light, a container with soil to root in, water and warmth. There are many ways to adequately provide these things for your plants. I am not pretending to be an expert and I don't want to tell you how to do things, so I will outline what works for me:

Lighting: I do not spend money on a fancy stand or on special bulbs, yet I successfully raise hundreds of plants from seed. I use ordinary shop lights with ordinary 40 watt florescent bulbs. Some people get away with putting their plants in a sunny window, but it is better to use florescent light. There is much written about using more expensive warm and cool lights, grow lights or multi-spectrum bulbs. I agree that all of those probably work, but so do cheap bulbs so that's what I use. I choose to spend my money instead on more shop light fixtures, and again I buy the cheapest ones available. The key to giving the seedlings adequate light is to keep the fixtures right above them, almost touching the plants even. To do this, I hang the fixtures with chains so I can lower or raise the lights as needed. I used to just hang a couple of lights above a small table. This year I built a bigger double-decker table to support 8 light fixtures. That's how much I believe in starting your own seeds.

Pots: You can plant your seeds in anything that holds soil. I now use the plastic cell packs to start the seeds because they are easy and re-usable. Some plants I transplant to bigger containers as they grow. At that point, anything is fair game. Right now, one of my big early tomatoes is in a sand bucket. Really, at any stage, you can use "free containers" if you don't want to buy cell packs. You can be creative and use margarine tubs, shallow cups, newspaper pots, plastic bag lined cardboard boxes, cake pans or whatever. I would stay away from egg cartons because they are pretty shallow. If you use them, you will soon need to transplant to something larger. No matter what you use, the key is to be able to put the pots in a water-tight tray or pan. The trays that come with the cell packs work the best for me. It is important to have a tray under your pots for watering.

Soil: Actually, you don't really want soil. The soil-less seed starting mixes are much better. Here is the one place that I don't compromise. Ordinary potting soil is cheaper, but not near as good for starting seeds. If you choose to transplant to larger pots as the plants grow, potting soil would be fine. I use the soil-less mix even when I transplant. It is my exclusive "dirt" until the plants go outside.

Water: Everyone knows that plants need water, but many people do not water properly. Seedlings need moisture to germinate and water to grow. The best method for watering seedlings is bottom watering. This is why I said that you need your pots in a tray of some kind. I never pour or spray water on the young plants. Instead I fill the tray under the plants with water. The roots and the soil-less mix soak up the water like sponges. Keeping water off the above ground portion of the plants helps reduce disease and keeps the plants from getting too cold. One important point here relating to the containers you choose: If you create your own pot, it has to be porous or have holes in the bottom in order for the plant to get the water. You may have to punch or drill your own holes. I had to do this when I used CD spindle covers as pots:

Warmth: To germinate, the seeds need to we warm. This is why so many gardeners have problems with their seeds not sprouting. This is also why so many garden writers push using heat mats. I'm sure they would be helpful but I've never wanted to spend $30 for one. I keep my seed starting operation in the basement, so I do have to consider the cold. The way I ensure germination is by using the seed trays with the clear plastic covers. After planting the seeds, I bottom water with warm water and put the cover on. It gives it a nice greenhouse effect. I then put the new plant trays in the laundry room where the dryer and furnace keep the room toasty. Everything I start this way germinates well. If you don't use the seed trays with lids, cover your pots with plastic wrap. Then look for warm places to put them like the top of the refrigerator, on top of a fish tank light, or next to a radiator. The pots do not need to be under the lights until after they sprout.

Then What?

After your seeds germinate keep them close to the lights. Keep the lights on for 12 to 16 hours per day. I keep the lights on when I am awake. I turn them on first thing in the morning, say hello to my baby plants, water them if they need it and adjust the lights. Just before I go to bed, I check on them and turn the lights off. I used to use a timer to accomplish this, but I would sometimes neglect the watering or light adjusting. Visiting the light stand twice a day is much better.

I transplant most of my seedlings to larger pots when they get their 2nd set of true leaves. You don't necessarily have to transplant. If you choose not to transplant, as the plants get larger, they will run out of nutrients in the small pots. You will need to add liquid fertilizer or compost tea to the trays in order to keep the plants healthy.

About a week before planting your new vegetable starts in the garden, begin getting them used to being outside. Put them outside for an hour or two the first day to experience the wind. The next day keep them out a bit longer. The next day, put them in the direct sunlight. If the night temperature is mild after a few days, keep them out overnight. This gradual process is called "hardening off". It is important to keep the plants from getting diseased, but don't worry too much about it. It is not an exact science. Some years when I didn't have time to fuss with them as much, I just moved the plants to the garage for a couple days before putting them out. If you are worried about this process, be conservative and only harden off half of your plants at a time.

Since it took me so long to explain all of this, I hope I didn't make seed starting seem complicated. It is really pretty simple. There is a lot of information available out there on the subject. If you want to read what some other bloggers have said about seed starting, Carol at May Dreams Gardens asked some seed related questions and compiled a list of bloggers who answered them.

I hope you decide to try starting your own vegetable seeds. There are many benefits to doing so - but that is material for another post.

Happy Seed Starting!

Grow Light Stand... on Steroids!

Since my last post showing my attempt at extra early ripe tomatoes, I re-potted those young tomato pioneers once more.

