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Post by michaeljohnson on Feb 20, 2011 1:32:08 GMT -5
I really cant understand it, but for some reason or another people all over the world are sowing their tomatoes at least a month earlier than usual and they keep telling me that they started their seeds by early or mid February-Why!!, When almost all of them previously-including me normally start their seed by early or mid march, in my case it is usually around March 12 to 15th- of which dates I am sticking to every year indefinitely . My visions are that a lot of these early sowers-(unless they use grow lights) will result in tall spindly drawn plants from lack of natural light and the usual fertilizer mix they always use in their compost. Coupled with that- this year is a heavy sun spot year with loads of solar flares bombarding the earth with disruptive rays etc that will cause havoc with electronic equipment, and it is going on (around now) so who knows if it will also effect plant growth and behavior too.
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Post by darwinslair on Feb 20, 2011 3:08:01 GMT -5
about half the time I can get ripe tomatoes by early june by getting plants in the ground late march or early april. the other half of the time they freeze out late april and I have to replant them, but I always get that first bunch in the ground just in case. Last year my first plant date was March 28th, and I had all of my tomatoes in before tax day, and never lost a one.
And I am in Minnesota.
But I do always start a second set of plants in mid march. I give them away if I never use them.
Tom
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bev
gopher
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Post by bev on Feb 20, 2011 5:03:19 GMT -5
I planted a few tomatoes that are just now up and growing - they will be raised in containers in the house or on the verandah when the weather is good. I've had success getting a few early tomatoes this way. Plants for the garden I won't start until mid to late March. One year I started them earlier and had them set out before the end of April and managed to keep them alive - I had a huge crop of earlier than usual tomatoes.
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Post by littleminnie on Feb 20, 2011 15:38:46 GMT -5
My visions are that a lot of these early sowers-(unless they use grow lights) will result in tall spindly drawn plants from lack of natural light and the usual fertilizer mix they always use in their compost. Coupled with that- this year is a heavy sun spot year with loads of solar flares bombarding the earth with disruptive rays etc that will cause havoc with electronic equipment, and it is going on (around now) so who knows if it will also effect plant growth and behavior too. I can't imagine why someone would start seeds without grow lights. You don't get enough hours of daylight to do so now. Maybe ok for flowers started in late April. I am starting my seeds right on time for my normal agenda but later than last year. However I am impressed by how soon stores are getting the supplies in! It never used to be like that. So that might spur people to go to soon. People in general tend to start everything at once and plant it out at once. That will be a big warning in my gardening classes! I do feel peppers need to be started by now to have a decent plant for mid or late May.
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Post by wildseed57 on Feb 20, 2011 17:26:31 GMT -5
I see the same thing here and spring is still months away. I have grow lights and I start all my plants from seeds. Normally I start most of my plants in March about the second week of it. Some of my rare peppers that I'me growing this year have a very long germination up to 60 days so I have to start them this month if I want to have sizable plants come the second week of May when our frost time is over, although we have had a late frost at times that catch people off guard. We get a lot of false spring weather here usually in late march to early April and the markets and Nurseries stick out all their plants and flowers, so every one is fooled into thinking it was ok to start their seeds or even start planting their garden to early and end up loosing most of them when frost hits. I would rather have small but strong plants to set out and plant in May even though we have had warm weather since April. George W.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Feb 20, 2011 17:35:08 GMT -5
I am sowing peppers right on schedule this year, about the 20th of February. They do great in the greenhouse without adding extra light.
I'll sow a few early tomatoes about March 15th... They will go into Wall-o-Waters and/or into gallon pots and/or under floating row covers hoping for an earlier harvest. If they freeze then it's OK cause I'll start my main crop tomatoes about April 15th to go in the ground about June 1st.
I sowed true potato seed on January 2nd under 23 hr/day grow lights. Hoping to harvest baby tubers for spring planting.
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Post by cortona on Feb 20, 2011 18:12:16 GMT -5
i've sowed my first batch of peppers(rare and wild and super hot)almost around cristhmas because having no grow ligt it grow veeery slow but it are ready wen in the gh i have a good climate for it. i start tomatoes usualy around the second alf of march to have plants ready to plants probably around april 25 but i sow some later to have a back up if is realy realy wet weater so i can work properly the soil.
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Post by seedywen on Feb 20, 2011 18:27:08 GMT -5
Personally, there's always the temptation to start seeds in February...just in case spring comes early and temperatures warm earlier than normal. However the experienced grower side of myself knows that holding off until mid-March or even earlier April will likely produce ample numbers of vegetable bedding plants in time for the main gardening season.
What makes gardeners so want to gamble on the weather...in the spring and fall 'shoulder' seasons. Optimism?
