Why do I keep thinking it's 2023? Stuck in seasons past over here...😛 - Kevin P.S. The grow light in this video isn't launched yet, but it'll be here once it is: shop.epicgardening.com/products/epic-seed-starting-grow-light?variant=42203625423044
I was just thinking you guys needed an LED seed starting line. I’m putting together a shelf seed starting/growing system and lights based on the 1020 tray footprint are hard to find. Will just the light be available for the diy crowd?
I suggest when associating where you live to hardiness zones you do so with caution. Hardiness zones/maps are created, and mostly used for any given area's minimum recorded temperatures, average, 5 out of last 10 years. To determine what plants can survive at those temperatures. And primarily concerning perennials. Makes sense to me. I know in my heart that there is no one too concerned, lets say in New England, Maine here, (5A-5B) that is going to try and grow vegetables when temps could hit -20 degrees, but also might want to purchase some citrus trees, or different flowers/shrubs/bushes/trees. Then frost zones become critical. When it comes to purchasing seed or plants Eric's advise to shop locally, from a trusted nursery, and I'll add, not big box, is spot on. Usually there the ones that are more than happy to share what they have learned and Know. I just looked up hardiness "frost" dates and checked out USDA, Cornell University, NOAA, The Farmers Almanac, and a couple garden blogs and major seed companies. Here explains the word caution. One of the Seed companies not only grouped zones 5, 6, and 7 together as having a last "frost" date of April 1st-15th. Whereas most all of the other sites were first week of May???? Just the same, Welcome new Nabuh Dagny, and good luck in your gardens this year all.
I also keep a journal. Just a Dollar store spiral notebook. Vegetable, when planted, when germinated, when transplanted, when first harvest. I also add any issues with the plant - like pests, etc. It helps me decide what to plant the next year. I start everything from seeds, indoors.
Two weeks ago we had an ice storm that shut the town down, now it's in the 60's. Never to early to start whether it's inside or green house. LET IT GROW
6B REPRESENT!! Nice to see someone from my zone giving us some great tips. Also great to see you guys made it through the rain, we were worried about you for a bit there. As always, fantastic video, can't wait to put these ideas into action. Thanks!!
Nice vid! I like to add tomato cages with a clear garbage liner on stuff like peppers, works great as a makeshift humidity dome. Good for "over wintering" peppers in-ground, or on anything in a container.
I LOVE to clean up my garden during the cold months because I know I won’t run into snakes or spiders. So you’ll catch me outside doing all the organizing and heavy stuff, even meticulous tasks so that my garden is ready to simply put seeds in without a weed or debris in sight.
This might be really self-explanatory, but it took me getting a geology degree to make a habit of moving rocks - and by extension, other large objects in my garden- with my foot because you'd rather get bit on your foot that has a shoe than your hand, which has at most a glove. Stay safe (and warm) y'all
I took a risk starting sunflowers early indoors, but i couldn't wait! I received some seeds from my son's school garden and I needed to plant them! Now they're growing taller than the grow light no matter what I do. Even when the lights are off over night they grow an inch! This video was insanely perfect timing.
I've had terrible luck with sunflowers started indoors. They always grow too fast and too leggy, even under the grow lights, so they keel over when I transplant them. Unless I direct sow them outside en masse, they simply won't work for me.
Same thing happens with my dahlias I ordered, once they arrive I started them in the house, big mistake although I did have early blooms from three of them, this time around if they arrive early I will wait awhile before starting them
So, you can pot them up, and plant their stems super deep, like one would a tomato. Just be careful, repotting them too much will stress them out and they won't be their best! I actually plant many seedlings super deep, most things root along their stem!
I was watching a garden video with a guy in SEA . He was cutting the bottoms out of 2 liter clear bottles and just putting them over the seeds/ seedlings to create a tiny individual greenhouse. You could water through the opening . Once the plant grew and was oushjng in the bottle , you removed it . Maybe not large gardens but for those of us with small gardens and no recycling trash service , it’s free and easy and you can reuse the bottles every year .
Love it. Winter sowing is my method. Sow and forget until spring. Though I'm trying to figure out a plastic free alternative. The more i learn about plastics and their affect on the environment and our bodies, the more I worry. Maybe winter sowing in a cold frame.
I've wondered about that too. I'm not too worried about microplastics but it is a lot of waste. I think a hoop tunnel would be less plastic overall. That being said I know some local gardeners really like repurposing RV antifreeze jugs that they get at RV dealerships for free.
Was about to comment on the year date but everyone beat me to it. 😂 Much love from the PNW. Excited to see all the new faces and hopefully more from my grow zone! Got my signed copy of your book in yesterday. Excited to start my balcony garden this year.
I think my failure point in over-wintering container peppers is not removing the saucers under them so the soil stays too wet and I'm probably getting rot in the roots. The only one that worked last year was the only one with no saucer.
