Better Be Planting This Year. 2022+ And Up MEGATHREAD

[flippinfleck]

What are you doing in that grow tent when not growing tomatoes.... I know what you're up to brotato...

Growing more tomatoes, of course...

I found this vid interesting and useful...

Take note of the plants that were scalded due to close proximity to the LED lights (she calls it out at 7:52). Remember folks, if you're using LED they need to be _further_ away from your plants than you may be accustomed to. Most of the good ones will give you an approximate distance to canopy.

 

[enbloc]

On another note, is it about time to germinate cold crops?
-broc
-cauli
-sprouts

I'm in a 5B zone and start a little later. Usually end of February/March. Brocc in ground early June.

Growing more tomatoes, of course...



Take note of the plants that were scalded due to close proximity to the LED lights. Remember folks, if you're using LED they need to be _further_ away from your plants than you may be accustomed to. Most of the good ones will give you an approximate distance to canopy.

Yep I space my shelves further apart and use drop chain to regulate the height.

The MARS lamp was cooking them little plants at that height!

 

[flippinfleck]

I'm in a 5B zone and start a little later. Usually end of February.


Yep I space my shelves further apart and use drop chain to regulate the height.

The MARS lamp was cooking them little plants at that height!

Damn straight it was! Watched that video the other night with the wife, that tray at like ~9:<something> was dry as f*** and I might go so far as to call it a loss.

 

[enbloc]

Damn straight it was! Watched that video the other night with the wife, that tray at like ~9:<something> was dry as f*** and I might go so far as to call it a loss.

Lol. I was looking for my butter, salt & pepper when she got to the MARS lamp.
That thing would be better ceiling-mounted with drop-chain for 4–5-week-old plants, or anything that was going to stay inside...

 

[ThePreBanMan]

I prefer T5s myself... Don't have to deal with the heat of HIDs. Have not tried LEDs. Just been having good luck with the T5 fixture. Like that I can change the lamps to change the light temp too. LEDs don't let you do that.

 

[flippinfleck]

I was in Walmart today for a little shopping, and they had small, off-brand seed packets for .50 cents that were mostly flowers in little tiny boxes. The manager was there so I asked him when the big displays of seeds were coming in, because they usually started now. He said the supplier can't get them into the Walmart chain until end of February, beginning of March. But who knows...

Sturbridge Walmart had Burpee seeds today back in the 'seasonal section' near the back entrance. Not a huge selection but they did have "organic" seeds available.

Lol. I was looking for my butter, salt & pepper when she got to the MARS lamp.
That thing would be better ceiling-mounted with drop-chain for 4–5-week-old plants, or anything that was going to stay inside...

I was a bit disappointed when my grow tent came in and it was only 5' tall. Thought it was supposed to be 6'. Damn. I wanted the extra height in case mother nature decided to play f***-f*** games this year.

 

[enbloc]

I prefer T5s myself... Don't have to deal with the heat of HIDs. Have not tried LEDs. Just been having good luck with the T5 fixture. Like that I can change the lamps to change the light temp too. LEDs don't let you do that.

Yep. Unless you are running more than 4 T5's in a small space, without fans they can get hot. Otherwise, they are fine and productive.
I like these in 4x4's

 

[enbloc]

 

[Knob Creek]

Ocean State Job Lot always has Burpee seeds at a discount.

 

[flippinfleck]

When do you usually start?

Missed this one.

Wife likes to set the transplant date (something about moon cycle and "this is how my grandfather taught me") so I typically go by what the seed recommends for starts. We did have an issue last year due to starting seeds in the colder basement taking longer to germinate.

Did I mention keeping track of what is planted where when starting seeds? Yeah, that's important too.

 

[flippinfleck]

Last year was our first year doing corn. One of the several storms that rolled through with high winds blew it all over, (20) stalks. Used some twine to tie them up and wound up harvesting shortly thereafter.

 

[Alex978]

Thanks!

 

[flippinfleck]

Thanks!

If it helps, it is normally the second or third week of May for in the ground.

Last year at my location, coldest temp was 41.0 after the 15'th. 2020 was 32.9 on the 21'st, and 2019 was 38.9 on the 16'th. Regardless of whatever voodoo she wants to use, I haven't seen a frost after the third week of May in three years.

Find the average last frost date for your area, add a week (or two) and then start counting back based on what the seed packet tells you. If it says 6-10 weeks I tend split it and go with eight.

 

[flippinfleck]

I prefer T5s myself... Don't have to deal with the heat of HIDs. Have not tried LEDs. Just been having good luck with the T5 fixture. Like that I can change the lamps to change the light temp too. LEDs don't let you do that.

You growing on shelves?

