about dcmga · either on the seeds themselves or after sowing. •start with clean pots •plant...
TRANSCRIPT
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About DCMGA
How to get copies of presentations
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dcmga.com
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How to sign up for DCMGA monthly newsletter
Overview• First things first: Planting dates,
garden layout and seed selection
• Starting seeds in the ground (direct sowing)
• Starting seeds indoors (for transplanting)
• Caring for indoor starts
• Hardening-off indoor plants
5There is more than one way to successfully start plants from seed!
Why grow your own from seed
• More varieties are available by a factor of 10X or more
• Gives gardeners a chance to experiment
• When you grow your own plants, you know the care (and chemicals) that have been used
• You will often have extra transplants to share
• For the addicted gardener, this is a plant-based activity for winter down time
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What are you signing up for…• A sense of great satisfaction and
accomplishment
• Starting seeds indoors requires:
• A time commitment (think of starter plants like pets)
• Dedicated space
• Some special equipment
• Daily checking to ensure correct moisture levels
• Providing enough light (alternating approximately16 hours of light and 8 hours of restful darkness)
• Tolerating a bit of messiness
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Week 5
Seeds versus transplants
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Vegetables to direct seed
Arugula
Beans (pole and bush
types)
Beets
Carrots
Peas (Southern and sweet)
Radishes
Turnips
Corn
Okra
Vegetables to
transplant
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Eggplant
Leeks
Peppers
Tomatoes
Cauliflower
Onions (sets)
Vegetables that can go
either way*
Lettuce
Spinach
Chard
Kale
Squash
Cucumbers
Melons
Leeks
* Allow 3 to 4 weeks to
reach size of transplants.
First things first — You need a plan! • What will your family eat?
• How much space is going to be available?
• How much space is required for each plant you decide to grow?
• If space is limited, think about:
o PRICE: How expensive is the produce if you buy it at a store?
o AVAILABILITY: Is the food widely available or can it be hard to find at most grocers?
o VARIETY: Is there an heirloom or odd variety that you can only enjoy by growing it yourself?
o PRODUCTIVITY: Does the plant generate a high yield with a minimal investment?
o PESTICIDES: Is this store-bought fruit or vegetable known to have high pesticide residue?
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If you eat the fruit – give the plant full sun. If you eat only the leaves, a bit of shade is okay.
Considerations when selecting seeds
• Do your research and select varieties that grow well in North Texas
• Open-pollinated, hybrid, or heirloom? (If you want to save seeds, you must have open-pollinated or heirloom varieties, not hybrids.)
• If saving seeds, organize, label and sort by planting season
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Beginning gardeners often do best with proven varieties. Not everything that grows in a vegetable garden will do well in North Texas.
Starting seeds outdoors
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Create a planting calendar to keep you on track• Whether direct sowing seeds or
growing seedlings for transplanting, a garden calendar is your friend.
• If starting from seed, you can use recommended planting dates or soil temperature as a guide for when to plant.
• If growing transplants indoors, check planting date range and then work backward on your calendar to determine when you need to start your seeds.
• Don’t forget to include enough time to harden your transplants before putting them in the garden.
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Feb Mar Apr
1-15 16-28 1-15 16-31 1-15 16-30
Asparagus
Beans, bush
Beans, pole
Beets
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Chard
Cucumber
Eggplant
Lettuce
Onions
Peas, English
Peppers
Potatoes
Radishs
Spinach
Squash, summer
Tomato
Soil temperature needed for seed germination
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Planting seeds in the ground• Which seeds do best when direct sown versus
transplanted? Generally, the best seeds to grow directly in the garden are large seeds, because they are planted deeper and are tough enough to survive in outdoor conditions, or seeds of plants with deep roots.
• Beans, peas, squash and most root crops such as turnips, carrots, beets and radishes
• Salad greens like leaf lettuce and spinach, Swiss chard and kale, are easy to grow outdoors from seed.
• Sow seeds in the right season. Some direct-seeded annuals are best planted in the fall or first thing in the spring; others do best when they’re planted in warmer soil in early summer.
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Trellised peas
Soil preparation
• Prepare the planting bed thoroughly.
• Take extra care to rake smoothly — lumpy soil and clods interfere with germination.
