As I posted previously, I've had problems with "damping off" in my seedling trays. I've also had problems with leggy bean seedlings bending over to the point of breaking - though not because of damping off (thankfully!). Well I found a solution for both problems. I rotated my seeding trays so that the one with the most damping off (herbs/wildflowers/tomatoes) is now on the heating pad. Then I poured some water into the bottom tray instead of watering from the top (great tip! wish I'd known that earlier!). Then I broke out this mini fan and directed it onto the tray with the bean seedlings (beans/peppers).
The heating pad was just to help kill off any remaining fungus from the damping off. The air circulation from the fan also helps with that. However, what I didn't know is that the fan blowing on the leggy bean seedlings will actually condition them to grow their stalks a little stronger so they can withstand the winds when I transplant them outside in a week or two. I may be imagining it, but I think they already look a little stronger. They stopped needing the use of my little support sticks that I put in the soil for them to lean on. Its a start! I'll let you know how the damping off and stalk conditioning works out. I've already stopped seeing any fungus gnats so that's a good sign. The surviving seedlings already look a little healthier.
I also started taking the pumpkins and the one adolescent tomato plant outside to begin their hardening process. I'll probably start doing the same with the beans and peppers as soon as their stalks are strong enough to withstand the wind.
Ooh and I nearly forgot to mention! I finally picked the showpiece container plant for my garden. Its going to be a setsuma mandarin orange tree. If you're looking for a citrus tree for your garden this year, my Southern friends, and you're having a helluva time finding any because of the disease outbreak in Florida, send me a message. I have good news and helpful info for you. Think Monrovia! More to come...
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
I Am The Seedling Slayer (or What NOT to do When Starting Seeds Indoors)
So I've had this problem for years now. I'm an over-nurturer. Just ask any of my friends that come to visit. I tend to over feed them. Well I also do the same for my plants. While I've always had a pretty good green thumb, I tend to over nurture my plants, so of course I did that with my seedlings.
I started seeds in my house this year. So nervous was I about direct sowing outdoors after the last frost, that I just had to start all my seeds indoors. *eyeroll* I'm such a nut. Anyways, I've had a pretty good return on my efforts thus far except that I killed all my first attempts at tomatoes. I started with 9 each of Roma, Cherry and Big Boy tomatoes in a big tray seeder. In the rest of the slots, I planted wildflower seeds. 72 Slots in all were planted. My seedlings came up nice and strong and I was sooo pleased with myself.
Things were great until we had some great weather one day and I thought "my babies could use some fresh air and sunshine!". Wrong wrong wrong! See, what I didn't know was that the sun can burn seedlings. Yeah, it made no sense to me, either. It seems that you have to do what they call "hardening" your seedlings before they can tolerate long periods of direct sunlight. And before you can do that, your seedlings have to have "true leaves". True leaves are the next set of leaves that grow after a seed germinates. When a seed germinates, it comes up out of the ground with these round, lumps of leaves. Those are not "true leaves". The next set that they grow is the "true leaves" set. Once you see those, you can start to harden your plants.
To harden them, you take them outside for a short period each day successively. So, for instance, on Saturday you take them outside for a half hour. Sunday for an hour. Monday for an hour and a half. Tuesday for two. etc. You do this for about a week. Well, I didn't harden my seedlings at all before taking them outside for 5 hours that day. After I brought them back in, the plants were in such a state of shock and burn that they just died back. See what I mean? Over nurturing.
So I sewed all the slots with seeds again, this time choosing very hearty wildflowers, some of the tomatoes and some beans. I also broke out another of my seeding trays and planted my peppers (4 different kinds) and two kinds of green beans. I knew better than to just take them outside this time, but I just had to do my over nurturing thing again. This time I over watered my little seedlings. It started when they looked droopy. I thought "awww! you guys need some water!" and broke out my little watering can. They just got droopier. They would get thin at the base of their stems and fall over and die. I watched with dismay as I lost about 40% of my first tray (tomatoes/wildflowers) and about 10% of my second (peppers/beans). I didn't know what to do.
Then this week I noticed that I had a full-blown infestation of fungus gnats. You may have seen these little guys before. Tiny black gnats that you'll see flitting about the soil in your plants. I had them last summer in some wildflowers I tried to sew in one of my containers outdoors. Lost the whole pot to the gnats before I learned what had gone wrong. And what I'd done to nearly kill every one of my seedlings this year.
See, what happened here is called "Damping Off". It happens when a yahoo like myself gets crazy with the watering can or when tainted soil is used. Since I knew I'd used soil I'd mixed myself from perfectly sterile components, I knew it had to be the water. Luckily I had that episode with the wildflowers last year, because I knew just what to do to stop the problem in it's tracks. Dampening Off happens when fungus attacks the seedlings at the soil line. Causing the seedlings' stems to thin and the top of the seedling to fall over and die. The fungus gnats were just the harbingers of doom - like vultures circling over my seed trays. (albeit very tiny vultures in a very large flock). The solution? Well you know me - it has to be organic. And there was an organic solution right in my spice cabinet. I sprinkled the soil of each seed tray lightly with cinnamon. Cinnamon is a natural antifungal. The flies took off and my seedlings are looking healthier. In a few days the fungus gnats should be completely gone - their main food source (the fungus causing the Damping Off) having been eradicated.
So the short story is - when planting your seedlings - don't take them for a day in the park and if you over water them like a doofus - use cinnamon. The lives you save may be your own plants. You may make some enemies of the fungus gnats, though. They'll just have to get over it.
