TasunkaWitko
Well-Known Member
Tomatoes and Peppers - 2018
On Sunday, 11 March, I started my tomatoes and peppers for 2018. This is a day later than when I am "supposed" to do it, but that's okay.
I was going to start them in Dixie cups, but my teenage-son, Roger, actually showed a little bit of interest in this project and got this for me:
He also got a bag of this soil, so I gave it a try:
Since I had 32 "cells," I started 32 plants. I went through the seeds that I have on hand, and planted a fair variety. some of the seed is pretty old, stretching back to 2011, so I planted a few extra seeds and will hope for the best. Altogether, I planted at least 4 seeds in each cell; when things (hopefully) start growing, I'll thin down the cells to one plant each.
Here is what I planted:
2 cells of Peperone Piccante a Cuore - 2011 seed
2 cells of Spanish Cherry Peppers - 2011 seed
3 cells of Hungarian Paprika peppers - 2013(?) seed
2 cells of Hungarian Yellow Wax Peppers - 2018 seed
2 cells of Cayenne Pepper - 2018 seed
2 cells of Mr. Hawkins Tomato - 2016 seed
2 cells of Brandywine Pink Tomato - 2015 seed
2 cells of Colonial American Yellow Pear Tomato - 2013(?) seed
2 cells of Black Krim Tomato - 2016 seed
2 cells of Purple Russian Tomato - 2016 seed
2 cells of Southern Nights Tomato - 2016 seed
2 cells of Black Cherry Tomato - 2016 seed
3 cells of San Marzano Tomato - 2016 seed
2 cells of Large Red Cherry Tomato - 2011 seed
2 cells of Black Plum Tomato - 2016 seed
One that is not on the list is the Riesenstraube Tomato; I bought seed for it last year, but it was out at my parents' house, so I asked my dad to plant 4 plants of this, because I really enjoyed this German Cherry Tomato last year.
Obviously, I am going to need to update my seed stock. Anything that is older than 2015 was either used up (planting a few extra) or discarded (after planting a few extra). If anything grows, I'll save those seeds, and will order some new seed over the winter, if necessary.
To plant the seeds, I filled the cells with soil and then added water; the soil is very, very dry, of course, so it took some time to fully hydrate the soil and the starting strips. I should have put the soil that I would need in some sort of container and added water to it, before putting it in the cells. This would have saved a lot of time, mess and effort, and I'll be sure to do that in the future.
Currently, the starting strips are sitting on a ridged tray in a room that is (hopefully) safe from cats and dogs and at a fairly-constant 70 degrees. I don't have a heating pad, but am considering getting one. The tray is loosely covered with black plastic - which will be removed when the first seedlings come up - and is sitting near a south-facing window, which is wholly inadequate for light this time of year. By the time the seedlings first poke through the soil, I'll retrieve my lighting set-up, which will put fluorescent light on the tray.
On Sunday, 11 March, I started my tomatoes and peppers for 2018. This is a day later than when I am "supposed" to do it, but that's okay.
I was going to start them in Dixie cups, but my teenage-son, Roger, actually showed a little bit of interest in this project and got this for me:
He also got a bag of this soil, so I gave it a try:
Since I had 32 "cells," I started 32 plants. I went through the seeds that I have on hand, and planted a fair variety. some of the seed is pretty old, stretching back to 2011, so I planted a few extra seeds and will hope for the best. Altogether, I planted at least 4 seeds in each cell; when things (hopefully) start growing, I'll thin down the cells to one plant each.
Here is what I planted:
2 cells of Peperone Piccante a Cuore - 2011 seed
2 cells of Spanish Cherry Peppers - 2011 seed
3 cells of Hungarian Paprika peppers - 2013(?) seed
2 cells of Hungarian Yellow Wax Peppers - 2018 seed
2 cells of Cayenne Pepper - 2018 seed
2 cells of Mr. Hawkins Tomato - 2016 seed
2 cells of Brandywine Pink Tomato - 2015 seed
2 cells of Colonial American Yellow Pear Tomato - 2013(?) seed
2 cells of Black Krim Tomato - 2016 seed
2 cells of Purple Russian Tomato - 2016 seed
2 cells of Southern Nights Tomato - 2016 seed
2 cells of Black Cherry Tomato - 2016 seed
3 cells of San Marzano Tomato - 2016 seed
2 cells of Large Red Cherry Tomato - 2011 seed
2 cells of Black Plum Tomato - 2016 seed
One that is not on the list is the Riesenstraube Tomato; I bought seed for it last year, but it was out at my parents' house, so I asked my dad to plant 4 plants of this, because I really enjoyed this German Cherry Tomato last year.
Obviously, I am going to need to update my seed stock. Anything that is older than 2015 was either used up (planting a few extra) or discarded (after planting a few extra). If anything grows, I'll save those seeds, and will order some new seed over the winter, if necessary.
To plant the seeds, I filled the cells with soil and then added water; the soil is very, very dry, of course, so it took some time to fully hydrate the soil and the starting strips. I should have put the soil that I would need in some sort of container and added water to it, before putting it in the cells. This would have saved a lot of time, mess and effort, and I'll be sure to do that in the future.
Currently, the starting strips are sitting on a ridged tray in a room that is (hopefully) safe from cats and dogs and at a fairly-constant 70 degrees. I don't have a heating pad, but am considering getting one. The tray is loosely covered with black plastic - which will be removed when the first seedlings come up - and is sitting near a south-facing window, which is wholly inadequate for light this time of year. By the time the seedlings first poke through the soil, I'll retrieve my lighting set-up, which will put fluorescent light on the tray.
