April activities in the garden

by Mark Levisay

As we head into April our gardening activities will pick up, especially outdoors as the weather warms.  Seed starting projects indoors will come to an end, and many vegetables will go into the ground outdoors.

Inside seed starting

If you’re starting seeds indoors, it’s time to plant tomato and basil seeds if you haven’t already done so.  They germinate in about a week, and you don’t want to put them out into the garden until mid-May, so this is the time.  Peppers that I planted at the beginning of March are now up—they can take two weeks or more to germinate, so it may be too late to plant the seeds now.  If you planted any other seeds earlier this year you may need to transplant them into bigger pots.  I had planted lettuce seed at the beginning of February, and they needed to be re-potted after about four weeks.  After two weeks in their bigger pots I was able to plant them into our new cold frame, and also into the covered bed we maintained all winter.

Two lettuce plants placed into the covered bed.

The back row plants in the cold frame were all started indoors.

Cool season crops outdoors

Outdoors it’s time to start planting early season cool weather crops.  From seed you can plant lettuce, beets and carrots, as they can all tolerate some cold weather and even frosts as they come up.  Plant seed potatoes now, as long as the soil’s not too wet to work.  I usually mulch over the entire area that I’ve planted the potatoes, as this helps them avoid the sun, which causes the green skin condition you see from time to time.

 It’s also time to put out cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower seedlings.  I strongly recommend using row cover fabric over brassicas, as they tend to suffer from caterpillar infestations when the weather warms.  I did a blog last year about row covers and you can refer to that for more information.  The Corner Store Garden Center has seed potatoes and brassica seedlings, in addition to other plants available now.

Plan ahead for mid-season

While you’re out in the garden planting the early crops it’s also a good idea to plan for the mid-season crops.  Things like corn, beans, melons, peppers and tomatoes won’t be going out until danger of frost is past, or mid-May.  Some of them grow quickly and get quite tall and you don’t want them to be shading shorter plants.  Or, maybe you DO want them to shade early crops like spinach and lettuce that suffer in the heat.  You can also get your hoses out of storage and check for leaks, and plan where you might want to set up circuits of soaker hoses.  Plan things out now and you’ll be ready when May rolls around.

Lawn maintenance

I’m sure you’re starting to notice the grass greening up, and this is the time to start preparing for the upcoming mowing season.  Pick up any sticks and branches that have fallen during the winter, and vigorously rake any areas that seem to have a lot of old leaves or thatch built up.  It’s a great time to spread lime on the lawn, as most of us have soil that is more acidic than grass prefers.  It’s also time to apply pre-emergent crabgrass control chemicals if you are planning on doing that.  A general rule is to apply the product when the forsythia is blooming (now!) so the chemicals can prevent the crabgrass seed from germinating.  In general it’s better to wait until fall for general lawn fertilization, but many of the crabgrass products do contain some fertilizer. Problem areas in the lawn may benefit from some fertilizer applied in the spring, but overall you’re just asking to mow more than you probably want to!  Speaking of mowing, I always recommend setting the mower on the highest possible setting, as taller grass is usually healthier, and acts to shade out weeds.  It is called TALL fescue, after all.

Any questions, e-mail me at marklevisay@gmail.com.  Good luck with your 2021 garden!

Indoor seed starting: update and tips for success

by Mark Levisay

It’s been two weeks since I planted my first seeds indoors under my new LED lights and I thought I’d give a quick update on  the progress so far.  Basically all of the seeds have germinated, though I’m still hoping to see a couple more vincas show up that haven’t poked through yet.  I planted three varieties of lettuce and they were the fastest to germinate-all in 4-6 days.

A 6-pack of lettuce seedlings.  The two on the left are “New Red Fire” and already show some of their red coloration.

Since they germinate quickly they are also the first to display the adult leaves.  I am pleased to see that the seedlings are growing low to the soil and in a very compact manner.  This indicates that my new lights are giving them plenty of light for optimal growth.  In dim light the seedlings would be tall and spindly, growing toward whatever light they could find.

Starfighter leaf lettuce seedling.

