What's Growing in the Garden

Wondering how you guys that grow a lot start your seeds, not just in spring before the last frost but throughout the year for rotational and successive planting. Specifically, does anyone use grow lights? If so, any specific set up?
Starting from seed seems to be the bain of my existence. Even when I manage to get good germination, the seedlings get too long and lanky to support their own weight and just never live to become a full fledged plant. I think it's a problem of not enough good direct sun so ordered one light today to tryout and see if it makes a difference. Dam things aren't cheap either.
 
Rotational and successive crops go in the ground for me, I tend to pull my early lettuce and salad greens and plant things like parsley. When my spring turnips come out I planted onions. When I dug my potatoes I planted my second batch of bush beans. I am considering a second potato crop when I finish my carrot and broccoli harvest. Here in the warmer parts we have the luxury of waiting. That being said, a grow light can help, also, you might try taking them outdoors and planting them in a starter bed similar to a cold frame where you can keep the seed eating buggers away. That way they are acclimated to the weather and sunlight in your garden instead of your house.
 
JerseyHighlander said:
Wondering how you guys that grow a lot start your seeds, not just in spring before the last frost but throughout the year for rotational and successive planting. Specifically, does anyone use grow lights? If so, any specific set up?
Starting from seed seems to be the bain of my existence. Even when I manage to get good germination, the seedlings get too long and lanky to support their own weight and just never live to become a full fledged plant. I think it's a problem of not enough good direct sun so ordered one light today to tryout and see if it makes a difference. Dam things aren't cheap either.
Click to expand...
I start about 25 flats of seedlings each year. Flowers, Cole crops, onions, celery, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, gourds and squash, etc. Only time I buy a plant for the garden is if I need a variety of pepper or something that didn't germinate well or I forgot to order seed for.

Everything is started in my basement and lives there until it's warm enough to go out in a coldframe. I will start some flowers the first week of February, and continually plant more up until about mid May. I'll start again in another week or two with fall Cole crops and Chinese cabbage for my kimchi.

Been doing this for 15+ years. Started with T12 fluorescent lights. Moved to T8 and now am using LED shop lights of at least 5000k. Stay away from anything in the 3500k to 4000k spectrum, those have too much red light. Blue light is what you want for seedlings. Cool temps are also important after germination, really don't want anything over 60-65° for vegetative growth. Keep the lights close to the plants (3-4”) and keep them on for 16hours a day.

Expensive full spectrum LED lights are not needed for growing transplants. The only reason for using those is if you are planning on growing a plant to maturity under lights.

I think somewhere in this thread I posted pictures of my racks that are made from 3/4" pvc. The main rack has three shelves that each hold four 1020 flats. I am currently using 3-4' LED lights per shelf. I used to use only two lights per shelf with fluorescent lights, but the LED Lights are so narrow anymore, I moved to three.

In summary, cool temps, 5000k LED shop lights for 16 hrs a day.

Im assuming the light you ordered is a full spectrum "grow light" if so I'd highly recommend returning it if you can and pick up some $20 LED shop lights. Pair that with $20 or so in PVC pipe and fittings and you'll be on the way. For under $100 you could probably put together a two shelf system for up to 8 flats.

Edit: There are a couple pictures of my setup on the first page of this thread.
 
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A couple other things popped into my mind regarding transplants. Drier is always better than wet, and seedlings don't need a huge amount of fertilizer.

Once the plants have several sets of true leaves, I fertilize once every 7-10 waterings with a dilute (~1tsp/gallon) of a balanced fertilizer. I use a 20-20-20 with micro nutrients. I like to water everyday lightly rather than saturate the soil and not have to water for several days.
 
