Sure, it’s not the most agreeable time for an organic gardener to be outdoors, but it is perfect weather for setting out hardy veggie transplants, relocating over wintered crops, or thinning direct seeded plants to give them additional space to grow and mature.

Reducing Plant Stress When Moving Seedlings

Transplanting just before wet and cloudy weather rolls in will result in the least amount of stress, transplant shock, or stunting for the vegetable plants that are being uprooted, handled, and replanted. The young seedlings will barely notice the disturbance and will happily continue growing without interruption.

But I only advise roaming around in a wet garden to those who use raised beds and can move about without trampling on the actual growing areas of the garden. As long as you don’t do any serious cultivating or step on the beds you can get away with gently transplanting into a raised bed garden even in the midst of a light rain shower.

Chalk this up as another springtime perk of growing your vegetable garden in raised beds; one that ranks right up there with eliminating the need to till the garden to prepare it for planting each season.

Making Good of Unpleasant Weather in the Garden

During the cloudy and rainy spell this week I relocated some of the over wintered veggies to consolidate them into a smaller area of the garden and fill in the gaps between plants. Next I moved the cress, arugula, and tatsoi plants that were crammed into the cold frame out into the garden beds.

Then there were there were the vegetable transplants that I picked up at a local nursery; broccoli, leeks, globe artichokes, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts that found their way into the raised beds during the cloudy weekend.

I also planted kale, lettuce, cabbage, kohl rabi, and seedlings of other cool weather crops that were started indoors out into the open garden. Yes, I admit that I was guilty of violating the gardener’s oath of never planting seedlings outside until after they have been properly hardened off, but they are doing just fine.

A Short Cut to Hardening Off Your Vegetable Transplants

Another good reason for transplanting during an extended stretch of cloudy and rainy days is that if you’re careful, lucky, and can gauge the weather forecast accurately, it will enable you to cheat and save time when it comes to hardening off of your delicate vegetable transplants.

A cloud cover usually brings milder temperatures and of course will reduce the amount of direct sun rays bombarding those vulnerable little transplants. Add in the comforting rain showers and your plants will receive plenty of moisture to help ease the transition into their new living quarters.

Caution: This isn’t intended as a substitute for hardening off transplants, which it is ALWAYS best to do before setting out your seedlings. You can easily speed up and reduce the time spent hardening off but there is a risk to your seedlings any time that you totally eliminate the process.

So when the forecast is wet and gloomy, you can brighten it up by using the occasion to welcome your new plants and get them acclimated to the outdoor garden. If you time your transplanting to coincide with favorable weather conditions you will make life easier on the plants and get them off to a faster start out in the vegetable bed.

Well, The Tasteful Garden offers a convenient option for beginner gardeners, growers that are short on time for seed starting, and for gardeners who just aren’t interested in growing their own vegetable transplants from seed but still want to choose from a good assortment of healthy and productive fruit, veggie and herb plants.

Healthy Transplants Delivered Right to Your Door

Cindy and George Martin have owned and managed the Tasteful Garden since 1996 and produce vegetable and herb transplants for sale to gardeners throughout the U.S. A big plus in my book is the fact that their plants are raised using organic products, and that they offer many heirlooms and other uncommon varieties.

The Tasteful Garden’s operations include greenhouses that are open to the public during the growing season and an Internet website for product information, plant descriptions, and to handle ordering. Their prompt processing, special packaging, and speedy delivery allow them to ship healthy plants to backyard gardeners in all parts of the country.

Great Reasons to Try Mail Order Veggie Plants

I have never purchased vegetable transplants through mail order but I can see some advantages over the typical sources of veggie plants for the home garden:

• Access to a wider selection of heirlooms and special varieties that are not available at local greenhouses
• Greater control over the timing of when your transplants are available and ready for planting
• Ability to obtain naturally grown vegetable and herb transplants

Of course purchasing all of your transplants by mail may not be practical for large gardens but I plan to supplement the seedlings that I raise myself with some of the unique plants offered by the Tasteful Garden this growing season.