Now that the lettuce have started to produce their adult leaves I’ll begin to fertilize them, since the seed starter soil doesn’t contain any fertilizer of its own.  This week I’ll add a small amount of a liquid soluble fertilizer (ex. Miracle Gro) to my watering can, and water the lettuce plants with that.  I won’t begin to fertilize the pepper or vinca seedlings until they start to display their adult leaves.

Two pepper seedlings.

The peppers and vinca seeds took almost two weeks to germinate, though some started to appear about ten days after planting. I usually plant two seeds in each starter cup, and as you can see in the photo, both have germinated.  I’ll wait about a week, until all of the seedlings have emerged, and then thin the seedlings, leaving the strongest one in each cup.

Vinca seedlings.

Unlike the peppers, when I have two vinca seedlings in a cup, I’ll let both seedlings grow.  These plants won’t grow nearly as big as the pepper plants, and my wife will either plant the resultant “twin” as it is or split them at planting time.

If you’ve planted multiple seeds in your starter cups, and a few haven’t come up, this is a good time to move some around.  I use a pocket knife to dig a narrow but deep hole in the empty cup, and then “prick out” one of the multiple seedlings from another cup.  Insert the seedling’s long tap root down into the hole, press the soil in around it, and water well.  This way you can have at least one seedling in each cup.

Now that we’re at the mid-point of February, it’s time to start thinking about planting brassica seeds for planting out in the garden in early April.  Cabbage and broccoli seeds germinate quickly, but will take 4-6 weeks to mature indoors.  Then plan for a week of hardening off outside before actually planting in the garden.

March is the time to start tomatoes, basil and peppers

It’s still not time yet to plant warm season seeds like tomatoes and basil, or most peppers.  Early March is a good time to plant pepper seeds, as they take almost 2 weeks to germinate and about 6 weeks to mature indoors.  Basil is similar, though they germinate more quickly but take longer to mature.  Tomatoes germinate in a week or less, but still require 4-5 weeks of indoor growth before hardening off.  Start those seeds in mid-March, with a goal of having them hardened off and planted in the garden around the middle of May, after our average last frost date.

Any questions, e-mail me at marklevisay@gmail.com  Good luck!

Starting seeds indoors

by Mark Levisay

In spite of the snow we’ve had recently this is a good time to think about starting garden seeds indoors.  You may have a favorite variety of a vegetable or flower you can’t normally find at a garden center and planting them from seed may be your only option.  Generally you can get a wider range of varieties of plants available in seed form, so learning to start them indoors is a good idea.  It may take anywhere from six to eight weeks for the seedlings to be ready to harden off (more on that later) and germinating time might be up to two weeks, though many are much faster.  Now is the time to plant seeds for plants you want ready for the garden in early April-things like broccoli and cabbage.  Peppers and tomatoes can wait until March.

There aren’t too many things you’ll need to start seeds indoors, but good lights are probably the most important.  Few homes have large south facing windows which might provide enough natural light for seed germination and growth.  Better to invest in bright artificial light that you can place anywhere that you have space for a table.  Today LED lights are probably your best bet, as they are lightweight, bright, use little electricity and last a long time.  They usually are available in daylight spectrum light which is optimal for plant growth.  In my last blog I detailed making my new three fixture LED which is 4’ long and can cover four “flats” of plants.  If you don’t have that much room a 2’ long fixture would cover one flat and that might be all you need.  You’ll want to hang them about 6-9” above the soil level of the pots you’re using and then be able to raise them as your plants grow.

You can use any kind of tray or pot for starting seeds as long as it has drainage and has been disinfected.  You shouldn’t have to clean newly bought pots, but if your pots have been used before clean them thoroughly with a mixture of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water and let dry before filling with soil.

Two types of plastic “6-packs” used for seed starting.  The larger fit 6 to a flat, where the smaller go 12 to a flat.