When I put them back under the grow lights, I remembered that I haven't showed you the light stand that I built new for 2007! Finishing this was one of the things on my 2007 Garden to do list post. I have always hung a few shop lights from the ceiling and had enough space for about four flats of seedlings. This year however, I've quadrupled my capacity!

It's big and heavy and a bit ugly, but oh how many plants we can grow now!

It is really just an old kitchen table extended with plywood and built up with scrap wood to sport a second level. With two levels, I can hang 4 shop lights under the top level and 4 shop lights from the ceiling. Under those lights I have room for 12 flats. Using cell packs that fit 72 seedlings per flat, that's a possible 864 plants at a time! That's not a real number because of transplanting to bigger pots. Regardless of the number, I think I finally have enough indoor grow space. I like to start almost everything on my garden list from seed. Last year it was pretty crowded under the lights. I found myself kicking plants out into the garden earlier than I wanted to just to make room for other plants. This is what my light table looked like last year:

Here is what each level of the new and improved light table looks like:

Bottom Level

Top Level (not being used much yet)

I didn't spend anything on the wood and I just use regular 40 watt florescent bulbs in the light fixtures instead of spending lots of money on "growlight" bulbs. To me the key is having a lot of light. Remember, with florescent lights we are trying to mimick the Sun. The Sun is so powerful and puts off so much light that even though we are 93 million miles away, we can't even directly look at it! With that in mind, I have added an extra light fixture per level. I have four fixtures over three rows of flats instead of the normal one fixture per row of flats. It is also important to keep the lights only a few inches above the tops of the plants. By suspending the lights with chains, I can easily adjust the distance as the plants grow, or as I use bigger pots.

I keep the lights on about 16 hour per day. I don't believe in using an automatic timer either. If I have to turn the lights on and off manually, that is a guaranteed two times daily that I will look at the plants. That way I will always notice when they need watering or any other attention.

This post was really only supposed to be about the new light stand. I will write more about the art of growing from seed later. After all, I still have about 1000 seeds left to start!

Early Tomatoes for Green Thumb Sunday!

My goal is to have extra early ripe tomatoes by July 1st!

I planted Early Girl Tomato seeds in cell packs back in February and then transplanted them to peat pots. They are looking pretty good now.

They now need to be potted up again to a larger pot. Each time I transplant them, I bury the stem all the way to the first set of leaves. This way extra roots grow from what was the stem. Here is what the seedling looks like now compared to the first day I transplanted it.

These seedlings didn't start out as well as they are now. They germinated alright, but then we had a cold spell near 0 degrees and my basement got pretty cold. The seedlings still looked good from a distance, but upon closer inspection I noticed that the underside of the leaves were purple.

This has happened to my broccoli plants outdoors in the past when it was too cold, so I was familiar with it. Leaves turn purple when there is a phosphorus dificency in the soil or when the plant can not take up phosphorus. When soil gets cold the phosphorus in the soil gets "locked up", meaning it is not available to the plant at all until the soil warms back up.

Since my tomato seedlings were still inside, I had complete control over their soil and its temperature. I suppose I could have heated the plants and soil, but instead I decided to go ahead and transplant them up, using warm soiless mix and warm water. The tomatoes responded well, the outside temperatures and my basement warmed up, and now my plants look healthy as can be. They are enjoying being part of the cool season veggies, sitting in the flat beside my broccoli and lettuce seedlings.

There is more to be done than just transplanting to enjoy early ripe tomatoes. I will be warming the bed they will go in with black plastic, and will have to fashion something that can be covered with clear plastic after they get planted outdoors in April (about a month earlier than my main season tomatoes).

I will post more about that when the time comes. As for now, I am just enjoying my growing plants and dreaming of eating that first organic garden fresh home grown tomato - before the July 4th holiday! That is if I have a little luck and if I really do have a green thumb!

See other Green Thumb Sunday participants' posts by visiting the Green Thumb Sunday blogroll at the bottom of my sidebar. You could also join in the fun and post your own Green Thumb photos!

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I have too many seeds...but want more!

I recently went through all of my seed packets from previous years. Look at this mess!

Even though it looks like I have a lot of seeds, a gardener never has enough! Actually my "seed tool box" was in desperate need of a good cleaning. I had many packets from as far back as 1998. I decided too... gulp... throw some out. That is really hard to do as a gardener. I threw out only seeds that I sow directly in the garden. Things like corn, beans, pumpkins and squash had to go. I kept old seeds for crops like lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and cucumbers. The difference here is that I plant these indoors under florescent light. I will just plant double of these to compensate for a possible poor germination rate. I can not afford poor germination when it comes to the crops that are planted directly in the soil.

Another good reason to get rid of some old seed is to make room for new seed! I have placed orders with Park Seed and Pinetree Garden Seed already, and plan to get some things from Johnny's Selected Seeds and probably more from Pinetree.

Pinetree has always been my favorite seed company because they offer good quality seeds at about half the price of most other companies! I like Park and Johnny's because they both offer many unique varieties. I am getting some crazy tomato and corn cultivars! I will tell you more about that in future posts.

As for now, it is time to dig out my florescent shop lights and seed starting supplies and take over the corner of my basement family room once again. As soon as my new seeds come in the mail it will be time to get my fingers dirty and plant some lettuce and onions! I can hardly wait!