Unique Heirloom and Gourmet Variety Offerings

As much as I try to keep tabs on unusual varieties, I have to admit that there were many plants listed at the Tasteful Garden that were new to me. Here’s a sampling of some of the interesting plants that are raised and offered for sale through their website:

• Black Pear – a productive, dark colored, small pear-shaped tomato with a rich, sweet, and complex tomato flavor
• Hershey Pepper – large fruited chocolate sweet bell pepper
• Big Zebra – this tomato is described as a “new” heirloom cross unlike anything else that you’ve seen
• Ceylon – an interesting looking scalloped cherry tomato variety
• Flying Saucer Squash – this colorful summer squash has an interesting shape that does resemble a craft from another planet
• Charentais Cantaloupe – very sweet, orange-fleshed French melon
• Winter Carnival – a tasty, dumpling style, winter squash with green stripes covered by splotches of orange and yellow
• Assorted herb plants including; Bay Laurel, horseradish, sorrel, parsley, lemon grass, French tarragon, Greek oregano, and basils
• Fruit Trees – if your home or garden is accommodating you can even obtain exotic fruits such as Persian Limes, blood oranges, Meyer Lemons, and Arbequina Olive Trees

Gardening Tips, Healthy Plants, and Great Service

The Tasteful Garden isn’t just a source of herbs and vegetable transplants; they also offer a selection of gardening books, supplies, and organic fertilizers. You’ll even find gardening tips and detailed growing instructions on their main website and at the new Tasteful Garden Blog.

The folks at the Tasteful Garden have earned quite a bit of favorable feedback on the Web regarding the quality of their transplants, excellent customer service, and the healthy condition that their shipped plants arrive in.

The positive reviews combined with their commitment to customer satisfaction give me a good deal of confidence in ordering and recommending transplants from this Internet based plant nursery.

This alert indicating it was time to “start your seeds” arrived during the middle of January and was delivered to the cold and snow covered climate of Central Pennsylvania!

Panic Attack at VeggieGardeningTips.com

My initial reaction upon reading that headline was to enter into a momentary panic as I tried to determine whether I had slipped into the Twilight Zone and totally forgot about the indoor seed starting season. “What date is it?” “How could I have let the winter fly by without getting my spring seedlings off to a good start?” “Is it too late to get caught up?”

Well, a quick glance at the calendar, followed by look outside calmed my nerves enough to reassure me that all wasn’t lost and that I hadn’t fallen behind in my winter seed starting duties. My next thought was to find out who the culprit was behind the cruel hoax to work me into a seed starting frenzy.

Sure, we’ve enjoyed a pretty mild winter, but there’s no way that Mother Nature or anyone else is going to trick me into jumping the gun on the upcoming growing season. Aside from some of the slower developing seedlings such as leeks and onions, it was a bit early to start planting seeds for transplanting out into my zone 6 vegetable garden.

Relax, but Gather those Seed Starting Supplies Today

As it turned out the email was from the Gardener’s Supply Company and was just a friendly reminder that the growing season is just around the corner, and that it’s a good idea to think ahead and make sure that everything is on hand to start those seedlings on schedule for your specific growing region.

Mission accomplished… I’m getting my act in gear to begin planning and to make sure everything is in order so that I can plant my veggie seeds when the time is just right! So this week I’ll be placing my heirloom seed orders, taking inventory of my seed starting supplies, and coming up with a timetable for starting seedlings indoors.

It may not be “Time to Start Your Seeds” just yet, but it’s definitely time to at least begin the planning and organizing process, especially if you intend to grow your own transplants from seed this year.

I’m now down to twelve strong and healthy tomato plants that have earned their spots out in the garden.

Heirloom and Gourmet Tomato Varieties

I selected a dozen interesting tomato varieties, most of them heirlooms, to grow from seed this season. It wasn’t easy to choose among the candidates as there are hundreds of unique heirlooms to select from.

Here are the twelve tomato varieties that I grew from seed this year:

• Black Krim – Dark, medium sized, flavorful fruits.
• Caspian Pink – A large pink Russian heirloom.
• Sungold – One of my favorite cherry tomatoes.
• Pineapple – Beautiful, large, bi-colored tomato.
• Brandywine – An extremely popular heirloom tomato.
• Mortgage Lifter – Heirloom with a “rich” history.
• Big Rainbow – Name says it all for this Bi-colored.
• Hillbilly – One of the largest, can reach two pounds.
• Howard German – Popular in Penn Dutch country.
• Black Cherry – Dark colored sweet cherry tomato.
• Costuluto Fiorentino – Large red Italian heirloom.
• Blondkopchfen – A productive yellow cherry tomato.