Some pepper varieties seem to overwinter by themselves, my Marisol Chile pepper plant I got about 3 and a half years ago learned how to naturally overwinter itself although I don't live in a cold climate temps in my area during the winter can get down to 30 degrees it looses all of its leaves( even though it's still producing now) and when spring rolls around it absolutely explodes with growth but again I think it's dependent on the variety 🤔
I was throwing darts at a board last year and got totally lucky- I have no idea what I'm doing. With ducks and chickens I need to grow peas, corn, etc. These tidbits will probably give me a big boost from last year. Many thanks. Love from NH❤
Awesome advice! I feel like I've been paying attention these last months. I have peppers, tomatoes, & cucs sprouting. Garlic, onions, carrots, & radish in grow bags. Herbs & flowers in 1 gallon water jugs with tops. Seeing myself already going on these feels great!
Yay Kevin! So happy to hear you aren’t leaving! I just came in from my backyard from picking my citrus. After a few years of weird tasting and looking fruit I am so happy with my harvest this year. I’m still a beginner and want to plant another fruit tree, an herb and tea garden and a few veggies. I have learned so much from you and enjoy your videos with Jacques. You two are crazy for doing that chili tasting test! Well good luck. I’m a fan and student of the channel.
The practical tips for seed starting indoors, using simple materials, and the ingenious use of a cold frame to extend the growing season are game-changers for gardeners looking to get a jump on spring planting. We started early. Cheers!
Great timing for me. I just started some seeds this past week. I really appreciated the cold frame advice on venting, we are currently building one out back for next fall , our winter's are a bit crazy at times here so i was thinking airtight as possible, i will definitely remember to vent it now watching this video. Thanks so much.
I'm literally doing my outside/need stratification seeds today! Going to be using milk jugs and tubs. Loved the cold frame and DIY hoop house; both are projects I'm looking into next year! Thanks as always for the great content!
I started my artichoke and pepper seeds at the beginning of January. They're growing nicely! I'll be starting tomatoes in a couple of weeks so they're nice and big before going outside. Don't forget hardening off! I put mine on rolling shelves that I will have near the garage door. I simply open and close the door for hardening off!
If you're up north, trying to start seeds on a windowsill in february or march, you may find you need additional light. I use a growlight in addition to the light from the west-facing window of the sill. Before that they got rather spindly. They are much better now.
Did I hear correctly? You bless me with a month of sunny perfect weather for my comment? Are you some sort of nature god holding spring weather powers? LOL
My dad is letting me use his massive backyard greenhouse this year to start my seeds. I just ordered 80 dollars worth of seeds for this year about 2 minutes ago lol. I’ve got artichokes, 3 kinds of onions (shallots, green onions, and leeks) the new jewel amethyst egg plants, kale, shishito peppers, megatron jalepenos, Cheyanne blend, the jimmy nardello peppers, grande rio verde tomatillos, rainbow blend pole tomatoes, ambrosia sweet corn, Diablo cosmos, bright lights blend cosmos, irresistible blend milkweed, night and day snap dragons, tetra dill, Italian genovese basil, rosemary seeds, wild bergamot, and glass gem flint corn. I’m super excited to get growing this year! Edit: I forgot catnip for my kitty so I had to go back and buy it and added more flowers because why not🤣
Sometimes i think about labeling and starting seeds in trays and stuff, but for some reason i always come back to the good ol "throw the seeds everywhere and hopefully one of them comes up somewhere"
I had very good luck with carrots and parsnips by starting them indoors in grow bags. They germinated very quickly. I did have to harden them off but that isn't so difficult. Carrots and parsnips don't transplant well, but moving the whole grow bag avoided that issue. A new thing I'm trying currently is I took one of my old, somewhat cracked plastic storage totes. I turned it upside down and drilled a bunch of air holes along the top of the sides. This is basically a portable greenhouse. I can put the plants on the lid (the whole tote is upside down) and haul the whole thing in and outside each day if I need to (I started my peppers way too late last year and way too early this year). Or I could leave the lid out of the picture and just put the tote directly on top of soil. This is new so I'm not sure how well it will work long term. I also cut the very bottom off of 1 gallon water jugs and put that over my tomatoes that I planted in grow bags in early January. They're holding up great! Two already have several clusters of flowers and are early producers (one is Botanical Interests Yellow Patio Choice) so I should see tomatoes before the end of March.
Even in Michigan, I'm starting some of the finicky Super hot peppers. We have a week without freezing temps (34F at night for the nextc3 days), so I'm working much compost. Russian Red kale and cilantro is literally thriving outside right now!
Thank you so much for your videos. You really introduced me into the world of gardening and agriculture in general. Your videos are funny and informative and just awesome. Thank you so much!
