Started seeds indoors?

[bobbiwoz]

I've planted some tomato and green pepper seeds. I'm looking forward to being able to plant my onion sets outside, but the ground is just too wet right now.

How about you?

Bobbi

 

[daisyduck123]

This is my first year that I've decided to try gardening. My mother told me that I should grow the seeds inside to begin with. I think I want to try tomatoes & peas. Any other suggestions? And how long do I grow them inside before I move them to the backyard garden?

I live in Maryland, btw....I'm sure the climate here needs to be taken into consideration. Thanks!

 

[MazdaUK]

As a rough guide the plants need at least 4 "true" leaves (not the first 2 leaves) and be sturdy, and it must be past the last risk of frost. You can put them out a bit earlier if you cover them with something (the ends of soda bottles work well and keep the pest off)

I tried planting them in cardboard tubes from kitchen paper etc. - as you're supposed to then plant them straight outside without disturbing the roots, container and all - but they did get a bit mushy and mouldy-looking

ETA can you get seed tape? Its paper with the seeds already in it, you just unroll it in a trench and cover it. We can get spring onions, beetroot, carrot in them and they work quite well straight in the ground. Or grow in lengths of gutter and slide the whole lot into the trench when you're ready to plant out

 

[bobbiwoz]

Peas can be planted outside now. I've lived in NJ and that's what I did. They're a cool weather crop, and should be ready for you to eat and enjoy in June.

My tomatoes are beginning to germinate. The sweet peppers take longer.

Bobbi

 

[redlawyer]

All over my kitchen I have cilantro, various melons, funky pumpkins, cucumber, zinnia and cleome seedlings. My DH is used to the craziness this time of year. Its gotten so warm that I'm going to move them outside during the day this weekend. I've got plastic covering my raised beds to hopefully kill the bacteria that attacked my tomatoes last year. After the soil is good and "cooked", then I'll put the little seedlings in.

 

[kaffinito]

As a rough guide the plants need at least 4 "true" leaves (not the first 2 leaves) and be sturdy, and it must be past the last risk of frost. You can put them out a bit earlier if you cover them with something (the ends of soda bottles work well and keep the pest off)

ETA can you get seed tape? Its paper with the seeds already in it, you just unroll it in a trench and cover it. We can get spring onions, beetroot, carrot in them and they work quite well straight in the ground. Or grow in lengths of gutter and slide the whole lot into the trench when you're ready to plant out

This is a great idea for me to adapt. I like to start some of my seeds (not the veggies yet - only our second year of growing veggies) inside to give them a good head start. I have my morning glories, nasturtium, fancy grass, catnip, and a few other things that I've now forgotten the names of. I'll just look on the packages to find out. I have them in cardboard egg cartons.

I'll start my peas now - that's a good tip for them. Last year I didn't plant them until later in the summer. we still got a decent crop from them, but I wouldn't mind more. By next year we'll have a greenhouse against the garage, so i should be able to start a lot of vegatables.

 

[lewdyan1]

I've been bitten by the gardening bug. I've never grown a plant in my life and then my son got accepted at a new environmental high school and I have become obssessed! It started with a topsy turvy tomato plant and I loved the taste. Now I am growing potted tomoates, watermelon, peppers, oregano, parsley, corn, cantelope, carrots and beans! I started all of them in these little cardboard planters that you put right into the ground when they have started growing. The watermelon looks like it has the best potential has it has spread and has tons of flowers on it!!!

 

[Colleen27]

I've been bitten by the gardening bug. I've never grown a plant in my life and then my son got accepted at a new environmental high school and I have become obssessed! It started with a topsy turvy tomato plant and I loved the taste. Now I am growing potted tomoates, watermelon, peppers, oregano, parsley, corn, cantelope, carrots and beans! I started all of them in these little cardboard planters that you put right into the ground when they have started growing. The watermelon looks like it has the best potential has it has spread and has tons of flowers on it!!!

It is addictive! This year, I ventured into heirlooms for the first time and I've got about a hundred seedlings in my pantry, on top of my fridge, and on every kitchen windowsill. I use newspaper pots, which also go right into the ground, and everything is looking nice so far. I just can't wait for it to get warm enough for more of it to go in the ground!

 

[lewdyan1]

OMG!!! Addictive is right! I get so excited to go outside and see what's grown and am constantly amazed at how tall things are getting! Boy do cron and beans grow quickly!

 

[bobbiwoz]

What I'm harvesting now is raspberries. These are from our PA home and 16 years ago, I just stuck them into a corner of our yard because I had to start teaching as soon as we moved and I never had a chance to really find a good spot for them. 16 years later, the area is full of raspberrie plants and with very little care from me, (youhave to cut down the canes twice a year to stimulate new canes) we enjoy a great harvest.

If anyone is thinking about growning raspberries, I say, "Try it!" They don't require fertilizer OR pesticides.

Bobbi

 

[daisyduck123]

If anyone is thinking about growning raspberries, I say, "Try it!" They don't require fertilizer OR pesticides.

Bobbi

Thanks! I'm thinking about this....hmmmm. I will have to do some research though. I know absolutely nothing about raspberries, but I may just have to try this.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thanks! I'm thinking about this....hmmmm. I will have to do some research though. I know absolutely nothing about raspberries, but I may just have to try this.

The hardest part is containing the canes. They will over run their boundaries so put them where you want them, and then contain them. They do have thorns, but not as bad as wild blackberries, for instance. I do wear garden gloves when I cut them.

 

[jemima.harris]

Starting seeds indoors is really easy and fun. It require the same basic conditions as those started outside. The more important thing after planting seeds in indoor is taking care of it.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Starting seeds indoors is really easy and fun. It require the same basic conditions as those started outside. The more important thing after planting seeds in indoor is taking care of it.

I goof up by not watering them enough sometimes. The pots are so much smaller than my houseplants. I just planted some parsley indoors, and I hope to put the seedlings out next month to get a fall crop and let it stay in the ground to spring.