Initially two cells of a twenty-four cell seedling tray were sown with two or three seeds of each variety. If you start with fresh seed you can chance sowing a single tomato seed in each cell, but if the seed is older it’s best to plant multiple seeds in each cell to ensure adequate germination.

Survival of the Healthiest Tomato

Once the tomato seeds have germinated and start forming their first set of true leaves I begin the merciless task of judging and culling the contenders. Any seedling that is weak, lanky, slow growing, odd looking, pale colored, diseased, or displays any unfavorable characteristic has to go.

As unpleasant as it may be to destroy a helpless seedling, it’s a job that has to be carried out. I use a small pair of scissors to snip out the weaker looking seedlings until only the strongest remains in each cell. That will leave twenty-four tomato seedlings to continue growing.

I could have transplanted the weaker seedlings to another container, but separating the plants can be tedious and I don’t like handling them too much when they are just starting out. Using scissors to thin the tomatoes will also help to limit the chances of damaging the surviving plant or disturbing its delicate root system.

Rewards for the Best Tomato Plants

A couple of weeks after the first elimination the seedlings are judged once again. Since the obvious castoffs have already been removed the final selection is tougher and based on subtle differences in appearance, gardener’s intuition, or a quick coin flip to decide which plant deserves to move on.

The best tomato plant of each variety is transplanted into a larger container to give it a little more room to grow and develop a fuller root system. The tomato seedlings respond well to being carefully transplanted into their new growing quarters and should be set a little deeper in the soil.

The victorious tomato plants also receive special pampering in the form of the choicest locations under the lights, a daily plant massage, and first priority when it comes to feeding, watering, and hardening off. All the finest care to ensure they will be vigorous and healthy when transplanted outside.

After all, the garden is where the challenge will really begin and my home grown tomato seedlings will receive more competition from a few additional heirloom tomato transplants that I purchase at the Landis Valley Museum’s Herb & Garden Faire that is just around the corner.

Today I’m going to wrap up this series of posts on seed starting techniques by providing some trouble shooting ideas for what to do when good seeds go bad… really bad!

Poor Seed Germination

You’ve planted, watered, watched, and waited but there’s still no sign of anything growing out of your pampered seedling flats. Sometimes it happens, and you experience poor or no seed germination. This is even more likely if you use older seeds that were left over from previous growing seasons.

You can reduce the risk of your vegetable seeds losing their vigor by storing them properly. Keep them dry, cool, and in a dark air-tight container, or better yet stick the sealed container in a corner of the freezer, just don’t forget where you placed them for safekeeping.

Pre-Sprouting Seeds 

Another trick that you can use to check seed viability is to test sprout a few of the seeds before you plant them under soil where you’ll have no idea whether they are growing or not. Label and lay the seeds out on a paper towel or coffee filter, fold or roll them up, moisten and place in a plastic bag.

Keep them moist and in a warm location, if they germinate you will know that the seeds are still viable and safe to plant. If the germination is spotty you can still use the seeds but sow extra seeds in each cell to compensate for the low germination rates.

I would only take this extra effort with seeds that were suspect because they were old or hadn’t been stored properly. The test seeds that were germinated can be carefully transplanted from the paper towels to soil if you desire.

Seedling Damping Off

Achieving successful seed germination doesn’t mean that the coast is all clear. Sometimes seeds will germinate and produce seedlings that grow perfectly for a couple of weeks then mysteriously keel over and die for no apparent reason. You’ve seedlings have just been stricken by the deadly damping off disease.

Once your vegetable seedlings are afflicted with a case of damping off there’s not much you can do besides pay your condolences. You’ve just sacrificed a few weeks out of your seed starting schedule and will have to begin over from scratch.

Preventing Damping Off Disease

Considering how sudden, unpredictable, and incurable damping off is, the fortunate aspect is that it’s not very common and is usually associated with growing seedlings in soil that is not pasteurized, or using growing containers that are not sterile.

