Viewing post #816149 by CDsSister

This was especially helpful in addition to Lynn's winter sowing article which advised:
Time to plant those seeds:

Gather your favorite potting mix (I use Miracle Grow Potting Mix).
Place about 3 inches of potting mix into your milk jug and water it. I like to add the water now, so I don’t disturb the seeds once they are planted.
Plant seeds according to directions for that type of seed. Some need to be covered, some need light to germinate.
Place a plant maker (with name of seed and date planted) inside the jug.
Close jug and tape closed using a piece of Duct Tape.
On the outside of the jug write the name of seeds planted and the date you planted them.

Now comes the hard part. Place them outdoors in an exposed area, making sure wind and animals can’t knock them over. There are many ways to accomplish this. Some of mine are placed in heavy cardboard boxes, or you can make a wooden frame around them. Once you have set them outside, walk away. Yes, walk away; leave them there until warm weather arrives. You can occasionally peek through the open spout hole to see if anything is germinating, but don’t open them. When the plants germinate and start growing, you can open the top half of the jug on warm days so the plants don’t get too hot. At this time you might have to give them some added water if the soil is drying out. Once the seedlings have grown large enough to transplant, you can either move them to larger containers or plant them in their permanent location. If you were careful about planting only a few seeds per jug, you can cut the top portion of the jug off and finish growing the seedlings until they are ready to be transplanted. At this time, depending on the growing conditions needed by the plants, you can move the jug to shade or partial shade as needed. Once the top half of the jug is removed you will have to make sure the seedlings are watered when they need it.

You can also use the top half of the jug as a miniature greenhouse to protect the new seedlings from late frosts, once you have placed them in their permanent home. Just remember to remove the covers once the sun comes out or it will get too hot for the plants. This can also protect them from damage from pests, both insects and animals, until they become mature enough to survive on their own.

JungleShadows said:Hi!

I'm sorry I have missed this thread and there were people waiting for me to comment.

I let the seedlings develop at least several sets of true leaves before trying to row them out. When I approach rowing out a pot, I find that I can pull out small portions of the encrusted surface of the potting mix and then begin teasing out the seedlings from it, sometimes breaking potting mix crust into sections and then placing that semp + crust right in the rows in the seedling bed. In that way, the seedlings are not totally bare-root when they go into their new home. I generally start with the seedlings that are most separated from their neighbors in a pot and that work my way into the more congested clumps. The best time to do this is when it is drizzling rain as the seedlings never miss a beat and start growing rapidly. The neighbors I'm sure think I'm crazy as I'm leaning over the bed getting soaked and doing what seems to be doing nothing as you can't see that ANYTHING has been rowed out from 5' away! I also water the seedlings even if it is raining. That also causes the neighbors to shae their head. The soil in which they are transplanted should be wet but not soupy/ muddy.

I give the seedlings some Quick Start fertilizer every two weeks for the first several months. That treatment seems to get the seedlings off and growing well. Many of the plants produce increase by the end of the season. I use some gravel between the rows of seedlings to suppress weed growth and prevent splashing of soil onto the seedlings.

If you are a bit scared about tackling the transplanting of seedlings, don't do the whole pot at once, especially if there are LOTS in that pot. In the special crosses I'm really careful as to how I row them out. I'll be extra careful of the 'Fuego' x 'Killer' group, for example.

Good luck all. It's so great to have people crossing semps again! I think Greg may be the next one to start. it is such fun to see how each cross develops. Yesterday I discovered a new 'Weirdo' type in one of my crosses. Hadn't seen one in many years!

Kevin