It's definitely time to sow seeds now. Here are some suggestions to figure out when is the best time to plant different types of seeds.
- Try the iPhone calendar apps I wrote, I use these to plan when to plant: Skippy's Vegetable Calendar App and Skippy's Flower and Herb Calendar App.
- Or try my old, very simple, and free online planting calendar: Online Vegetable Calendar.
- Johnny's online tool works pretty much the same: Johnny's planting calculator
- The University of Minnesota has a nice page on starting seeds indoors. Some tables too. So if your climate is similar to theirs, it's a good resource. UMinn Seed Starting.
- I also like a colorful chart that shows planting and harvesting times: Urban Farmer Seeds chart for USDA zone 6.
Let me know other suggestions!
Just read this on a horticulture magazine sight...
ReplyDelete"Seedlings started indoors tend to be weaker than those that sprout outside in the garden. Indoor seedlings tend to be taller and more tender, even if grown in strong light. The difference is the absence of wind—as wind shakes outdoor seedlings, their stems become stronger and their growth remains stocky.
Indoors, you can re-create the effect of the blowing wind by “brushing” your seedlings. Brush a folded piece of paper across the tops of small seedlings, quickly but gently bending them to horizontal and letting them pop up again. Do this twice a day for about a minute. As seedlings get larger, you can use your hand instead of the paper.
In studies, seedlings that were brushed had smaller, darker leaves that grew closer together than those of seedlings that were not brushed."
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Great. I have a fan in my plant room. I move it around and I think it does the same as brushing them would. I keep the lights right up next to the seedlings. They are pretty stocky and healthy. The process of hardening them off also helps to get them used to wind and strengthens the stems too. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi, Neat post. There's an issue along with your
ReplyDeletewebsite in internet explorer, might test this? IE still is the marketplace chief and a big component of other people will
pass over your fantastic writing because of this problem.
Ok. What’s the issue? I prefer to use Firefox.
ReplyDeleteI'm not seeing anything odd using IE version 11.0, on Win 7. The only issue I had was operator error on your calculator, when I forgot to put in a last frost date. I like it - it even works with dates in the past.
ReplyDeleteI've also simply shaken the whole tray to give the plants some exercise. But I do not recommend letting the cats help though.
I’m surprised I let that comment go through about IE. I’m sure it’s spam. The planting app is for mobile devices using IOS.
ReplyDeleteI like that you say you’re giving the plants “some exersize”, Gail! That’s great. I hope the cats did not do too much damage.