Currently I’m using the larger sized cups for plants that will be under the lights for quite a while.  Later on I’ll use the smaller cups for things like tomatoes and peppers that will germinate and go outside pretty quickly.  I also use a large flat tray under my plant flats to keep excess water from pouring onto the floor.  This tray actually came from under the air handler in my heat pump system.  This had cracked and needed to be replaced.  I rescued and re-purposed it for plant duties.  Any other flat, rimmed tray will work, or even an old towel placed on your table under the flats.

The soil you use in your plant pots is important—you don’t want it to contain any real nutrients for the plants and most general potting soils contain slow release fertilizer.  Instead, use seed starter potting soil specifically designed for the job.  Espoma, Jiffy, and Miracle Gro all sell these.  I’ve had trouble wetting the Jiffy Mix thoroughly, so I usually use the Miracle Gro Seed Starter mix. Espoma is a good option if you are looking for an organic product. If you do buy the Jiffy Mix, put it in a bucket and soak it in water until it is thoroughly wet.  Squeeze out the excess water before filling your pots.  Never let the soil dry out, as it can be hard to re-wet, and seeds need constant moisture to germinate.  You won’t need to add fertilizer until after the seedlings get their first set of adult leaves, and at that point you can use a liquid soluble general purpose fertilizer when you water.

Labels are really important, especially if you’re growing several varieties of the same plant, as all of the seedlings will look the same, and it’s easy to get confused.  Some of the plastic 6-packs will come with plastic labels, but you can also make your own.  Popsicle sticks, tongue depressors or even strips of cardboard will do.  If you re-use them from year to year it’s a good idea to disinfect them with your 10-1 bleach solution.

Now let’s go through the procedure I use to plant the seeds.  First, I fill the cleaned 6-packs with seed starter soil, level to the tops.

6-packs filled with dry seed starter soil

My second step is to put the packs in the driveway and water them with a watering can to thoroughly soak the soil.

6-pack after watering

You’ll note that the watering process compacts the soil slightly in the cups, giving you space to add seeds.

Next I’ll bring those wet 6-packs back in the house and put them under the lights, which at this stage really help you see what you’re doing!  I label the 6-packs, or even the rows within them, and then place seeds into the cups.  I generally put 2 seeds in each cup, and later thin out one if both germinate.  With some flowers I let 2 plants grow and then separate them when planting.  Press the seeds down lightly so that they make good contact with the wet soil.

6-pack with labels and pepper seeds

Next, I’ll cover the seeds with a small amount of the seed starter mix and water it.  Some seeds need light to germinate (for example coleus and statice) so check your seed packs for specific instructions.  Seeds only need to be covered to about their own thickness, so this isn’t much soil and I use a spray bottle rather than a watering can, as the spray disturbs the seeds less.

6-pack with seeds covered, and spray bottle ready for the next step.

Now for the waiting, as some seeds can take up to two weeks to germinate.  Keep them moist at all times.  Some people cover the moist flats with “Saran” plastic wrap to hold in the moisture.  Some seed trays will come with clear plastic covers used to keep in moisture.  I just use my spray bottle multiple times each day to keep the soil moist.  Once the seeds germinate  you can switch back to watering in a more conventional manner.  Use the light from dawn to dusk, but don’t run them 24 hours a day.  Keep the trays in a warm but not hot area of your home.  I keep my house at 68F and have never had a problem.  I have also started to use an oscillating fan on the other side of the room to simulate nature’s breezes, as I think this makes the plant stems stronger.

My light table set up with a flat of planted and watered seeds.

Once the plants are up you may need to raise the lights so that you’re always 6-9” above the tops of the plants.  When the plants have grown for a while, they’ll start to look more like the ones you might see on sale at The Corner Store.  Now it’s time to “harden off” which is the process of acclimatizing the plants to the great outdoors.  Place them outdoors in a shady area, and each day give them a few hours of sun, increasing the amount each day for a week or until they’re in full sun.  Keep them well watered, as the little plants are not used to this outdoor stuff.  If it looks like rain you may want to put them under cover, as often a heavy rain will knock over the young plants.

Give this a try, and before you know it the process will be second nature.  If you have any questions please e-mail me at marklevisay@gmail.com.  Good luck!