A Couple Seedling Questions From a Newbie

[pdxwindjammer]

This is only my second year trying tomatoes from seeds. Almost all the seeds I planted have sprouted now and they are under the lights in my garage. I have a few questions.

1. How soon is too soon to start hardening them off? We are going to have a few days of mild, somewhat warm (65 degree) weather this week. Can I put them out for an hour or so, even though they are just babies?

2. I picked up a bunch of 4 inch recycled pots from a nursery the other day for free. Do I need to sterilize them before I repot the seedlings in them? If yes, how?

3. Do I need to use the expensive seed starting mix for potting up? If not, what is the best soil to use? I have read about the hand mixed soilless mix.

4. I have also read about fertilizing the seedlings. When should this be done? I plan on purchasing a spray bottle today and some fish emulsion and spraying them when the time comes.

Okay, admittedly I have more than a couple of questions and I will most likely have more!

Thanks to you all for sharing your expertise!

[desertlzbn]

Originally Posted by pdxwindjammer

This is only my second year trying tomatoes from seeds. Almost all the seeds I planted have sprouted now and they are under the lights in my garage. I have a few questions.

1. How soon is too soon to start hardening them off? We are going to have a few days of mild, somewhat warm (65 degree) weather this week. Can I put them out for an hour or so, even though they are just babies? I would put them out for an hour or two in shade the first day, then the next an couple of hours more, and then so on until they are out all day, and when they have been our for about a week total, then if it is past frost then start leaving them out all night for a few nights before plant out.

2. I picked up a bunch of 4 inch recycled pots from a nursery the other day for free. Do I need to sterilize them before I repot the seedlings in them? If yes, how? I use a bleach solution, and just wash them in it like you wash dishes.

3. Do I need to use the expensive seed starting mix for potting up? If not, what is the best soil to use? I have read about the hand mixed soilless mix. Sorry, I buy the Sunshine mix from the landscape distrubuter in my area, I don't really have an answer for you, but maybe someone else will.


4. I have also read about fertilizing the seedlings. When should this be done? I plan on purchasing a spray bottle today and some fish emulsion and spraying them when the time comes. Start with a very weak solution of fish emulsion, about a 1 teaspoon to a gal of water to start with and when the plants get bigger you can make the emulsion stronger.

Okay, admittedly I have more than a couple of questions and I will most likely have more!

Thanks to you all for sharing your expertise!

.

I hope this helps.
Have a fun time, and don't fret about asking too many questions!
Sammiek

[pdxwindjammer]

Thanks for the great info Sammiek!

[dice]

1. You might toughen them up a little. Avoid full sun (cloudy
days are better). If they go back inside for days on end to avoid
rainy weather, you will need to do this again in the week before
1st of May. Watch out for slugs.

2.Bleach solution dip works.

3. If you have access to a nursery/greenhouse supply,
you can probably find professional container mix for
this. These are all good choices:

http://homeharvest.com/pottingmixes.htm

If not, Black Gold is a decent retail product. Granny likes
Expert Gardener Organic from Ace Hardware (works well
for her, good price).

If you want to make your own, you can mix 1/2 coir,
1/2 perlite then mix 3 parts of that to 1 part earthworm
castings. No fertilizer required. The coir soaks up water
better than peat. It gets wet faster and stays wet longer.
By volume, earthworm castings are not cheap if purchased
retail, so this is not likely to save anything compared to a
bag of high-quality container mix unless you have your
own worm bin. You just won't have to bother with the fish
emulsion or other starter fertilizer before transplanting
outside.

4. Usually not before they have 2 sets of true leaves. Fish
emulsion works better as a soil drench than as a foliar spray,
in my experience. Some professional mixes have a starter
fertilizer mixed in.

[pdxwindjammer]

Thanks Dice! I do vermicomposting so I have free worm castings! I love my worms!

[amideutch]

3. Do I need to use the expensive seed starting mix for potting up? If not, what is the best soil to use? I have read about the hand mixed soilless mix.

Depends what you consider expensive. The most bang for the buck that I have found is Fox Farms "Light Warrior". Normally one bag is good enough for potting up 100 seedlings to 4" pots. Organic and already has mycorrhiza and ferts mixed in and is ph stabilized. I won't use anything else. Ami

http://plantitearth.com/store/produc...roogle&pid=347