Who uses plug trays?
 

And what size do you use for tomatoes and peppers?

I'm trying a 392 tray for peppers, I didn't use every cell instead I planted every other cell and skipped a row then offset that row to give room for the plant to get light and air circulation.

After looking online I think I can use a 98 cell tray with a little more soil to grow plants a little bigger before transplanting.

I use them... but a 392? I do a 50 a 72 or a 98. the higher the number the smaller the cell = the smaller the mass of soil to keep moist. that just seems like a really small cell to grow in. sounds almost like a pansy flat.

I mass sow peppers and tomatoes in 3 inch cells then transplant later. I use plug trays for lettuce (128) and broccoli (50), and most flowers (it varies).

It is small but I think it should work with slow growing peppers. I have a few 512 trays too, now that is small.

I want to use them to germinate and grow almost to the first true leave before transplanting. I don't see much difference in them compared to starting 50 seeds in a community flat. I think the transplanting will be easier on the plant since I won't play with the roots that much compared to stripping 90% of the soil off the plants separating them out of a community flat.

The 392 is planted so I'll know soon enough..

How long can you leave plants in a 98 cell tray and are you using it for tomatoes and peppers?

[QUOTE=BigVanVader;680063]I mass sow peppers and tomatoes in 3 inch cells then transplant later. I use plug trays for lettuce (128) and broccoli (50), and most flowers (it varies).[/QUOTE]

I did some that way and the transplanting took forever. I'm trying to reduce some labor if I can and still get plants germinated without have 10 heat mats going.

I started this tray(with drains holes) and one section was 4 flats of 6paks, that was time consuming, I still haven't transplanted the other strip yet.

Each transplanting gives me the advantage of poking the plant farther down in the media, so that it is not leggy. If I tried to direct-sow peppers or tomatoes, they would end up leggy, I think. That may not be as applicable to you, if your sunlight is more intense, being farther south.

Either way your still transplanting. I don't have room for that many plug trays either. I'm planning on building another tunnel next winter strictly for plant starts and I may try plug trys then. My plug vendor sells tomato & peppers in 288's but they only have one set of true leaves when he sells em. It takes me almost as long to transplant those as mass sowed ones. If you make a dibbler it would cut the time a bit more. Something like this [url]http://www.twobadcatsllc.com/index_files/4280rl.jpg[/url]

Agree on the transplanting deeper for tomatoes but peppers should be good transplanted deeper just once(I think?).

I know what a dibbler is, I've been researching about this and making it easier to plant. I think I'm gonna build me a seeder like this.

What do you think about it?
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csisHKbzvL0[/url]

I only sell plants in 4" pots or larger, so when transplanting sprouts into 6-packs I can be lazy about it and not worry about centering the sprout in the cell. It is much faster that way. Then the next transplant is into the 4" or gallon pot, and I center it then.

I plan on selling singles too, the 6paks are mostly for space saving but I'll probably sell some of those too.

You can make one much better than that with a shop vac, a plastic tote and a metal cafeteria tray.

If you join here [url]https://www.facebook.com/groups/134018140298600/[/url]

and search vacuum seeder you will see lots of easy and effective DIY options.

I thought about making one but I think it's mostly for peletized seeds. I'll have to research it more.

From what I've read I (think) the only thing that is troublesome is lettuce and any seeds that arent round(ish). No firsthand exp though.

Ray Tyler posted a really nice dibbler that was just nails through a piece of plywood with electrical twist ties as the dibbler part. I'm gonna def build a few of those.

[QUOTE=Rajun Gardener;680065]It is small but I think it should work with slow growing peppers. I have a few 512 trays too, now that is small.

I want to use them to germinate and grow almost to the first true leave before transplanting. I don't see much difference in them compared to starting 50 seeds in a community flat. I think the transplanting will be easier on the plant since I won't play with the roots that much compared to stripping 90% of the soil off the plants separating them out of a community flat.

The 392 is planted so I'll know soon enough..

How long can you leave plants in a 98 cell tray and are you using it for tomatoes and peppers?[/QUOTE]

?? Not sure what you mean by slow growing, but my peppers have their 1st true leaves fully out 1 week after sprouting. I put the germinated seeds in Dixie cups as soon as the radical emerges. Cotyledons come out within a couple days.

392 cells per tray? wow!

I just germinated 4 pepper plants for an indoor experiment (sowed on New Year's Day) in a coffee filter, sprouted by 1/11 and I put the seeds directly into individual Dixie cups (roughly a 45 cell count). The 1st true leaves were fully out before 1/20 and the 2nd set of true leaves are half way out now a week later (16 days after spout - picture below).

[IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/picture.php?albumid=360&pictureid=2792[/IMG]

I'll be potting them up to 4 inch pots once they have 3 sets of true leaves, probably around Feb 10th (1 month after sprouting) and that's where they will sit until final home at about 10 weeks old (3 plants in a 15 gallon indoor planter for these particular plants, not sure about the 4th plant yet - maybe it's own 2 gallon pot).

I've left them in Dixie cups until about 6 weeks before, but by then I think it starts affecting their growth. I just don't know if you are helping your plants out by starting them in such a small cells, maybe also increasing your work load. I know you plan on selling the plants, so maybe consider using the 98 cell tray for starting and transplanting into 3601 cell packs once they get 3 sets of leaves which should keep them OK until sale.

What are you feeding that thing? It's hard to believe it grew that much in less than a month.

What kind of pepper is it?