I have to admit that I’m not very particular about sterilizing my seedling trays or containers, but it’s a good idea to do so, especially if you’ve experienced past problems with damping off. I do use commercial potting soils that have been pasteurized to destroy soil pathogens.

Other steps that you can take to reduce the likelihood of a bout with damping off fungus include: ensuring good air circulation around seedlings, avoiding over watering, and adding water from the bottom to avoid drenching the foliage of young seedlings.

Lanky and Weak Seedling Growth

Lean and mean is one thing but you definitely don’t want to grow weak, spindly, and tall seedlings that can barely hold their heads upright.

This is another seed starting problem that needs to be nipped in the bud because there’s no way to reverse the damage. Your goal is to produce transplants that are short, thick, and stocky throughout their growth.

If your seedlings are lanky and quickly growing taller, that’s a sign that they are not getting enough light and are stretching skyward in search of the sun. The solution is to lower your plant grow lights so that the fluorescent tubes are closer to the tops of the vegetable seedlings. It’s okay to have your lights within an inch or two of the fluorescent tubes.

Encouraging Stocky Seedling Growth

Another technique that you can employ to encourage stockier plants with sturdier stems is to brush the tops of the plants a couple of times a day. Use your fingertips or a stick to gently tickle the upper leaves of the seedlings.

You can view this as weight training for your transplants as it will promote the growth of thicker stems in response to the stimulus that you are providing. This seedling exercise will also prepare the plants to handle the breezes and winds that they will encounter after they are set out into the garden.

Hopefully all of your seedlings survive and grow into transplants that are even healthier then those sold at your local greenhouse. But before you rush them off into the harsh conditions of your backyard be sure to harden off the seedlings to complete their conditioning and ease the transition into the garden.

Before you touch the first seed, begin by outlining a plan of exactly what you will plant and research the proper time for seed sowing so that the seedlings will be ready to be set out into the garden as soon as the weather is suitable.

Good Seedling Companions

The home gardener will usually sow flats or trays with an assortment of different vegetable plants. So think ahead to prevent a bushy, fast growing tomato seedling from crowding slower growing seedlings such as eggplants that share the same flat.

Also try to plant seeds with similar growth habits and needs together. For example, if you allow collards, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and kohlrabi to share the same flat they will all grow at about the same height, mature at a similar rate, and can each be transplanted out into the garden at the same time.

This makes it easy for the plants to grow side by side in adjacent cells, and will make your job simpler when it’s time to manage tasks such as adjusting the height of your grow lights, hardening the plants off, and transplanting.

Labeling Your Transplant Seedlings

Another important part of planning involves labeling. Even experienced gardeners may have difficulty distinguishing between seedlings when they first germinate, and if you want to track and compare the performance similar varieties down the road then identification and labeling from the beginning is a must.

I usually plant the same variety of seed across an entire row of a seedling flat. This way I can use the lines on a sheet of paper can represent the rows and simply jot down a single name to identify all the seedlings in a particular row.

When I’ve finished sorting, grouping, and recording the row location of the seeds that I intend to plant I will have created a seedling ID map and simultaneously arranged my seed packets in their planting sequence.

Simple Tip to Using Seed Starting Soil Mixes

Seed starting soil mixtures can be frustrating to work with but you can eliminate many of the hassles by simply moistening the soil before you work with it; this will keep down the amount of dust and make planting and watering much easier. Slowly add water a little at a time and use your hands to mix until the soil is evenly, but very lightly moistened.

If you tried to use dry potting soil in your containers, it would be difficult to fill and compress the soil into the cells. Dry seed starting mixes will also initially repel, rather then absorb water, and it will be almost impossible to water your containers without disturbing the seeds that are planted.

We’re done with the preliminaries, now we can get down to the business of planting our seeds. Fill your flats, trays, or containers with the soil-less mix and press down to firm the medium so that the cells are filled to within half an inch of the top and there are no pockets or air spaces.

Plant, Water, and Wait

Now you can plant your seeds and cover with enough soil mix to place the seeds at their recommended depth. Lightly firm the soil to ensure good contact with the seeds which is important to help them germinate.