Kyle, know you are in the woods, but not sure if you have some modicum of light here and there. I usually start in cold frames because I have too many things around that like to eat seedlings, don't have any room for a lighting setup, and most importantly, the wife says we are not having plants inside the house. In winter, I'll use heating pads and in the summer, I vent them. For a small number of seedlings (say one flat), I'll buy a transparent, clear storage tub from a big box, and turn it upside down over the flat. Does pretty well with cutting propagation also, especially when set up with a misting system. Got a bunch of mums under a couple of the tubs right now. Just took some rosemary and dahlia cuttings out from under one. Those don't need misting. Got some trees I want to propagate later, and will have to set up the mist system for that and/or possibly even the heat pads if I don't get around to it until fall.
 
Picked about a 5 gallon bucket full of cucumbers, and enough zucchini to feed a small army. I also managed to grab about 3 gallons of tomatoes. We haven't had hardly any rain, so I've been surprised with how well my garden has been doing this year. We got our first measurable rain in almost a month yesterday. My okra is finally coming along and starting to produce. You know it's dry when okra wilts!
 
Trob115 said:
You know it's dry when okra wilts!
Click to expand...
About 2 weeks ago, I was thinking the same thing! There is a church down the way, that grows food and gives it to food pantries and such. Been doing it for years now. They grow tons. It's quite the production! Have two big greenhouses for only tomatoes, and another smaller one for seed starting. Even did a heavily insulated cool room to store some of the harvest that didn't get picked up right away. They typically don't plant okra, but where they used to grow the tomatoes in the beds, they've been planting okra. Used to help them out more than I do now, but stopped by a couple of weeks ago and the okra was wilted - they had taken the irrigation out of that section. At that time had not had a rain for over a month also. Dropped by again this past Saturday - after several days of showers, and boy, the okra looked great. The tomato greenhouses were outta bounds - tresses of tomatoes - row after row! They had originally asked me to do an orchard plan for them. I did one that was part demonstration orchard, but largely production oriented. All types of differing ways of growing different fruit for small spaces = dense plantings and harvesting without the use of ladders...etc.... And the growing of fruit not normally grown around here. Even had a group of people who would furnish some of the materials and plants and would work it. Well somebody's BIL grows blueberries and he gave them a few blueberry bushes and they planted them instead. Kinda ticked me off!
 
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More peas, got a heaping 5 gallon pail full this morning. Fingers cramped up about half way through shelling them, a little hydration and a break cured that. Shelled out a 4 quart colander so a pint for supper and 7 for the freezer. IMG_20220719_074111777_HDR.webp
 
Mike Hill said:
Mike Hill uttered thusly: There is a church down the way, that grows food They typically don't plant okra, but where they used to grow the tomatoes in the beds, they've been planting okra.
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I grew okra one year & I'll never grow it again. I had to go out of town for 2 weeks & when I got back, it was the size of bananas, and full of snot even after it was battered & fried. I guess you have to be raised on that stuff.
:headscratch2:
 
You say okra snot like it's a bad thang! Gotta be resplendent with that Southern Twwaaaangg! and know how to correctly spell and use the term y'all! and have a van back seat on the front porch where you watch the cars go by while sipp'n outta your mason jar! and I'd say something about having a snowman made of a stack of used tires painted white - but I've heard that they had those in Colorado also!
 
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sprucegum said:
More peas, got a heaping 5 gallon pail full this morning. Fingers cramped up about half way through shelling them, a little hydration and a break cured that. Shelled out a 4 quart colander so a pint for supper and 7 for the freezer.View attachment 229253
Click to expand...
Beautiful crop of peas! What variety is that? I've only grown 'bush' peas, would love to have some climbers to make it easier to pick.
 
trc65 said:
Beautiful crop of peas! What variety is that? I've only grown 'bush' peas, would love to have some climbers to make it easier to pick.
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Ditto! How long of rows? I just can't comprehend 5 gallon bucket full of peas.
 