• Moisten the soil the day before you plant.
• If you have mulch, you must pull it back from the planting site in order for the seeds to be planted directly in the soil.
• Give the seeds a careful drink after planting, taking care not to disturb the seeds you just planted.
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Seed planting guidance
• Soak large seeds in a damp paper towel overnight before planting them. This step really speeds things along when you’re sowing hard seeds, such as sweet peas and morning glories.
• Sow large seeds by hand directly where you want them to grow. If seeds are too small for your fingers, gently tap them out directly from the packet.
• Pay attention to the seed-packet directions for best planting depth. For many seeds, a light layer of sifted compost is sufficient coverage. At other times, you simply press seeds into the soil with the back of a hoe. Water gently and with care. Keep the soil moist until seeds sprout.
• After seedlings develop two sets of true leaves, thin out those that stand too close together. Clip off the extra seedlings without disturbing the ones you want to keep.
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Starting seeds indoors
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Barbara’s seed starting system• T5 Fluorescent Grow Light
• Easy assembly
• Light moves up and down
• Small storage footprint
• Timer
• Heat mat
• Jiffy pots
• Tray and cover
• Barbeque skewer to make holes in jiffy pots
• 2-inch pots
• 4 inch pots
• Potting soil
• Plant markers
• Greenhouse cloche
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Barbara’s indoor seed starting process
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Week 2• Beginning to emerge
Week 4• Move to 2-inch pots• Remove heat pad• Position grow light• Monitor moisture
Week 6• If multiple starts, try to
save by putting in another pot (success rate about 70%)
• Monitor moisture
Find a protected area that can be undisturbed for a couple of months
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Barbara’s indoor seed starting process
Week 8• Move large seedlings into 4-inch pots• Monitor moisture and grow light height
Week 12• Transition to green-house cloche to begin
hardening off
Caring for seedlings
• Moisture control is one of the key elements in starting plants from seed.
• Check moisture daily. This can be done visually or by lifting up your seed trays to check for weight.
• Use a spray bottle or the spray feature on your kitchen faucet to water seedlings. You can also water your seedlings from the bottom by setting them in a tray of water and removing any excess water remaining in the tray after approximately 30 minutes.
• Too much or too little water can cause wilting.
• Be sure your seedlings receive enough light by controlling the hours of available light and keeping the plants close enough to the light source (if seedlings are leggy, the light source is too far away)
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What can go wrong?
• PESTS - Fungus Gnats are small flies that infest soil, potting mix or other container media. Adult fungus gnats are between 1/16” - 1/8” and are attracted to light. Adult gnats don’t damage plants or bite people, but their presence is considered a nuisance.
• Their larvae primarily feed on fungi and organic matter in soil, but also chew roots which can stunt growth in seedlings and young plants.
• Reduction of excess moisture and organic debris are key to reducing fungus gnat problems.
• The warmer it is, the faster they will develop.
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They look sort of like little mosquitoes
A couple more things to worry about
• MOLD thrives in a warm, damp environment caused by overwatering, improper ventilation, too much heat and/or overcrowded seedlings. You can remove or prevent mold by...
• Removing the mold
• Ventilating your seedlings using an oscillating fan
• Removing the plastic cover
• Allowing the soil to dry out a bit
• Turning off the bottom heat
• Thin crowded seedlings
• ROOT ROT may be suspected if seedling growth is slow and leaves and seed leaves (cotyledons) become yellow (chlorotic).
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And then there is …
• DAMPING OFF is a horticultural disease or condition, caused by several different pathogens that kill or weaken seeds or seedlings before or after they germinate. It is most prevalent in wet and cool conditions. There are various symptoms associated with damping off. A common symptom is stems of seedlings become thin and tough resulting in reduced seedling vigor. Seedlings raised in low light conditions tend to be long and thin because they are growing toward light and are often very susceptible to damping-off.
• There is no cure for damping off, once it occurs. The tiny seedlings die so quickly, you probably would not have time to help them if you could. That's why it is important to try and avoid the problem altogether, with the following prevention practices.
• Use a sterile potting mix, although fungal spores may still be introduced to the mix, either on the seeds themselves or after sowing.