Water the containers as needed (from the bottom up if possible) to keep the soil moist but do not allow the soil to completely dry out, or become waterlogged. If you have a germination mat or heating cable place it under the flats to provide gentle bottom heat which will speed seed germination.

Cover the flat with a humidity dome or drape a piece of plastic over the top to conserve moisture and increase humidity levels for your awakening seeds. You’ve done your job, now it’s time for the seeds to do theirs.

While you patiently wait for your seedlings to make their appearance be sure to keep a close eye on them so that you can add water as needed and remove the humidity dome as soon as the seedlings break through the soil’s surface.

Caring for Your Vegetable Transplants

For healthy, stocky seedlings you must move your growing containers to a brightly lit location or under lights as soon as the seeds germinate. The seedlings will require at least 12 – 14 hours of bright light each day, but they also need a period of darkness each day during which they can rest.

Begin feeding your seedlings when they develop their first set of true leaves. Dilute your fertilizer to about half of normal strength and for convenience apply it in solution when you water the flats.

As the plants grow give them regular sessions of seedling strengthening exercise, and before you set them out into the jungle of your backyard garden toughen them up further by gradually reducing the amount of water and fertilizer that they receive, and force them through an outdoor hardening off process.

Finally, follow these seedling transplanting techniques and your plants will go from container to garden without missing a beat.

If everything goes as planned you will have flats of vigorous, well developed vegetable transplants that you raised from seed and prepared to transplant into the garden. Of course things don’t always go as planned so tomorrow I’ll share a few common seed starting problems and discuss what to do when they strike.

Let’s take inventory of the seed starting supplies and equipment that will be required to get all or your garden seeds off to a great start.

Heirloom Seeds

Heading the list of seed starting supplies, are of course the seeds themselves. Sure, you could pick up a few packs of seed from the local garden center, but we’re going to make things more interesting by selecting heirloom and gourmet varieties.

As I mentioned yesterday, a big advantage of growing your own plants from seed is that it allows you to enjoy unique varieties of plants that aren’t typically offered by the commercial vegetable plant growers and seed companies.

There are suppliers like Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds that offer a wide selection of gourmet and heirloom seeds for backyard growers. There are also organizations such as Seed Savers that promote the saving and sharing of open pollinated seeds between gardeners all over the world.

Soil-less Seed Starting Mix

For the best results start your seeds in a soil-less growing medium that is weed free and pasteurized to provide sensitive seedlings with a light-weight and disease free growing medium.

You can create your own mix, but I usually purchase a bag of seed starting mix from a garden supply retailer. If you go this route shop around for the best buys and it’s probably easier and cheaper to purchase this item through local sources.

You’ll also come out ahead by purchasing in larger quantities. A home center in my area sells a small eight quart bag of seed starting mix for about eight dollars, while a nearby nursery prices a similar product at fifteen dollars for close to eighty quarts. That should be enough to last several seasons.

Seed Starting Containers

Almost anything that holds soil and provides good drainage can be used to grow your seedlings. But the commercial seedling trays and containers are more convenient as they are designed with seed starting in mind. Most are also very durable, so with care you won’t have to repeat this purchase anytime soon.

One of my favorite seed starting systems are the molded foam units that consist of a base, a tray containing cells to hold soil and seedlings, a reservoir that makes the unit self-watering, and a humidity dome to aid germination. These units are expensive, but very easy to use, will last for years, and the self-watering feature is terrific.

You can also improvise by recycling the flimsy plastic greenhouse containers or use items that you have around the house. I’ve seen growing containers made out of milk cartons, plastic jugs, and other ordinary household objects.

If you’re handy with tools you can even build wooden flats that will work great for raising seedlings. Whatever your container, just make sure that it’s deep enough to support the type of seedling that you are raising, and that it has sufficient drainage to avoid waterlogged plant roots.

Fluorescent Lights

I’ve never lived anywhere with sunny enough window exposure to grow healthy vegetable transplants, maybe you do, but more than likely you’re going to need a supplemental source of artificial light to promote healthy growth of your seedlings.

There are many options when it comes to lighting. The least expensive would be an ordinary shop light with fluorescent tubes that is suspended above your growing area. You can use regular fluorescent tubes or the ones designed for growing plants. If you use regular tubes combine a cool type along with a warm fluorescent tube.