I started seeds in my house this year. So nervous was I about direct sowing outdoors after the last frost, that I just had to start all my seeds indoors. *eyeroll* I'm such a nut. Anyways, I've had a pretty good return on my efforts thus far except that I killed all my first attempts at tomatoes. I started with 9 each of Roma, Cherry and Big Boy tomatoes in a big tray seeder. In the rest of the slots, I planted wildflower seeds. 72 Slots in all were planted. My seedlings came up nice and strong and I was sooo pleased with myself.
Things were great until we had some great weather one day and I thought "my babies could use some fresh air and sunshine!". Wrong wrong wrong! See, what I didn't know was that the sun can burn seedlings. Yeah, it made no sense to me, either. It seems that you have to do what they call "hardening" your seedlings before they can tolerate long periods of direct sunlight. And before you can do that, your seedlings have to have "true leaves". True leaves are the next set of leaves that grow after a seed germinates. When a seed germinates, it comes up out of the ground with these round, lumps of leaves. Those are not "true leaves". The next set that they grow is the "true leaves" set. Once you see those, you can start to harden your plants.
To harden them, you take them outside for a short period each day successively. So, for instance, on Saturday you take them outside for a half hour. Sunday for an hour. Monday for an hour and a half. Tuesday for two. etc. You do this for about a week. Well, I didn't harden my seedlings at all before taking them outside for 5 hours that day. After I brought them back in, the plants were in such a state of shock and burn that they just died back. See what I mean? Over nurturing.
So I sewed all the slots with seeds again, this time choosing very hearty wildflowers, some of the tomatoes and some beans. I also broke out another of my seeding trays and planted my peppers (4 different kinds) and two kinds of green beans. I knew better than to just take them outside this time, but I just had to do my over nurturing thing again. This time I over watered my little seedlings. It started when they looked droopy. I thought "awww! you guys need some water!" and broke out my little watering can. They just got droopier. They would get thin at the base of their stems and fall over and die. I watched with dismay as I lost about 40% of my first tray (tomatoes/wildflowers) and about 10% of my second (peppers/beans). I didn't know what to do.
Then this week I noticed that I had a full-blown infestation of fungus gnats. You may have seen these little guys before. Tiny black gnats that you'll see flitting about the soil in your plants. I had them last summer in some wildflowers I tried to sew in one of my containers outdoors. Lost the whole pot to the gnats before I learned what had gone wrong. And what I'd done to nearly kill every one of my seedlings this year.
See, what happened here is called "Damping Off". It happens when a yahoo like myself gets crazy with the watering can or when tainted soil is used. Since I knew I'd used soil I'd mixed myself from perfectly sterile components, I knew it had to be the water. Luckily I had that episode with the wildflowers last year, because I knew just what to do to stop the problem in it's tracks. Dampening Off happens when fungus attacks the seedlings at the soil line. Causing the seedlings' stems to thin and the top of the seedling to fall over and die. The fungus gnats were just the harbingers of doom - like vultures circling over my seed trays. (albeit very tiny vultures in a very large flock). The solution? Well you know me - it has to be organic. And there was an organic solution right in my spice cabinet. I sprinkled the soil of each seed tray lightly with cinnamon. Cinnamon is a natural antifungal. The flies took off and my seedlings are looking healthier. In a few days the fungus gnats should be completely gone - their main food source (the fungus causing the Damping Off) having been eradicated.
Hello World!
Why Another Mom's Garden Blog?
I've been posting about my gardening efforts on my Facebook page for about a month now. The only problem with that is that it doesn't really link up with other sites where I can share all this stuff I'm learning with the rest of the world. So this blog is born. Simply put, its yet another Mom's Garden type of blog, but I'm hoping that some of the first time gardener's stuff that I'm learning will help someone else. I've gotten a lot of help along the way from other people's garden blogs, so I thought I should compile everything I've been learning here.
About My Garden
Simply put, my garden project started out because of my daughter, Abigail. I wanted to feed her healthy, organic, fresh, local food and give her a childhood filled with whimsy and an interest in nature. That said, my goals for my garden were:
bec - the GardenMumma
I've been posting about my gardening efforts on my Facebook page for about a month now. The only problem with that is that it doesn't really link up with other sites where I can share all this stuff I'm learning with the rest of the world. So this blog is born. Simply put, its yet another Mom's Garden type of blog, but I'm hoping that some of the first time gardener's stuff that I'm learning will help someone else. I've gotten a lot of help along the way from other people's garden blogs, so I thought I should compile everything I've been learning here.
About My Garden
Simply put, my garden project started out because of my daughter, Abigail. I wanted to feed her healthy, organic, fresh, local food and give her a childhood filled with whimsy and an interest in nature. That said, my goals for my garden were:
- Make a garden that is safe and organic - so that an inquisitive two year old can put things in her mouth without our having to worry about chemicals and poisonous plants.
- Use natural pest controls - its better for the ecosystem. (More detail to follow in blog posts)
- Have a neutral impact on nature - or even a positive one if we can.
- Entice Abigail's participation by using projects that stimulate her creativity and imagination.
- Feed our family - Have you seen the cost of produce at the grocery store?! $3 for a Bell Pepper? No thanks, I'll grow my own. And finally...
- EAT LOCAL - This blog will include information I've gathered on eating locally grown produce, meats, eggs and, if possible, dairy. We've been trying to gear our family more toward a "greener lifestyle" and eating locally is a big part of that. I'll be including resources to help anyone in the Charlotte area (and sometimes abroad) join us in the Eating Local movement. Expect preaching to be minimal - but present ;)
bec - the GardenMumma
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