Seed Starting Basics: Planting Medium Hydration
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- Опубліковано 19 бер 2020
- In light of everything that's going on in the world, I thought it might be useful to start a quick series of 15 minute or less videos for new gardeners that cover some of the finer details of what I've learned over the years to be the most important considerations when it comes to getting a home garden up and running.
This content is mostly troubleshooting commonly overlooked mistakes and is geared towards total beginners, but even if you aren't one, you may still find something in here helpful! - Навчання та стиль
I had made the same mistakes with hydrating the starting medium a few years ago. I learned the hard way. I’ve found using very hot water to hydrate the soil works the quickest. I’ve been spending lots of time during this period of Coronavirus shutdown starting lots of seeds. The process is not only productive it’s soothing and gives a sense of optimism in a time when it’s needed. A very well timed video
I fell in love with that smile first time i saw it and all over again every time i see it... A real happy lady ! Most americans i see have fake smiles
Yep.. Still loving your videos.. 👍
This is an important video. Those who want to start seeds should pay attention.
I've always let the hydrated mix sit overnight before using it.
I 'm mostly interested in native Indiana forbs, shrubs and trees.
Your videos are the shit! Thanks for taking all the time and sharing the info with us!
Thanks so much very good advice God bless you
I love it. Thanks for your advice!!!!
Whenever I watch one of your posts I learn something. Thanks.
I never even thought about this, really good video.
I think this is what I've been doing wrong! Thank you!
loose soil = long roots, luv it when you talk dirt to us!!
I wish I had seen this a few years ago, had to learn the hard way. Hopefully you saved a few people that trouble! Love your videos 😘
Thanks for your tips. I have a window sill full of the Dollar Tree votive candle holders with Dollar Tree terra cotta pots starting all my herbs. They work extremely well and they look very stylish. Thanks again!
I never tried hydrating the soil like you showed. Will try it! Thanks
You are motivation to get my hands dirty.Keep up good work.
i will be glad i watched this video, it taught me how to not continue to do what you used to do with the medium straight out of the bags!
:-)
i love your videos!! thanks for the great tips. keep them coming:)
Thanks for a great vid, I have a lot of trouble getting soil moisture correct.
Nice information like always 💚🌱🌱 Thank
I'm so glad to see you haven't been taken out by La Enfermedad Mas Fina! Happy to see you are still smiling and gardening. It's funny, I normally use the heavy duty bootstrap farmer trays and flats but I just happened to have one of those Jiffy ones just like that lying around and planted squash and okra into it today. Yeah, probably early for those but I got a request. I will say that while you don't *need* one, a heat mat with a digital thermostat is a HUGE difference when starting seeds. I FINALLY got one this year and it really is the difference between shooting bullets and throwing them. I got good, even, near 100% germination on almost everything I have planted so far, tomatoes, peppers, etc. So incredible. Instead of measuring soil temp with a thermometer, I just set it. I have been waiting for about 4 years to get one.
Of course I don't have what you would call a sunny window. This house has all kinds of windows but *NONE* of them are what I would call 'sunny' during this part of the year. I didn't build it. I'm hoping to get wiggle wire tracks put up on the south facing porch this year and have a greenhouse porch during this coming winter. I could also use them to put up mosquito netting during the summer.
Oh! I think I'm going to end up with nearly 80 little pomegranates that I started from seed that I can plant when it gets a little warmer. I tried a couple store bought ones before but I think the places I planted them were too wet. We normally have a really wet spring and a lot of areas flood. I'm going to try planting them on hugels and in a planter box.
Take good care of yourself.
You're so cool.
Thank you.
Beautiful❤
Hey Veronica -- love your non-nonsense, clear, and precise (well, mostly) instrux. Watching to see how my peppers are going to do after your advice. You oughta consider doing stand-up comedy.
Question on the Jiffy trays: I've used these years ago, but things look like they've changed. The one you have is tray, dome, and removable six packs. I can't find those on Jiffy or Amazon. Can you claifty what your make model? And what exactly did you buy at dollar stores? Thnx.
Excellent! You diagnosed all the problems I had last season and why. I feel like I'll have a higher germination rate this time around. Appreciate the dirty hands as well lol, not afraid of the dirt.
