Starting Transplants for the Garden - My Equipment Set-up
I'm seeing and responding to a lot of chatter on the gardening and homesteading sites [including my own] about starting transplants, and I wanted to do a more in-depth tutorial on how I do it.
[This post contains affiliate links.]
There are several key elements to a good transplant:
- Fresh seeds, seeds really shouldn't be more than 2 years old, unless they have been stored in the freezer, for proper germination.
- Proper growing medium. You need a good TRANSPLANT medium, not soil, not compost, not potting soil, but actual starting medium. You can make your own, but for most home gardeners it is more economical to buy it.
- Enough, proper, light. A sunny south facing window is fine for a couple weeks, but if you are starting a lot of plants, and/or way early, you need a proper light source with a full spectrum light. Without enough light, your plants will grow too tall too fast and be spindly and weak, and often not make it.
- Enough space. You can start 200 tiny seeds in a single tray, but what are you going to do when those 200 seeds are now plants in pots and still need the warmth of inside and plenty of proper light?
- Enough water. Seeds must stay moist until sprouted. This requires some diligence in checking and maintaining a good moisture content without flooding. Also, where is any extra water going to go? You don't want dirty water on your living carpet because that's the south facing window where you need to put your seedling trays. One full day with lack of water has the possibility of killing off your efforts. Two days, definitely, unless you have self-watering trays.
- Time. Read the instruction on the seed packages to see when and where to plant. It says exactly the time frame when to start transplants indoors so that they will be ready on the proper date for out of doors. You need to plan for babying through those weeks and supplying what they need to be strong and sturdy for the out doors.
What doesn't matter, is what you pot them in. I've started seeds in plastic containers from take out and grocery produce. I love tin foil pans for catering that I can buy in bulk and sanitize each year effectively, but they are not real sturdy and need careful handling.
Yes, you can start seeds in anything and put them in a sunny southern-facing window for a few weeks, but if you plan on a large garden, for many years, or selling, you'll want/need to invest in the proper set-up.
I finally got serious about transplants and got a proper set-up a few years ago. It has made a HUGE difference in what I am able to do, the ease of doing it, and the health of my transplants and eventual garden. Here's what I bought.
Starter trays in different sizes for different reasons.
10 pack growing trays WITHOUT holes. I use these as the bases for my seedling trays because it allows extra water to go through and collect in the bottom rather than running all over my house. They aren't that sturdy, but I don't need them to be. I also use these as starting trays for very fine seeds. I just sprinkle them all over the soil and cover. With no holes, it retains moisture better, I just need to keep a watch that I don't OVER water when using them without cell trays.
I use the 200 cell tray for anything I want to start that has seeds large enough to plant individually, even if it is with a pair of tweezers, that I plan to quickly transplant into larger containers. Most seedlings you can transplant as early as when they get their first set of true leaves, not the 2 they start off with. I usually wait until I feel they have outgrown their cells.
50 cell trays for things that I want to grow in them until transplant, but they are happy without too much room. Like marigolds that I start a bit later.
Biodegradable pots are necessary for plants that don't like their roots disturbed. I start and end the seeds in these pots, transplanting with as little shock as possible to the plant and maintaining the roots at all times. The larger pots I will use for melons, squash and cucumber. The smaller ones I will use for nasturtiums and spinach. Spinach can go out early, so they don't stay inside long enough to need a larger pot, and nasturtiums I start late, so again, they aren't inside very long. I'm not a fan of peat pellets or these biodegradable containers. I only use them if I have to. They dry out way too quick and if I have them in a warm greenhouse or outside in the wind and sun, they are a pain to keep moist enough.
People love the idea of newspaper pots, but I have not found that they hold up for me. And if wondering about the ink, ink on newspapers is a soy product, so fine. I would NOT use anything other than newsprint, though. No grocery adds, nothing glossy or colored if you would like to try making them for yourself.