The expense increases steeply to purchase plant light stands or the high intensity lighting used in hydroponics gardening. High intensity lighting is overkill for growing transplants, but light carts are nice and the option of multiple levels greatly increases the number of seedlings that you can grow in a small area. I use a three level light stand and it’s the next best thing to having your own greenhouse.

Organic Fertilizer for Seedlings

I start my seeds in a soil-less mix that doesn’t contain any added fertilizers. This is fine as the seeds contain all the nutrients that the seedlings need in order to germinate and begin growing. Once the seedlings are up and growing you will need a supply of fertilizer on hand to begin feeding your plants.

There are organic fertilizers formulated specifically for feeding young seedlings, or you can mix a weak solution of a good quality fertilizer. I like to use a very dilute solution of kelp/fish emulsion to feed my seedlings but beware that the odor may linger for a few days if you use it indoors.

We’ve covered the essentials for an indoor seed starting setup, but there are a couple of optional items that you may want to consider.

Germination Mats and Humidity Domes

Germination mats are plastic mats with electrical heating cables built in. They aren’t necessary but will help your seedlings get off to a fast start. Germination mats are placed under your seed starting containers to provide gentle bottom heat that will speed and improve seed germination.

Humidity Covers can take the form of the clear plastic domes that are used to cover commercial seedling trays, or a sheet of plastic draped over the containers. Humidity covers will help conserve moisture and increase humidity levels to aid seed germination.

Okay, that’s the complete list of seed starting supplies and equipment that will be needed to nurture your vegetable seedlings. In the next entry I’ll share the techniques that I use to successfully grow transplants from seed.

I’m a big advocate of home gardeners growing their own plants from seed rather than depending on their local nursery to supply vegetable transplants and seedlings. Fortunately the seed starting process isn’t complicated and doesn’t require a greenhouse or any other expensive equipment.

This week I’ll be posting a short series of articles detailing seed starting tips to help you plant and grow your own vegetable, flower, and herb seedlings to transplant out into the garden. What’s the big deal about starting your own seedlings? Well read on for some of the benefits to be gained.

Seed Starting Diversity

One of the biggest advantages of growing plants from seed is that it gives you the ability to grow the specific varieties of plants that interest you, rather than being forced to settle for whatever variety happens to be produced by the commercial plant suppliers in your area.

Want to grow colorful Purple Peacock Broccoli or richly flavored Black Krim tomatoes? How about the variegated heirloom Fish Peppers, golden Sunburst Pattypan Squash, or ornamental and tasty Tuscan Black Palm Kale? Discover the diversity that’s available when raising your own vegetable transplants.

Starting your own plants from seed will open up a world of thousands of beautiful and delicious fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs that you won’t find growing at your local greenhouse or garden center. But you can easily grow them in your basement or in a corner of a spare room.

Grow it Your Way

In addition to selecting the particular plant varieties that will grace your garden, seed starting also puts other gardening decisions completely in your hands. Want to garden organically? Starting your own seeds will allow you to eliminate the use of chemicals and select the types of fertilizers used to nourish your seedlings.

Would you like to have cabbage, kale, Brussels Sprouts, and other cold weather crops on hand to transplant at the proper time for a terrific fall garden? Raising your own vegetable transplants will enable you to better manage the gardening schedule and plant resources in your garden.

Don’t be frustrated by the quality, selection, or availability of plants when you are ready to garden. Start your own seeds and you can truly have it your way and not be limited by factors that are outside of your control.

Raising Super Seedlings

You may not be a professional plant grower, but you don’t need a degree in horticulture to grow super seedlings and vegetable transplants that are able to outperform their commercially grown counterparts. It’s just a matter of a little time and care directed towards your seedlings.

You’re in a better position to pamper and spoil a few flats of special seedlings than a commercial grower who is caring for thousands of plants. You can give your seedlings more attention and a personal touch that they won’t receive at a retail home and garden center.

A little extra care and an eye to detail while planting your own seeds will reward you with superior seedlings that are healthy, stocky, and ready to grow. If you want to learn more about seed starting and growing vigorous vegetable transplants just stay tuned… tomorrow I’ll review the equipment and seed starting supplies that you’ll need to raise your own vegetable seedlings indoors.