Trob115 said:
Picked about a 5 gallon bucket full of cucumbers, and enough zucchini to feed a small army. I also managed to grab about 3 gallons of tomatoes. We haven't had hardly any rain, so I've been surprised with how well my garden has been doing this year. We got our first measurable rain in almost a month yesterday. My okra is finally coming along and starting to produce. You know it's dry when okra wilts!
Click to expand...
I have a puny garden right now but a few years back we grew wheel barrows full of zucchini. The neighbors would lock their car doors! I am telling you it was way too much for a family of four. We finally settled on pickled. Zucchini picked young, makes an awesome pickle by the way. Had friends ask for that. Never did ask for the straight zucchini....
 
trc65 said:
Beautiful crop of peas! What variety is that? I've only grown 'bush' peas, would love to have some climbers to make it easier to pick.
Click to expand...
They are alderman AKA telephone pole peas. Very old open pollinated variety, I let some ripen for next year's seed. I plant a bit over a half pound in two rows spaced about 8" apart and 50' long. Two closely spaced rows one trellis 😆 . I've grown other varieties that are probably better but I like to look at them when they go over the top of a 6' trellis 😆
 
2feathers Creative Making said:
I have a puny garden right now but a few years back we grew wheel barrows full of zucchini. The neighbors would lock their car doors! I am telling you it was way too much for a family of four. We finally settled on pickled. Zucchini picked young, makes an awesome pickle by the way. Had friends ask for that. Never did ask for the straight zucchini....
Click to expand...
Zucchini makes great bread and butter pickles 😋
 
sprucegum said:
More peas, got a heaping 5 gallon pail full this morning. Fingers cramped up about half way through shelling them, a little hydration and a break cured that. Shelled out a 4 quart colander so a pint for supper and 7 for the freezer.View attachment 229253
Click to expand...
Man I don't know what my peas aren't/weren't getting but they didn't look anywhere near that happy. Think I started them too late and then everything in creation has been trying to munch on them all along the way. That picture just belongs on the cover of a gardening magazine.
 
2feathers Creative Making said:
Rotational and successive crops go in the ground for me, I tend to pull my early lettuce and salad greens and plant things like parsley. When my spring turnips come out I planted onions. When I dug my potatoes I planted my second batch of bush beans. I am considering a second potato crop when I finish my carrot and broccoli harvest. Here in the warmer parts we have the luxury of waiting. That being said, a grow light can help, also, you might try taking them outdoors and planting them in a starter bed similar to a cold frame where you can keep the seed eating buggers away. That way they are acclimated to the weather and sunlight in your garden instead of your house.
Click to expand...
trc65 said:
I start about 25 flats of seedlings each year. Flowers, Cole crops, onions, celery, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, gourds and squash, etc. Only time I buy a plant for the garden is if I need a variety of pepper or something that didn't germinate well or I forgot to order seed for.

Everything is started in my basement and lives there until it's warm enough to go out in a coldframe. I will start some flowers the first week of February, and continually plant more up until about mid May. I'll start again in another week or two with fall Cole crops and Chinese cabbage for my kimchi.

Been doing this for 15+ years. Started with T12 fluorescent lights. Moved to T8 and now am using LED shop lights of at least 5000k. Stay away from anything in the 3500k to 4000k spectrum, those have too much red light. Blue light is what you want for seedlings. Cool temps are also important after germination, really don't want anything over 60-65° for vegetative growth. Keep the lights close to the plants (3-4”) and keep them on for 16hours a day.

Expensive full spectrum LED lights are not needed for growing transplants. The only reason for using those is if you are planning on growing a plant to maturity under lights.

I think somewhere in this thread I posted pictures of my racks that are made from 3/4" pvc. The main rack has three shelves that each hold four 1020 flats. I am currently using 3-4' LED lights per shelf. I used to use only two lights per shelf with fluorescent lights, but the LED Lights are so narrow anymore, I moved to three.

In summary, cool temps, 5000k LED shop lights for 16 hrs a day.

Im assuming the light you ordered is a full spectrum "grow light" if so I'd highly recommend returning it if you can and pick up some $20 LED shop lights. Pair that with $20 or so in PVC pipe and fittings and you'll be on the way. For under $100 you could probably put together a two shelf system for up to 8 flats.

Edit: There are a couple pictures of my setup on the first page of this thread.
Click to expand...