These are my very favorite humidity domes. They fit the trays well and they are low enough to get under my lights for new seedlings to get the best light intensity. I bought some cheaper and found they didn't have the adjustable ventilation. I ended up with mold on my trays pretty fast. I keep the vent closed until the first sprout emerges, or I see signs of fungus, then I open the vent until they all emerge. As soon as the sprouts are all out-ish or the first one reaches dome height, I remove this cover.
I can't begin to say how much I love these heat mats. They fit PERFECTLY under my seedling trays and drastically improve germination rates and times.
This unit works beautifully. The width and depth are perfect for my lights and holds two trays on each shelf. I can raise and lower the shelf heights as needed and the center bar holds my lights up by S hooks.
You can use pretty much any florescent shop light, but you just MUST use full spectrum bulbs. Grow light bulbs are often more expensive, but they are the exact same as full spectrum, so no need to purchase the "special" bulbs. FYI that bulb sizes changed and you can't just grab any old shop light off Craig's list and expect to be able to get bulbs for it. Make sure that if you purchase one, it takes the T5 bulbs. LED's are another option. Again, need full spectrum. But I have no experience with them and they are way expensive for any type of large scale system. If you use them or get them, please leave a comment with your experience.
Seriously. They are like a buck and change and fit perfectly around the shelving unit. I layer one on top and one on the bottom. I've seen people use foil, but these don't tear and they reflect the heat and light So much better. HIGHLY recommend. Can also be used as frost covers as long as they are kept off the plants. For instance, cover the plants with over turned pots and throw a mylar blanket over, staking or weighing down the edges.
Doesn't matter what brand. I usually get Jiffy from Walmart. But get organic.
Yeah, I know, they are a chemical based product, but they WORK. It is so nice to not have to baby my transplants when outside all day and worry about them drying out too much to salvage if I can't be there to water them more than once a day. I do not put these in anything I plan to sell, but I do use them for my personal garden.
So, yeah. This is what I use as final pots. I stack them up and use my largest drill bit to put holes through the bottoms. I can wash and sanitize and use the next year.
If stored indoors, they hold up longer than 10 years. If stored outside and freeze, they still hold up about 3 years in my experience before they get brittle. The 16 oz. are the PERFECT size.
So I just started 200 seeds of sage. JUST sage. I have a lot of plants and only so much light and space inside for them. I must have a green house.
What I did NOT like about it, was that it is a giant kite. Even with cement blocks laying on the down flaps, it blew across the lawn. With the frame TIED to cement blocks, the cover still ripped away. Even with the wind just blowing on it, it tore through the ties and became unuseable pretty quick.
SO. This year I am covering it with plastic AND covering that with wire that I can tie down to hold everything secure.
With so many plants to get outside pretty early, and it has frosted here just a few years back on May1st, the greenhouse needs to be kept above freezing, at least. My friend Rick just started using this heater in his plastic-covered hoop frame greenhouse and he says it works beautifully. So, I'm getting one. He says it costs about $4/day to run, which isn't insignificant, but when you consider the jump on the growing season you get, especially in colder climates, with doing transplants, the cost can be majorly offset by the benefits.
I know. It sounds like a lot. A lot of stuff and money. It is. But if you are serious about your garden/homestead then making this investment is to your benefit. Food costs are a huge budget line for most families and by starting early and getting a jump on the growing season, you can put up a greater quantity of food for the year. Most of this is a one-time investment with a long-term lifespan, so when you take the cost over say a 10 year span and average it out, it can become quite reasonable.
You also don't have to jump in and purchase everything in one year. Get a used shelving unit locally for cheap/use one you already have/just screw in some hooks to a ceiling to hang a light from some rope/wire/chain, BUY a good light or purchase the correct light bulbs for a shop light you already have and use whatever containers you have on hand.
The light is often the biggest issues for people just starting out with transplants. Get that going correctly first. Just a window isn't good enough for long enough.
Plant just enough to work within the set-up you have. Planting too many seeds that will get leggy has no benefit.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them below!
Comments
Post a Comment