Great to hear! I'm trying to think back on my biggest lessons and this one sticks out for sure. Lots more to come! 🙂
you are great
Great video. Thanks. I am focusing on seed starting. Do you have videos where you have the next step of setting out the seeds? I am trying to set up a grow station with lights inside and a greenhouse.
There may be something in greenhouse notes in the archives I think? I'll be walking through the entire process start to finish again here too shortly.
Great video veronica..you also can use egg boxes much cheaper.Hey hows your worms been doing?Would love to see them on your next video..Happy gardening and stay safe.
The worms are a few hours south of me at their farm, but I'll get more soon!
Yes reminds me of Christmas when I make my short bread cookies. Here I thought I was the only one to compare mixing soil to baking lol
It's all cooking really!!!
I'm addicted to you videos! Going on 2 hours now 👋
Seriously thanks a bunch. I can see 100k subs coming your way!
I feel like I'm supposed to tell you to get up and stretch or something lol. But seriously, thanks for joining! 🙂
@@VeronicaFlores Haa.. Keeping busy building raised beds up here in Toronto. My first season growing anything but weed, luckily I'm set up to start inside! Keep up the good work 👊
I put some filtered cinnamon water in my regular watering water = no more fungus.
I have really been overwatering! My method was to plant the seeds and then just leave the tray in a tray of water for 20 minutes to absorb as much as it wants/can and after I don't touch it at all. But I guess this depends on temp and air humidity as well. my biggest lesson for planting seeds has been the understanding that they don’t really need any sunlight until they germinate. I used to leave them in the sun and it would present a whole new level of problems because the soil surface kept drying out while the center and bottom stayed moist and funky.
Yeah that was my method for forever as well! Having way better luck with this way the last few years.
One thing I discovered to control those fungal nats is to hang glue traps (for mice) near the plants. They will fill up fast.
Just what I was wondering. How much moisture and what is the best way to water seedlings. I filled the cells half way with bag compost then lightly watered then I added another inch then sowed the seeds then a sprinkle on top. I've also put them in a tray with a half inch of water in it and I'll check daily if the topsoil goes dry I'll check tray water and a few drops on top 😊
3 siblings and I on small Illinois farm are learning about hemp growing and got a few seeds to start with. I’m starting mine inside and your my mentor. Love your show!
Awesome! That's one crop I haven't had much interaction with yet. Hopefully soon!
A real daughter of the earth...
THANK YOU V,,DYK HOW MANY FOLKS DONT KNOW THIS,ESPECIALLY WITH ALL THE NEWS TODAY...DO YOU THINK YOUR LOCAL PBS WOULD PLAY THIS? STAY WELL THANK YOU
Idk! Might be worth poking around and seeing at some point
One of the gardeners i follow says you should put hot water into the soil to kill off any bugs of fungi that might be in the soil
I've heard this but I don't typically do it - I use other biological controls to manage that instead (will see about getting into that soon!)
Hey Veronica, have you tried using L.A.B for seedling? I was thinking of it when you talked about risks of contamination
I’d like to k ow your take on hay bale gardening... I hope I didn’t miss it. Also, other than adding compost, is there any other way to start a good vegetable garden in sand ?
I have a question regarding germination in coconut husk rolls. What do you think are best practices when it comes to using these? When to pot the seedling, do we keep the husk about the roots or remove it completely? This sort of stuff.
👋😊
I have the same seed packet.
Hello Veronica, can tou suggest a video that talks about your favorite seed websites to purchase?
Yes! I'm actually writing an article on this right now that should be done by the end of the week - will post a copy and/or link in the community section here.
Omystufff !!! Miss Veronica: I have a ton of seedlings. What do I do now, how do I separate them ???
Like in the same cell?? I have a video in archives about this - look in greenhouse notes (from Texas)
@@VeronicaFlores I' ll check your video.
Thanks. 😄
Veronica, I can tell we are kindred spirits when I watch you playing in the dirt. One of my favorite parts of gardening is creating new and interesting soil concoctions, either in the garden, for pots, or for seed starting. I recently had some frustrating results starting some seeds and wanted your opinion on the problem. I've seen videos where you discussed the wee beasties living in the soil, and how they interact with plants. Do seeds need soil microorganisms right away? I was having trouble with too many volunteer plants coming up in my homemade seed starting mix, so I baked my soil. I had very poor germination, and then most of the plants died before they got their second set of leaves. Was my fully sterilized mix too devoid of life for the plants to thrive? Can I simply add some mycorrhyzae to that batch of dirt, and try again? Give me your opinion, and I'll test out your theory (maybe.)