All helpful stuff, thanks.
I wasn't intending to still be in this house/state this spring so the decision to brush the cobwebs off the garden was kinda spur of the moment, though I did get started fairly early but mostly by buying starts from a farmer at the local farmers market. Then had to get it in my head to trash all my old seed and get good fresh stuff. Even then, virtually everything I direct sowed just disappeared overnight. It's like trying to garden through the seven plagues of Egypt here. Managed to get some beets and a couple heirloom tomatoes to take and survive the critters but the beets have just been sucking wind like crazy, just didn't get a solid start and have struggled ever since. Couple heirloom pumpkins I direct sowed & thought were gone finally sprouted over a month later, I guess when the soil finally got hot enough. One of the few things doing really well now, protected by an electric fence in with the broccoli and tomatoes.

I am coming to terms that I need to stop drowning the seedlings and such but I'm convinced the grow lights are a necessity for me on several levels. Right now it's just too hot out and with lights I can start stuff in the basement where the plagues of pestilence can't get to it and I can control the temps and the light. I started some asian spinach/Tatsoi last week. It germinates fast but within two days the sprouts were three inches long and thin as a thread. I'm hoping the light will convince them to put growth into leaves and build a stem that will support a healthy plant. I also got a heat mat for starting certain seeds along with a very different way of sowing/starting them and so far that is working out really well.

Interesting that shop lights of the right spectrum will work but I'm going to at give this full blown grow light a shot. Once I don't need it for seedlings I have seeds for a rare & highly medicinal creeping cactus that is not at all at home in my zone and needs a good bit of TLC to get it to grow. Some other temperate climate medicinals as well that have been impossible to manage in the forest shade.

Mike Hill said:
Kyle, know you are in the woods, but not sure if you have some modicum of light here and there. I usually start in cold frames because I have too many things around that like to eat seedlings, don't have any room for a lighting setup, and most importantly, the wife says we are not having plants inside the house. In winter, I'll use heating pads and in the summer, I vent them. For a small number of seedlings (say one flat), I'll buy a transparent, clear storage tub from a big box, and turn it upside down over the flat. Does pretty well with cutting propagation also, especially when set up with a misting system. Got a bunch of mums under a couple of the tubs right now. Just took some rosemary and dahlia cuttings out from under one. Those don't need misting. Got some trees I want to propagate later, and will have to set up the mist system for that and/or possibly even the heat pads if I don't get around to it until fall.
Click to expand...

Mike the idea for the clear storage tub is genius... Wish I had that in place yesterday when the sky opened up with a surprise rain and pummeled a tray of summer lettuce starts into oblivion. Cold frames are definitely on the agenda for the new house along with a greenhouse/hoophouse or high tunnel of some kind.

Life was so much easier when I just shelled out the cash for my share in a CSA and let people who know what they're doing grow my produce.
 
Tomorrow will be my fourth attempt at planting beans. Garden has dried up just right to run the tiller through the garden and I plant the seeds shallow, water and mulch. Daily watering in this heat until they come up. I normally plant Blue Lake Stringless Pole beans but Wally World and the local farm store had done away with their seeds. Found Kentucky Wonder beans at Home Depot. Bought Burpee this time instead of the farm store brand (NK?). Don't know anything about them. Hope they're stringless too.

I plant a small patch of cucumbers, mainly to give away to family. But I do try to can a few jars every year. This year I planted Pickle Busk (NK brand?). I try not to let them get any longer than six inches. They seem mature because they are around 2-1/2" dia. and no yellow spots. But when I cut them open, they're a little green on the inside around the rind. This is ready to pick this variety?
 
Rather than daily watering the bean seed, give it a good soaking after planting and then leave them for a few days. Dig a little bit beside the row after a day or two to test moisture. Too much water on untreated bean seed will promote rapid development of seedling disease. In spite of the heat, they really don't need a huge amount of moisture as long as the soil isn't dry as powder.

Cukes can be harvested almost any time depending on what size you want. There really is no incorrect time to harvest.
 
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