Some of the potatoes I grew last year were putting out eyes, just one healthy 1-3 inch eye each, so I popped them off and ate the potatoes. I planted all of the little eyes about 1/2 way in 3 inch pots and threw them under my grow light. Why not right. I was going to throw them in the compost anyway. I am amazed that they are all greening up and leafing out. I’m going to have to pot them up soon. I did this last year with a red potato eye my uncle sent me and potted it into a 3 gallon pot and got 9 nice potatoes. I was able to take it outside for a couple months to finish growing, but I’m hopeful that my south facing windows and grow lights will get me a harvest.
Labels can be expensive. For short crops and for very long ones use empitsu ( a no. 2 pencil or a number 1 if you can find it) pencil will last longer than ink on pots you keep a long time. Turn the label toward the pot and push it down to keep it from being exposed to more light. If you use pencil on a good quality thick label, you can erase it and use it again. If you use a marker, you would have to paint the label with white out to use it again. I use non compostable knives because it also works as a garden tool and I can wash china marker off with a scrubber and scouring powder. I can also use a pencil on a plastic knife, but I would have to sand the shine off first. I love the critter cage idea. How do you determine how many seeds to plant? My problem, I start more seeds that I have space for because I plant too many extras. How much overseeding is o.k? Also for succession planting would you stagger some seed starts?
I am already stating some flowers & rosemary that I want earlier bloom on as well as trying to establish perennials this season. No veggies just yet, but soon my super hot peppers, Cole crops and onions. Love winter sowing as well for a ton annual flowers. My tip read seed packets or research seed variety. I am finding many flowers do require light to enhance germination. Be sure your aware seed variety needs. PS tall order my area to promise 1 month of full sun 🌞. Living in an area that gets 65 days on average full sun
Being under several inches of snow here in southern Colorado this was fantastic info for myself. I’ve got spring and gardening FEVER! Ugh Thank you for your content!
Zone 8b its time for me to try to get a garden. This January i cleared my half acre of land i bought three years ago. Now i am working on getting to dirt for planting tons of peppers and everything else.
I'm starting everything in SOLO cups on my windowsill, LOL! (Double cup method.) This has worked wonderfully for me for many years! Thanks for the video! 👍
Do you have a video on exactly how you dig up your peppers and pot them up at the end of the year? Do you trim the root to make them fit into the 5” pot, etc.? Thank you, your videos are great and helpful.
I really want to try and direct sow my brassicas this year, because the last times I've attempted starting them indoors, even my bright south window isn't enough and everyone gets all leggy. 😭 The trick is figuring out when to plunk them down. I'm going to guestimate (as temps have been all over the place here) and then use milk jugs as mini greenhouses to keep them at a better temp. Fingers crossed this works! Edit: OHHECK A ZONE 6B PERSON DOING THIS VERY THING! Or close enough at least, haha! Heck yeah!
Cold Frame. This sounds like the perfect thing for the glass shelfs that I kept out of an old refridgerator. I have been trying think of a way to use them. A greenhouse is something that I've been wanting to do for a while, but budget wise, can't. This cold frame might be a great alternative.
These were great tips. I think I'm going to try the frost fabric and cage method to start my squash early. My estimated last frost date is February 15th and I usually don't plant my frost tender plants out until March. I have squash vine borers problems and haven't gotten a single squash since I started gardening. I'm planting them in a different spot in my garden since vine borers overwinter in the soil. I'm planting them out in early February and protecting them with frost fabric and then insect netting until I start getting squash. I will have to hand pollinate but it's worth the extra work to me.
I brought one of my peppers in for the first time last Fall. I cut it back, took off all the leaves and set under a grow light. It grew new leaves, flowered and gave me 2 jalapenos. Since then it is just basically stayed the same. I hope it does ok going outside come warmer temps
Definitely feel like I'm getting a later start on my Winter Sowing for some Flowers but such is life, we'll have snow until March or April here in Canada
I label every single cell when I plant seeds and keep a log on a legal pad with the name, date, and number of seeds per cell. I think labeling is part of the fun of seed starting 😊
I have cold frames ready to go for the first time and am excited to see how it compares to a low tunnel. I'm also going to make a hot bed and put the cold frame on top of that and see if I can't get my soil temps up and seeds going a month extra extra early.
I've learned to label my trays, alphabetical on the x-axis and numerical on the y. Replicate that in an excel sheet and you have a perfect map for recording what you have planted in each cell, the progress of each plant and any other notes.
2:45 You pronounced Di Cicco correctly the first time. A "c" is pronounced as "ch" if it's followed by an "i" or "e." However, if the "c" is followed by an "h", then it's always pronounced as a hard "c". I sometimes get confused and do that with Spanish words.
I've already got seeds started here in the PNW in zone 8b. I've started my peppers, onions, leeks and some lettuce. 😎 Planning on starting my tomatoes next month.
I number the labels, which allows me to reuse them after some seeds inevitably fail. I keep the details on a separate sheet for each #... and then I lose track of what is where anyway when I plant them out. 😅