• Start with clean pots
• Plant your seeds at the proper depth
• Don’t crowd your seedlings
• Reduce survival of the pathogens by removing and discarding diseased plants
• Maintain drier conditions with better air circulation to help prevent the spread of the disease, although it can also prevent or slow down germination.
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Lessons learned• Because of germination rates, you usually get
more plants than you have space in the garden.
• Start your seeds at the beginning of the planting window in case you need to start over because of seeds not germinating or plants failing as a result of disease.
• Manage seedling height relative to grow light better (8 – 10 inches for T5, check instructions on light package).
• Do NOT let water sit in the bottom of the tray!
• Putting a painter’s cloth under the trays minimizes mess and seems to discourage curious cats.
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The final steps
Hardening off indoor sown plants• “Moving is one of life’s most stressful events. Imagine how trying it would to move
from a perfect climate where it’s always 70 degrees, calm and sunny, to a harsh and windy climate where it gets really cold at night and the sun is burning hot during the day. Put yourself in your seedlings shoes. If you had to move from San Diego to Montana, wouldn’t you want some time to adjust?” (Burpee Seed Company)
• Hardening, or “hardening off,” is the process of allowing a plant to transition from a protected indoor or greenhouse environment to the harsh outdoor conditions of fluctuating spring temperatures, wind, and full sun exposure.
• The hardening process is intended to slow plant growth. A gradual introduction of these outdoor stresses will cause the plant to accumulate carbohydrates, to trigger more root development, to reduce the amount of freeze-prone water in the plant, and to actually thicken its cell walls. Plant growth will change from soft and supple to much firmer and harder.
• Initially place in the shaded, sheltered location for two to three hours.
• Gradually increase the amount of sunlight the plants receive over a two-week period. The last day or two, the plants can spend 24 hours outside.
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Cold frames are one option to harden seedlings
• Don’t put tender seedlings outdoors on windy days or when temperatures are below 45° F. Even cold-hardy plants will be hurt if exposed to freezing temperatures before they are hardened.
• Reduce the frequency of watering to slow plant growth, but don’t allow plants to wilt.
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Lacking construction skills…
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• Easy to assemble garden cloche• Very light weight with air vents• Lift off during scheduled hardening hours• Containers with water heat during day and
radiate at night
• Protect with cover(s) on cold nights
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Resources and referencesDenton County Master Gardener North Texas Gardening: http://dcmga.com/north-texas-gardening/
TAMU Soil Analysis Lab: http://soiltesting.tamu.edu/
Soil report interpretation guidance: http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/22023/ec1478.pdf
Growing vegetables in Containers: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/files/2010/10/E-
545_vegetable_gardening_containers.pdf
Vegetable Variety Selector by County: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/veg_variety/
Vegetable varieties for North Central Texas: http://agrilifecdn.tamu.edu/urbantarranthorticulture/files/2010/06/Vegetable-Varieties-
for-North-Central-Texas-1.pdf
Integrated Pest Management Guidelines for Texas: http://vegetableipm.tamu.edu/
Crucifer Disease Guide: https://www.seminis.com/global/us/growerresources/Documents/SEM-
12093_Crucifer_Disease_Guide_072313.pdf
Vegetable Gardening in Containers: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/files/2010/10/E-
545_vegetable_gardening_containers.pdf
More resources for North Texas vegetable gardeners
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Easy Gardening series: Tips on planting and caring for commonly grown vegetables. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/
Texas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/files/2010/10/E-502_home_vegetable_guide.pdf
Organic Gardening: Information on gardening using organic methods. http://organiclifestyles.tamu.edu/index.html
AgriLife Organic Vegetable Gardening page http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/organic/crops/vegetable-gardening/
AgriLife Organic Insect Management page http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/organic/crops/insect-management/
Texas Earth-Kind Gardening Techniques: Everything from preparing the soil and planting, to taking care of your crops: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/earthkind/ekgarden.pdf
Recommended planting dates:
http://agrilifecdn.tamu.edu/urbantarranthorticulture/files/2010/06/Recommended_Planting_Dates_for_North_Texas1.pdf
Required soil temperatures for improving plant’s success http://dallas-tx.tamu.edu/files/2010/06/Vegetable-Planting-Guide.pdf
Landscape IPM: http://landscapeipm.tamu.edu/what-is-ipm/ipm-concepts/