 

[flippinfleck]

Yep. Unless you are running more than 4 T5's in a small space, without fans they can get hot. Otherwise, they are fine and productive.
I like these in 4x4's

You've shared a bunch of videos. Anything for your seed start setup you can share?

 

[enbloc]

You've shared a bunch of videos. Anything for your seed start setup you can share?

I'm not photo capable. Sharing videos and photos is the extent of my internet capabilities.

It's nothing special. An 8 foot wooden bench with two shelves and 3 60watt 4 foot LED lamps that replaced GE fluorescent bulbs about 6 years ago.
I use Pro-Hex trays and seed starter mix. Pretty low-tech actually.

 

[enbloc]

 

[Knob Creek]

Had a garden section that I left alone last year and it got taken over by Garlic mustard. Never heard of it before but it's very invasive.

 

[MisterHappy]

I bought this for the wife for Christmas. Our hopes were to grow micro greens with it. Right now there’s just herbs. Thanks for those links on how to grow micro greens also.
View attachment 572167

MsHappy has several aerogardens. Some stuff is more successful than others; they don't work all that well for starting stuff for re-planting, as the roots are sticking out of the pods, and the plants seem to be untoughened, or coddled.

There are online forums for that, and there's some weird sh!t on there.

 

[In God We Trust]

Memorial Day has always been the rule here in the 'Shire. I usually sneak most of my seeds in about 2 weeks before that.
I never start my own seedlings indoors. I have a great local farm that will have everything I need for really cheap prices.

Yes. I have saved squash and tomato seeds with great success.
heirloom varieties will do better.

I don’t think tomato will grow from the supermarket, but most local farm stands sell heirloom tomatoes

 

[Alex978]

If it helps, it is normally the second or third week of May for in the ground.

Last year at my location, coldest temp was 41.0 after the 15'th. 2020 was 32.9 on the 21'st, and 2019 was 38.9 on the 16'th. Regardless of whatever voodoo she wants to use, I haven't seen a frost after the third week of May in three years.

Find the average last frost date for your area, add a week (or two) and then start counting back based on what the seed packet tells you. If it says 6-10 weeks I tend split it and go with eight.

Great info, thank you! My grandmother always planted her garden over Memorial Day weekend so, I've loosely followed. Last year we planted the week before and it was good until June, then we gradually lost half the garden, way too much rain.

 

[Sterg]

MsHappy has several aerogardens. Some stuff is more successful than others; they don't work all that well for starting stuff for re-planting, as the roots are sticking out of the pods, and the plants seem to be untoughened, or coddled.

There are online forums for that, and there's some weird sh!t on there.

What are some of the stuff that you can grow successfully? So far the pods that came with it are a bit lacking.

 

[MisterHappy]

Rosemary worked, a couple mini-peppers. Thing to remember is that anything that has large-ish fruit, or wants to grow tall is not great. Mini-spinach I think. I'll ask her for recommendations.

 

[Fritz the Cat]

Great info, thank you! My grandmother always planted her garden over Memorial Day weekend so, I've loosely followed. Last year we planted the week before and it was good until June, then we gradually lost half the garden, way too much rain.

Rain was a big problem last year. I am raising my garden and changing the grading around it so i can better manage the water.

 

[Alex978]

Rain was a big problem last year. I am raising my garden and changing the grading around it so i can better manage the water.

Good idea! I have two raised 10' x 16' "plots". I'm planning to space things out more this year to help maximize the air flow and let more sun in.

 

[Coyote33]

I have a bunch of seeds left over from last year and year before. Are these still good? I can't imagine why not. They are just dry seeds, waiting to germinate.

I need a cooler, dryer storage

Root cellar.

 

[Fritz the Cat]

I have a bunch of seeds left over from last year and year before. Are these still good? I can't imagine why not. They are just dry seeds, waiting to germinate.



Root cellar.

The seeds should be good. I have germinated seeds from several years ago.
I have a cellar, i need to create a better space for vegetable storage. I also have my winter workshop down there.

 

[xtry51]

I bought this for the wife for Christmas. Our hopes were to grow micro greens with it. Right now there’s just herbs. Thanks for those links on how to grow micro greens also.
View attachment 572167

We have one of these. It's was really good for cherry tomatoes. I bet the herbs will do great.

 

[xtry51]

I usually pick up organic potatoes from the grocery store, quarter them and plant. Im going to try a potato tower this year. My potatoes never last from fall til spring. I need a cooler, dryer storage space.
View attachment 572287

I did towers two years ago. They went well. Keep the beetles away. Put a trap out for them. My production. In Aug was really hampered by how many leaves I lost to beetles.

 

[Fritz the Cat]

I did towers two years ago. They went well. Keep the beetles away. Put a trap out for them. My production. In Aug was really hampered by how many leaves I lost to beetles.

Beetles are evil. They almost killed my apple trees.