I can feel spring trying to squeeze its way back in. I couldn’t be more excited about some warm, sunshiney days. The past few weeks have been normal enough for the pansies and other fall plants to make a comeback with some nice blooms to carry us on through the remaining cool months. When we had that cold blast that came through in January I believe I cussed the weather so much I should probably ask for forgiveness. Somehow when I’m up on a mountain moving around in extreme cold, it doesn’t phase me but when I am in Ridgeland the cold shivers me timbers. The colder it got, the more I found myself in that walk-in germination chamber that I built to stay a constant 80 degrees. I have all my racks with heat pads on them to initiate germination full of seed trays planted and sprouting. When I see the seedling breaking soil I move the seedlings over to the racks with LED lights so they will grow without too much stretching. The hardest part about popping seeds in the winter is
making sure that when the plants emerge that they will get enough light and warmth. Even harder to do at home since very few windows in a home will let in enough light to keep seedlings from stretching and eventually failing. Even with my racks set up with lights I had some stretching going on because I didn’t have the babies close enough to the lights, they reached for it and let me know real quick. I realized what was happening and raised the flats to within inches of the lights. I also had not given a moments thought to giving the plants a rest by turning out the lights for 8 hours and running the lights for the remaining 16 hours. I was wearing the poor things out by not allowing them to stop working so hard in their first days of life. I got so excited about my new set up with the lights all sparkling and new that I overlooked a few details. I have put timers on my lights now so I don't have to worry about forgetting to do that. What has surprised me the most is how quickly most of the seeds are germinating. I have seen quite a few seeds pop over night, I wondered if I had my temps up a little high. I’m not planning to bring the temps down but I have added a humidifier so I can run the humidity at about 65%. That has made it feel just right in there, like Mississippi in May.
When I finished building the room out I was anxious to try something out. I don’t know if there is anything that sprouts faster than alfalfa seeds. I had my mason jars and micro green trays ready so I soaked the seeds for 4 hours in total darkness. I rinsed the seeds off really well and drained them before placing them in darkness for another 3 days, rinsing the seeds twice a day. On day 4 the alfalfa sprouts were one and a half inches long and yellowish. On that day I put the sprouts under one of the lights, later in the day they had begun to turn a rich green color. It amazes me how fast all that happens. I walked around the nursery with my tray of sprouts offering any one in my way a handful to munch on, I had a few takers and a few get- away-from- me with that stuff looks. That experiment showed me that this seeding thing is going to be a fast moving process that will keep me on my toes. When the room is maxed out, which I have now come close to, I will have 8,000 seeds popping at a time.
We have been growing our own bedding plants since 1994. Our grower, John Grant, will continue to grow all the varieties and numbers that we’ve been making available to our customers. My seed thing is to add to our list of plants that some of the plug producers don’t offer or if we can’t find a plant at any of our local growers. I have always read and loved Jeff North’s articles that he writes for The Northside Sun. We see things similarly and have some of the same hobbies. I have wound up in some similar incidents in the outdoor world that he has encountered so I really enjoy reading about his shenanigans. Not only are his stories really good but he is a horticulturist also. A few weeks ago Jeff wrote about getting his seeds started as he has apparently done for years. He is correct about it being time to get those tomato seeds planted so they will be ready for the big move to the garden hopefully sometime in April. I am going to find all of the tomato’s that he mentioned in his article so I can try some at home and so our customers will have a chance to try them out. They sound like wonderful varieties, it’s always great to hear from a fellow gardener about which varieties did best especially when it comes to resistance to heat and cracking. There is nothing worse than waiting for that perfect day to pick the perfect tomato and have it crack open just as you are getting your white bread and mayo ready for a snack. Ozark Pink is the one that he specifically mentioned for heat tolerance. I’m a big fan of any kind of cherry tomatoes. Jeff mentioned Brads Atomic Grape being one that has great colors and very flavorful. That sounds right up my ally, I love golden, red or purple grape or cherry tomatoes to munch on while I’m working the garden or just passing through the garden. It’s fun to have someone in the yard touring the garden and to be able to offer a quick bite as we chat. When I finish this article I’m going to start running down those that he recommended from my seed sources. I need to get more seeds anyway because
I didn’t know how fast these seedlings were going to be coming at me. Hopefully I can find those seeds and get them up and ready so we can all have some uncracked, tasty tomatoes.
Jeff mentioned some corn varieties that sounded very interesting but the Sunflowers really
grabbed my attention. I love to add Sunflower varieties all summer long at home.I direct sow
those seeds which means skipping the indoor thing and going straight not the ground to plant them, sometimes the birds or something get some of the seeds after they are planted but I sow enough so there will be enough for everyone. I love the giant flower heads on 12 foot tall stems as much as I love the shorter South American varieties with their reds and chocolates. He mentioned one called Chocolate Cherry that I imagine the name says it all. Jeff said this variety is for those gardeners “seeking to broaden their horizons and venture on the edge of the extraordinary”. I like the sound of that, I’ll locate those seeds to be ready for when the ground warms up in April. In the following articles I will update the progress on these seedlings so you will know when to come and get it. Until then hopefully our weather will remain stable and the progression towards planting time keeps on track. It can’t get here fast enough.
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