These are the last of my Billy Biker jalapeno seeds that I wanted to get rid of this year, I decided to grow them as indoor plants to see if I can get ripe peppers by the end of May. They are in cheap Jiffy mix right now, I use Promix when I pot them up. They just got their 1st dose of weak fertilizer this evening, nothing but water since they sprouted. I think root space matters initially.

That might be it, what ever you're doing it's working. I can't get that type growth in the greenhouse with low night time temps, I do expect them to jump up in about 3 weeks when the temps stay above 45 at night.

I'll see soon enough, I never paid much attention to pepper growth because it was 2nd on the list behind tomatoes.

I use 72 cell for tomatoes and for peppers. They fill those with roots by the time true leaf number 3 is pushing out. I would think smaller cells would just mean you have to pot up sooner.
The smallest cells I've seen were really shallow as well, used for basil at the farm. I'm gonna have to google and ogle those teeny ones! :twisted:

If I had lots of space and wanted to save time, I would probably go direct from mass germination in big cells right into pots. I have to do mass germination, limited space on heat mat. :roll:

I did google and the 392 is the same one we used for basil at the farm.:) They are tiny and I found them not really easy to transplant. Bit of a trick to popping them out of the cells, otherwise they get squashed and may as well be bare rooted. Very small soil volume at a third of an inch. But it was perfect size for starting basil, and may be perfect for germinating slow hot peppers too... Let us know how it goes.

[QUOTE=Rajun Gardener;680111]That might be it, what ever you're doing it's working. I can't get that type growth in the greenhouse with low night time temps, I do expect them to jump up in about 3 weeks when the temps stay above 45 at night.

I'll see soon enough, I never paid much attention to pepper growth because it was 2nd on the list behind tomatoes.[/QUOTE]

I can start and grow 12 trays, 300+ pepper/tomato plants, in an 8 sq ft space (3 stacked shelves) indoors (70F) until I pot up ... then a green house would be very nice to have cause I run out of space quickly after that. Tomato plants are more challenging because of their vertical space requirement, hard to stack up after 6 weeks so they need more floor space.

[QUOTE=bower;680112]If I had lots of space and wanted to save time, I would probably go direct from mass germination in big cells right into pots. I have to do mass germination, limited space on heat mat. :roll:[/QUOTE]
Most of the time, not all of the time, I toss my seeds into moist coffee filters and baggies. I place numerous labeled baggies in a 1020 tray on top of my room heating unit with several spacers (about 85F at that location). I don't think I've ever tried more than 20 seeds of one variety per filter, but you could probably do 50. The nice thing is that you could literally do 1000 seeds or much more in one 1020 tray and only waste soil space on the ones that germinate.
Dedicating space for a plug tray for germinating is not the most efficient use of that space (or heat), especially in the Spring when you need the space to start other things.
I think once the cotyledons are fully out, the plants can tolerate a cooler location. My house is a 68-70 normally so I haven't experimented with the 50F growing range yet.
But the point is, you really only need a very small space for germination. After that, additional space is dedicated only to sprouted seeds and that requires some pre-planning.

I started onions in a plug tray with zillions of cells. It was a mistake. The seeds germinated fine but I couldn't keep it moist indoors for very long.

Those very small cells are intended for use in a professional misted germination chamber. The other option might be a moisture control potting mix. I would get the peppers into a larger cell asap so they don't accidently get dried out.

I seldom use coffee filters because I am a clutz when it comes to potting them, but it is a very convenient method for large scale germination. I have peas going in them now, as well as in soil as a back up.

- Lisa

[QUOTE=greenthumbomaha;680301]I have peas going in them now, as well as in soil as a back up.

- Lisa[/QUOTE]

Peas? Let me know how those do for you in a coffee filter. I never tried large seeds like that before thinking there is too much surface area.

Been a long while since I posted here.. but this question hit home as im currently starting seeds for the High Tunnels for production and seeds for my Spring Plant Sale.

For the longest time I used the 72 cell plugs. Now, im experimenting with using 1204 inserts. You can easily sow 2,3 or even 4 seeds per cell. I have tried "community planting" and didnt care for it.

When its time to transplant just soak with warm water to untangle any roots, then transplant.

As stated earlier, transplanting is a given. Obviously the earlier you transplant the less shock the seedling incurs. Im thinking a really loose seedling mix would be ideal. Right now im just sticking with my go-to peat perlite mix.

What is it y'all don't like about mass sowing? This is 50 pepper seedlings. I love this picture, shows just how much you start in such a tiny space.

I had to try the plug tray to make transplanting easier. If it doesn't work then I go back to community pots.

I transplanted a few flats yesterday and have more to do today. I did do my usually mass planting this year, those plants aren't yellow just the sun setting.

[QUOTE=BigVanVader;680503]What is it y'all don't like about mass sowing? This is 50 pepper seedlings. I love this picture, shows just how much you start in such a tiny space.[/QUOTE]

Dang!

Since you asked, my main problem was tangled roots. I couldnt get them undone.

But I will say, that is beautiful pic. What did you use to form that size?

Rajun...

Good looking transplants.

Just curious, on chilly nights, what is your approach? Frost cover? Space heater?

[QUOTE=FourOaks;680515]Dang!

Since you asked, my main problem was tangled roots. I couldnt get them undone.

But I will say, that is beautiful pic. What did you use to form that size?[/QUOTE]

Like soil or what? Just potting mix, a old plastic container, and a little urine.

[QUOTE=BigVanVader;680517]Like soil or what? Just potting mix, a old plastic container, and a little urine.[/QUOTE]

Guess I wasnt clear. I meant the container.

Hmm.. I might have to take another whack at mass plantings. I need to start a bunch of pepper seeds, today.