Gardening Itch - I've got it.

So its a new year and the snow has decided to come out in full force. Despite that I have the gardening itch.

I subscribe to the Gardener's Almanac who send me emails once a week tempting me with subject lines of "Start Your Seedlings Now!" (btw I love their planning guide)

I have the worst luck at starting seedlings, I usually just buy the plants already started. But this year I decided to try my luck with some herbs indoors. I grabbed some Summer Savory (my fav herb), Parsley and Basil.

I told my husband that if they take off I'll try some more seedlings and if they dont be prepared to fork out the cash for some real plants. He just shakes his head and mumbles about the grocery store.  

Has anyone started their seedlings yet? Do you find natural light better than fake light? I just put my pots on the counter under the window and if its nice and sunny on the window ledge.

If anyone wants a link to the Garden Planner here is it http://gardenplanner.almanac.com/

You can try it free for a few days to see if you like it. I think its the best thing since sliced bread :D

My 4 sisters might be able to help you out. They own and manage a 22 year family greenhouse! :)

http://www.millerflowers.co

https://www.facebook.com/MillerFlowers

Every time I've started seedlings I've killed them ... I either rot them or dry them out (and now I have a cat that eats any plants so I don't even have houseplants anymore =) ) so I stick with buying plants when it gets a little warmer, or seeds that can go straight into the garden like squash and carrots.

I definitely have to have tomatoes and okra. Anything else is optional and depending on how ambitious I feel at planting time!

What do you plan to grow this year?

I used the Park Seed biodomes and sponges. They are fantastic for starting seeds and more forgiving if you forget to check the water a day or two. Get a cheap shop light on chains and hook it up to a shelving unit. Choose a light that will take 2 fluorescent bulbs. Get one in a warm spectrum and one in the cool spectrum. Put the light right down a couple inches from the top of the Biodome. As soon as the seedlings come up, open the vents. As the seedlings grow , raise the shop light so that it stays a few inches above the seedlings. That will reduce the chance of damping off fungus that kills off the tiny seedlings. Once they have a couple sets of true leaves, you can pot them up into larger pots. I use the larger size biosponges and just plant that directly into the garden once the weather and plant size allows. Check the water in the Biodome tray every couple of days to make sure it's not dried out. I turn the shop light on when I get up and turn it off when I go to bed. Leaving it on overnight hasn't bothered the plants much. Next year, I'll probably start using sterile seed starting mix now that I have the hang of starting seeds, but I have such good success with the Biodomes that I don't feel like giving it up. :)

I'm going a bit crazy on tomato varieties this year. I have 32 kinds I want to grow!!

I would love to have more than one raised garden bed this year. Last year I did two tomato plants and we ended up sick of them by fall, so I think I will only do one this year. I am going to try my hand at peas again. Last year I planted them beside my tomato plants and they shriveled up and died. I would also like to try my hand at some fruits. I have a huge cherry tree that was here when we moved in, Ive had it give fruit once. We also had a huge peach tree that gave some little peaches once but we ended up cutting it down since it was dying. It was in a horrible spot (the neighbours are lazy and let their "bushes" overgrow). 

I have never heard of those biodomes but when I googled them they are so awesome!. I noticed a lot of their starter editions are already sold out. I wouldnt mind trying out hopefully they restock soon.

I grow a few greens and herbs right through the winter and sometimes under a grow lamp (it gets dark in Colorado)!  Most of these I start from seeds, with mixed success.  The greens usually sprout no problem (80%+), the herbs are really finicky.  About 30% for basil, for example.  Maybe I'll try some biodomes for the tender herbs.

As I've mentioned before I'm a patio gardener (3rd floor actually), and I use Earthboxes and shadecloth.   I get huge crops, plus it makes for a very pleasant patio. :)  I already thinking about seeds for this summer.  Still search for the perfect spinach, the perfect summer squash, and the perfect peppers for my mix.  Summers here are very hot and dry, and the sun is a little extra harsh at this altitude.

I have a huge cherry tree that was here when we moved in, Ive had it give fruit once.

You may want to see if there is an arborist around to take a look at it, it may just need a bit of nutrients to convince it to give more fruit. Sometimes it just needs a little help. 

If anyone has any specific container gardening tips, I'd love to hear 'em. We live on the second floor of a 2-family and have no backyard, but we have a porch in front and a deck in the back and my gf is dying to do some gardening. Hope everyone is well!

@Heavyartillery 

What climate are you in? That's going to determine what you can do a lot. 

If you want to do something pretty and a very nice smell the fact your mentioning container gardening. If you can get a container with good drainage (perhaps bottom of gravle) - lavender will work very well and except for over watering is pretty hard to kill. 

I dont recall where I saw it but someone had posted a picture of a pallet and they had it laying against their house on the porch and they were growing herbs from every section of the pallet. I thought it was so cool!

So I did my grocery shopping on Sunday and it was SUPER cold. Silly me decided to buy pregrown herbs in the grocery store and one of them was basil. I didnt think anything of it and we didnt get home until an hour later. When I brought the basil plant inside it had wilted!. I put it in my little greenhouse in the kitchen and watered it but I think its bit the dust. Stupid basil. Guess I will just have to dry it out and see if its okay to use dried and crumbly.

Oh and I bought a half preassembled 4 tier greenhouse at Home Depot for $35 this weekend too. Put it infront of the big window in my kitchen. Bought some Jiffy seed starters and planted onions and peas. 

Another thought if people want to do seedlings and have a Keurig. When your done with the K-cup instead of throwing it out, take the foil top off, and clean it out. It already has decent drainage from being punctured for the Keurig and makes good seedling planters you'll just need a tray for them. 

@Ysolde Feed that itch!

I've had my struggle with seed starting as well. I've refined my process a little bit, just gotta work on my planning now as last year I resorted to buying some of my fall garden as started plants. I totally will check out that link you sent; $25/yr sounds worth it if it keeps me outta the nursery ;)

I live in zone 8B so i have a bit more growing season than others, but to get a jump on spring, help myself plant through the winter and to micro-manage my raised garden, I start my seeds indoors. I've tried the Keurig idea mentioned above but didn't have much success, even after poking lots of holes in the bottom of the cup I couldn't get the soil evenly saturated and had a mold problem (possibly from a contaminated K-cup).

I'm not too picky with my seed source but when I order online its either burpee or SeedsNow. I will note though, while i've been pretty successful at fruit & veggie seed starting, I haven't been as much with herbs. went through an entire thyme, lavender and chive seed packets and I was able to get seeds to germinate, but they didn't have the tolerance for my lack of attention ;)

I use pellets to start the seeds in, random containers to keep them moist, and under a grow-light that doubles as a space heater that's on a timer to control light exposure.

Good news today! Went to go water my little muffins of dirt and what do I discover?

» Edited on: 2015-02-23 11:04:45

Hello fellow Gardeners!

So I have a question for you all. As I posted before a picture of my peas starting to seed. I keep them in a small greenhouse in my kitchen infront of the window. Lately I have discovered that there is alot of condensation going on inside the seedling dome. I basically never have to water them. Now it is starting to seem like there is a fungus growing on some of the little pods of dirt. Some is like a green goo and some is fluffy white. Any idea of what it is? I also think its starting to make my kitchen smell like the inside of a compost bin.