- Joined
- Dec 9, 2015
- Messages
- 120
- Reaction score
- 92
- Location
- north of greensboro north carolina
- Hardiness Zone
- 7a
- Country
this is the way i have been doing it for many year, yes there has been a lot of trail and error to get this far... of course evolving ...
lighting ......weather it's t-12, t-8, t-5, cfl, led.........
once your seedling have sprouted you need to keep the light anywhere from 4-7" from the seedlings.this will greatly reduce on your seedlings from getting leggy.....
a timer is very helpful<just in case you forget to turn them on> 14 hours on, 10 hours off. some people will run 15+hours on,
to raise or lower the light i use jack chain and a "s" hook.
this way you can have one end higher or lower than the other. in the 1st photo the right is higher since i just did some transplanting...
soil.... no need to use any potting soil that has fertilizer in it at first, the seeds having everything they need to germinate built into them. plus the fertilizer will burn the seeding roots.. now i know everyone has their personal favorite have i use whats called "sunshine" it's a good around starter/ potting soil...
once it's time to transplant will mix up new soil and add "ocean forest" potting soil it's made with worm castings and bat guano....
water.... just use water from the sink, but you want it at room temperature, cold water will shock them.
once they have their 2nd true leaves time to add a little fertilizer i like using "alaska fish fertilizer"
prefer to water from the bottom and only add what they are going to absorb no reason to drowned them..
to much water can invite harmful fungus and algae to grow on top. hence this is one of the reasons i use fans to keep the air moving over the plants.
transplanting... will usually transplant once the have their 3nd set of leaves... into the soil mixture mentioned above...
now is the time to thin out the extra seeds, pick the healthiest one and snip off the others<don't pull them out this could damage the roots of the one you wish to keep> one pot, one seedling is a good rule of thumb. so out of all those seedlings will end up with 6 plants.. do not snip off any leaves.....
before and after transplanting.
after transplant give them a good drink of water and fish< fish will help on the shock of transplant>
if you notice that some of the tomato plants have a purple tint to them it's a leak of magnesium once they recover from the transplant will add very little epsom salt to the water.<these plants are still to young to handle what they call for>.
a plant label in every pot is helpful just in case the pots get mixed up...
barrier.... this comes in very handy if you have cats nothing coming home and finding nubs where plants should be.....
couple j hooks screwed in at the top to hold it up, the barrier is just 4' green plastic fencing...
as i said at the top this is the way i do it, if you have a different way please post up i like to learn...
lighting ......weather it's t-12, t-8, t-5, cfl, led.........
once your seedling have sprouted you need to keep the light anywhere from 4-7" from the seedlings.this will greatly reduce on your seedlings from getting leggy.....
a timer is very helpful<just in case you forget to turn them on> 14 hours on, 10 hours off. some people will run 15+hours on,
to raise or lower the light i use jack chain and a "s" hook.
this way you can have one end higher or lower than the other. in the 1st photo the right is higher since i just did some transplanting...
soil.... no need to use any potting soil that has fertilizer in it at first, the seeds having everything they need to germinate built into them. plus the fertilizer will burn the seeding roots.. now i know everyone has their personal favorite have i use whats called "sunshine" it's a good around starter/ potting soil...
once it's time to transplant will mix up new soil and add "ocean forest" potting soil it's made with worm castings and bat guano....
water.... just use water from the sink, but you want it at room temperature, cold water will shock them.
once they have their 2nd true leaves time to add a little fertilizer i like using "alaska fish fertilizer"
prefer to water from the bottom and only add what they are going to absorb no reason to drowned them..
to much water can invite harmful fungus and algae to grow on top. hence this is one of the reasons i use fans to keep the air moving over the plants.
transplanting... will usually transplant once the have their 3nd set of leaves... into the soil mixture mentioned above...
now is the time to thin out the extra seeds, pick the healthiest one and snip off the others<don't pull them out this could damage the roots of the one you wish to keep> one pot, one seedling is a good rule of thumb. so out of all those seedlings will end up with 6 plants.. do not snip off any leaves.....
before and after transplanting.
after transplant give them a good drink of water and fish< fish will help on the shock of transplant>
if you notice that some of the tomato plants have a purple tint to them it's a leak of magnesium once they recover from the transplant will add very little epsom salt to the water.<these plants are still to young to handle what they call for>.
a plant label in every pot is helpful just in case the pots get mixed up...
barrier.... this comes in very handy if you have cats nothing coming home and finding nubs where plants should be.....
couple j hooks screwed in at the top to hold it up, the barrier is just 4' green plastic fencing...
as i said at the top this is the way i do it, if you have a different way please post up i like to learn...
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. The plants that have sprouted at barely 1/2" tall. Maybe 3/4" for some.