striking your seedlings at the patch !!!

[guest1ab]

I was thinking of using some black plastic to cover the area I planted in, until they begin to sprout.
I've done this indoors....I put saran wrap over the tops of the seedling pots and then I left them sitting on the DVR. I had sprouts within like 3 days. Of course I soaked them for 24 hours in the wet paper towel thing, too.
Anyway, I was thinking, if you used the black plastic outdoors, it would help to prevent any insects getting at them, at least until they sprouted and you had to cut an opening....And then I was thinking I would just leave them under the black plastic, to stimulate root growth in a northern environment. I'd probably cover that with some straw or something too.

Anyway ... I learned a lot reading this thread. Thanks.

 

[MT.GUERRILLA]

I've been doing this for for years and excpt for the occassional animal problem it's always worked.

I buy a giant clear plastic storage container from wal-mart for $9. These aren't that big or noticeable and I can fit 17 solo cupsinto one of them. I then take the lid and cut out as much of the middle of it as i possibly can, so that it still acts as a lid, just a lid with a gigantic hole in it. It should look like a big rectangular ring. Then i use industrial strength glue to cover the hole with window screen, so that light, air, and water can all get in at an even rate, with the protection from slugs and deer. due to problems with bears in my area im' going to switch the glue and window screen to 1/8 inch chicken wire and fasten it with either staples or zip ties to make it more durable, as the elements have been taking a toll on the glue.

Then drill a hole in each of the bottom corners of the tub, about an inch up. this is for drainage from the rains so the babies don't drown. I like to put them an inch up so that during the droughts theres still a little water at the bottom to wet the roots, but nowhere near enough to drown them or cause problems.

I start my seeds indoors by soaking them in plain water for 12-16 hours.
Then I use a good quality paper towel that holds moister well and won't dry out to act as a medium for the next 1-2 days.
On the 3rd day I bring the babies out to the greenhouses and thats where they'll stay for about a month, maybe less. Then I put some in camo 5 gallon buckets and most in predug holes.
By doing this and using quality genetics I've had a 100% germination rate.

This year I've growin:

Opium fem
Spoetik #1 fem
Big Bang fem
Great White Shark fem
Passion #1 fem
Burmese Kush fem

 

[hamstring]

First off all credit goes to Sir Wally Duck the founder of this thread.

Its the only way to fly brother. Heres your gear, I like a black container to suck up the heat in the spring!!!
A hard top works better a soft plastic top will sag and catch rain.

Always put holes in the cups so the roots can go after water in the container.
Keep the conatiner ready to run a second batch for june and third batch for late season minis July25th-Aug1st

Mine holds roughly 25 cups with two seedlings per cup. I am always looking to improve the setup I think smaller cups would work fine for more plants per conatiner like to see 30 or over cant wait until next season to improve setup.

You can bury the container with just a few inches above ground for better security but in my lat it keeps the soil to cool in the spring. A hard rain lets water in the container which depending on your lat may be good or bad. Bad for cool wet springs. It works just soil says cool and damp too long for my liking.
PEACE

 

[ronbo51]

Try Reemay, also known as floating row cover. It is widely available through seed catalogues along with nutes and organic controls. It is required for veggie growers to control flea beatles, squash bugs... It raises the nighttime temps a few degrees but doesn't accumulate much heat underneath during daylight.

 

[Rodney]

so let's see if we can find 100% ratio on site germination method that does not require us to stick around for more than a few minutes.
we have all kinds of watering devices....but some people (ok...ME) don't have access to the technology or it's really expensive. so a diy inexpensive but effective watering system would be a godsend

Okay. First a big thank you for all who contributed to this thread providing me and many others with insight and inspiration. A big thank you to Wally for the spark, and for the great DucksFoot I'll be sowing this year.

Now about the self watering seedling setup. Something I've been thinking about recently due to the pre- spring prep mode. I've lost seedlings before due to drought and since the plots are very remote there is that chance if your not able to visit often.
I will be also growing them out in larger containers after the solo cups. Watering would be near impossible for me. So I devised a little plan. We've all seen the battery powered gravity fed hose timers. Plan is to connect one to a fifty gal drum or similar rez leading to a splitter with tubing ran to each rubbermaid tray. The totes will have an intake and a drain hole on the opposite side at the bottom( with screen cover)just so water rises only half way up to the containers the plants are in. The timer will be set for your needs at the time. Just a nice flood n drain to get them going good.
Had thoughts of a small wick for the containers after the solo cups.
A few weeks and they'll be fully ready to transplant.
The other method I had in mind for the simpler approach and for smaller plant numbers would be to fill the bottom with a perlite water crystal mix to we the cups on. Nylon straps pulled through the solo cups bottom will wick the water n keep em moist.
Good luck everyone this upcoming year is approaching fast.
Get your seed stock ready

 

[Don Dump]

didn't this thread used to be a sticky? thought it deserved a bump

didn't this thread used to be a sticky? thought it deserved a bump

what I did last year when I couldn't have many seedlings inside, I just waited for them to pop up and then put them out into the bins.

just a couple drainage holes and chicken wire. slug poison sprinkled around. put it in partial sun. I was going to make a plastic roof like hamstring's but I didn't need it.

 

[FirstTracks]

bump