IME and in short yes, fully sterilized soil is not a great idea. My theory here is that as long as your growing medium has beneficial wee beasties and your planting medium isn't compacted, the aerobic beneficials will almost always outcompete the anaerobic pathogens (provided you're not killing them with salt based fertilizer.) However, if you have totally sterile soil, it's basically a landing pad for all the stuff you don't want near your roots.
This is why I've been playing with adding the Dr Earth Root Zone and bokashi bran into my seed starting mix, along with compost. I want those beneficials waking up and fighting before my seeds pop, and partnering up to deliver some amount of nutrients to those roots the minute the first ones begin to explore.
I've had zero damping off this year and honestly attribute it to these methods. But yeah try again adding the mycos (I have a feeling you'll probably need bacteria as well, but some fungi is a good start for outcompeting other spores.)
@@VeronicaFlores I have two kinds of mycos, but they're a couple years old. Hopefully there's something still alive in there. I will take your advice on adding some bacterium back into my sterilized mix. I've watched a couple of your Bokashi videos, but I don't have any of that available. Instead, I can harvest some fresh worm castings, and although the compost pile is still kind of frozen, I should be able to wake up some beneficials from that if I add it to the mix.
Once again, it will be an unscientific experiment, but by planting the same seeds, I should be able to make some conclusions about oversterilizing seed starting mix. Maybe I'll learn my lesson about being so MEAN to the wee beasties!
Watched another video on seed starting and they were using seed starting mix. They hydrated like you did and put it in a heavy plastic bag (not all at once, small batches) and nuked it in the microwave for 45 seconds. Let it cool, stirred it up, nuke it for another 45 seconds, rinse repeat for a third time. They said doing this killed the fungus gnats. Your thoughts on this? Stay save out there!
I think it's unnecessary with stuff like coir and perlite and peat... really, unless you're using an organic blend that contains a variety of composted products (I mean I do a mix of all of the above typically), and even then, IME gnats are usually a byproduct of overwatering and/or soggy medium. If I see them, I just spray them with LAB, and that seems to keep both them and spider mites at bay.
@@VeronicaFlores LAB?
@@VeronicaFloresThank you. I just grabbed some of the Jiffy seed starting mix. I'm kind of behind between work and all of this Corona stuff. The stores in my area aren't really stocked very well with gardening stuff right now.
Veronica Flores what’s LAB? When do I separate the seedlings if I planted them in the dollar store clay pots? Ty
LAB = lactobacillius, it's a Korean natural farming tool.
Do you think it takes over two weeks for hot peppers to germinate. I collected some seed from last year and so far nothing has happened. Just wondering. Thanks for sharing the video.
No not usually, the only exception IME being Rocoto. Could be that the seed wasn't fully developed if the pepper wasn't totally ripe; could also be that it's not warm enough wherever you're germinating them. Hots really need that 80-90F window to get popping.
Ginger? Is it time yet for a Ginger show? Thanks , again! Veronica
Ahhhh soon!
Hi Veronica, was wondering is the soil your using just potting soil, or whatever, or do you add a bit of compost/fertilizer in order to add a bit more nutrients?
It's organic potting soil right now mixed with seed starting mix - I'm currently also adding a little Dr. Earth Root Zone, as well as a handful of bokashi bran. I won't intentionally feed until I have true leaves, and then it's liquid seaweed and a lactobacillius / fermented plant juice mix.
“There’s a ‘happy medium’ there” - nice pun. Not sure if you even realized you said it. 😄 - Alex
Bwahaha no but YES.
It's driving me crazy!
What are those six little round thing-a-ma-bobbers attached to the front of your stove door?
Spice tins 😂
Dear Veronica. I have four tomato seedlings that I germinated in cups. I start my plants in the middle or end of February. In the past I have always just put them in the window for light. They always did OK but not as good as they could. This year I have them under a grow light. They are much bigger and stronger because of this, about Eight inches tall at four weeks. however, the leaves are developing some yellow places. Some yellow in patches other yellowing in spots. I am keeping the correct amount of moisture. Do you know what is causing this? Is my grow light to strong for them?
Should I add a 50/50 compost mix to store bought top soil?