As February goes into its last week, I'm compromising the 'urge' to plant with dozens of germination tests of peppers and tomatoes on my oldest seed. The urge to grow gets a green light, qualified by the rationale that if this old seed is still viable, there'll be some early plants. If germination is poor, there's still plenty of time for the next germination tests of newer seed. And planting those sprouts under grow-lights in the house until putting in the unheated greenhouse or cold/hot frames.
As for many stores getting bedding plants in early, to tempt gardeners to buy, the collective opinion of home-growers in my area, is that it's a bit of a scam.
There's not much chance of those tender plants succeeding in the 'shoulder' season, therefore, many buyers will be back in the stores, repurchasing more plants, easily increasing store sales.
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coppice
gardener
gardening curmudgeon
Posts: 149
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Post by coppice on Feb 20, 2011 19:59:20 GMT -5
I did wintersow early. I expect seed to slumber till about the right time to pop.
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Post by heidihi on Feb 20, 2011 20:15:38 GMT -5
I sow earlier and earlier each year for my own sanity and pleasure if they make it they make it if not I am sowing again in three weeks so no great loss ..if I get a good season I have an advantage I think planting early
and I just have to force myself out there or I would need to take an antidepressant this time of year to be honest ..I NEED AIR
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Post by canadamike on Feb 20, 2011 20:43:31 GMT -5
I HATE PEOPLE WHO START TOMATOES OR PEPPERS IN FEBRUARY In 1989 I transplanted 20 tomato plants in a new garden that was, before, a patch of poison ivy, to wich I was at the time totally immune. It was April 4, not bad for the world's coldest capital city. I used all the tricks a poor man could use, lil'plastic tents and ESPECIALLY stones, they would either accumulate heat in the mini plastic environment or get into the oven when it was too cold Anyway, I had my first ripe one for my birthday, June 24, 2-3weeks later after everybody else put them into the ground around here. Everybody was laughing at me in April, but gladly ate them in June. I lived in a small community then...and although not one little bit a bettr gardener in July than I was in April, became well known for what was called ''my gardening talents'' while in fact it was just my desire to just try the darn thing that made it happen. We have a green thumb and some sort of magical knowledge for most folks just because they do nothing and do not try. It is so easy to be a better gardener than others these days, you simply have to try harder, the others are most ofthe time darn lazy... The bright side is that there is a hero hiding in each of us
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Post by ottawagardener on Feb 20, 2011 23:21:57 GMT -5
Just because I have some seedlings does not mean they are tomatoes I don't start tomatoes for at least another month (unless I'm wintersowing). The things I sow in February are slow and erratic germinators or need the headstart. Some hot / wild / rare peppers I pre-sprout around now. Heck, I sow plants in November but that's because they require stratification. In fact, I sow plants every month of the year. Yes, that's right, every month. It really does depend on the plant but tomatoes are later. I've noticed that about seeds too. In some cases, this is good because certain seeds need to be started 3-4 months before last frost especially in case of inducing flowers in tender plant that don't normally flower until after vernalization.
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Post by michaeljohnson on Feb 21, 2011 1:28:05 GMT -5
Peppers are nearly always sown in february early, but tomatoes are too tender to sow them much earlier and are too much of a risk to chance them too early before the frosts have finished- I never use any grow lights at all-too costly in electricity for the returns you get in plants and fruit-the only light that my plants get is natural light from the sun and daylight coming through the roof of my conservatory-where the seedlings are put as soon as the seed leaves are open.
I don't want my tomatoes costing me $3.50 a pound to grow because of the extra grow light costs in electricity-and can afford to wait that little bit longer for a july/august harvest. I do have a few varieties that will provide tomatoes for early use in early june onwards.
I went to a market outdoor cum car boot sale last spring in early march, and there was a chap there with a plant stall who had tomato plants four feet high with tomatoes already formed on them- I dread to think what the ordinary buyer would think after they planted them out in their garden when they got home-as the last frosts had not come and gone-quite, by early march.
The plants had obviously been grown in a greenhouse under lights since probably -christmas ??.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Feb 21, 2011 7:16:18 GMT -5
Yea, I don't think anyone should be jealous of the single little seedling I have up and growing just now. I'm going to experiment on the poor thing to see if I can coax it to be a "power" tomato.
However, it really is the start of planting season around here. So, brassicas, peas, stuff like that needs to get into the ground now. I'm even going to plant a guinea patch so that hopefully the birdies will go for the greens over by their coops and leave the stuff on the other side of the house alone. Good luck, right? ;o)
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Post by DarJones on Feb 21, 2011 11:55:27 GMT -5
I'm not sure what your season runs, but here we have to put plants in the ground April 10th to 15th. That means start planting seed between Feb 15th and 25th.
DarJones
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