I got 5 yards of compost mix, its not bagged from the store but the top soil is. I have just started a fledgling farm of super hots.
I have germinated around 60-70% of seeds I planted. I want to get that number to up to 80% if possible. I only used top soil but have extra compost after filling my raised beds. Basically is it worth it to mix it together using this method.
I do a compost mix with a seed starting mix, like 70/30 or 60/40 depending on the compost, and am wary of bagged top soil (like the white label stuff at Home Depot is from Miracle Grow and they're not exactly known for organic QC.) Those aren't horrible germ numbers for superhots, so I'd make sure my temperature and humidity are really dialed in before messing too much with my seed starting medium that's working for me.
@@VeronicaFlores what kind of top soil do you recommend? I have been using roots organics.
LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONA VIRUS
Does it make sense to hydrate your seed starting medium with compost tea? I'm just wondering how to introduce beneficial fungus to the roots early in the growing cycle.
I think so! Just dilute a bit more (and be aware of what's in it - seedlings are less tolerant to pathogens than fully grown plants. That being said, I almost always add biology of some sort right from the get go.)
@@VeronicaFlores So when would be a good time to start hydrating with compost tea? At transplant time?
Hi, once they have sprouted, how long do you wait before planting them in a pot or bed?
Check your frost dates- depending on the variety, a lot has to do with soil temperature. (I don't put anything out until it has at least a few sets of leaves and some pretty solid roots though.)
Great, thanks!
What are thos containers on the face of the stove?
Just started seeds in my basement. (200 containers). I think the average temperature is about 60 degrees. How much should I be concerned about using heating mats to keep the temperature closer to 70 degrees ?
I'd be very concerned if any are nightshades. You'll have the best luck with 75-90F temps, and at that scale, might just be worth it to get a space heater of some sort to keep the whole room up to temp depending on how large it is.
Hi guys. Did anyone ever get tomato leaf curly top virus? and how do you guys get rid of it?
Omg I finally had a chance to start a garden this season...
How can we start Currants from seed?
Ooof. I've never tried before, but I believe they may need cold stratification? I'd be tempted to pop them in a container of soil in the fridge for a few weeks, then put them out to grow (or look up winter sowing if you're still frosty and try that out.)
Well dam...I do it exactly as you stated was wrong . I only use LC 1 tho . Its from canada and i travel 6 hours to get it and now im told they closed . I have used miracle grow but i screen it . You will find that a bag of miracle grow potting soil only has about half a bag of soil and the rest can be measured by the board foot . I will try ur method and see what happens .
My issue with Miracle Grow is salt accumulation and setting plants up for being on life support for forever with synthetic ferts. But I'm a big fan of trying to work with whatever you've got and make the best of it, esp right now.
@@VeronicaFlores you mean the potting soil or the water based fertilzer ..or both ?
Has anyone else noticed that promixBX is not the same product it used to be? made all my own potting mix and had better results this year.
None of them are anymore. I've definitely noticed a lot more salt buildup lately.
don't do the oven thing, you'll gas yourself. as you said: for most seeds you don't need heat mat, but i do for Moringa, I know it's getting harder to find heat trays for plants, you can buy heat mats and heat cords from pet shops, used for snakes and lizzards,they have temp controlls.
Nah, no raw fuel if the pilot is the only thing on. I was just thinking in terms of gas / electric. Obvs if you see your tray melting, it's too close to the pilot flame. (And maybe leave a note on the oven door so no one goes to preheat and cooks your veg before they've grown.)
HI V, great video and advice - thanks! Also follow u on IG - terrific imagery! :)
Thank you!
Are you a witch😆, I am literally struggling with seed starting, and hydration was my issue, spooky
Like I said, I try to be considerate of the questions I receive the most! Even if I can't individually answer them all. (But yes, I'm also a witch.)
@@VeronicaFlores Witch tribe? Errr .....I mean *which* tribe?
Don't you mean coven? 😜
@@6610stix She's probably in the coven with all the crazy hot ones that are super nice and totally like 420 chill, ones you want to hate because they're too damn cute, but can't, for that exact same reason. A kind sweet nature witch like Luthien.
I'm sorry, but you are a fanny pack away to recreate The Rock meme, and that's beautiful.
Dangit missed opportunity!!!
Roots like oxygen, another reason not to compact soil. :)
EXACTLY. (And so do all the beneficial microorganisms!)