Thursday, March 4, 2010

Seed Starting Sing Along

Ok. Let's all sing the Richard Strauss song from 2001: A Space Oddysey.

Ready?

Dummmm

Dummmmmmmmmmmmm

Duummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Da Dahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Now let's shake it up a bit. Everyone do the cabbage patch dance and sing, "It's a tomato. It's a tomaaaato."
I'm stupid excited. It's my first tomato from seed. Thanks, Dan!!!!! Only three or four have sprouted, so I'll leave them where they are for now until the majority of them do and then put them under the lights. Problem....IT'S FREEZING in the basement. Dare I put them outside still in their dome and hope they get a bit more heat and sun at the same time or just stick them under the basement light and hope for the best?
The morning comes early. Sweet tomato starting dreams.

14 comments:

  1. Oh.., the seeds really put up a strong chorus to welcome the arrival of SPRING! ~ bangchik

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  2. Look at you go girl!If you do decide to put the seed/seedling in the sun with the dome you may need to prop it open just a bit to give it some ventilation.

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  3. Look at you go girl!If you do decide to put the seed/seedling in the sun with the dome you may need to prop it open just a bit to give it some ventilation.

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  4. Maybe you can find a space from them temporarily upstairs on a window sill until they have all germinated. I'm excited for my first tomato seedlings ever as well!

    P.S. I love 2001: ASO!

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  5. I wish, Thomas, but there's not north or south facing window in the house and it's angled to where the sun never directly shines in any window. I may see how they like the sun outside, but vent the lid like Liisa suggested.

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  6. Tomato. Uh. Tomato. Uh. <---- Tomato dance for yoooouuuu (My birthday margarita(s) must be kicking in...)

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  7. I have two old heating pads, the kind you use on sore muscles or cold feet. They have waterproof covers. I put a rack over them (like the rack we cool our cookies on. Oops, sorry, teacher....like the rack on which we cool our cookies. Did I use too many commas? ;-) I set the seed containers on the rack, and monitor the temp to make sure it stays between 75-80F inside the domed container. One heating pad gets hotter than the other, so I usually have to elevate the seeds a bit more over that one. As soon as the seeds sprout, I take off the dome and move seeds and heating pads out to my green house....which is nothing but a big box, covered on three sides with plastic, and a plastic drop "curtain" in the front. Oh, a couple of holes ripped in the top for ventilation, as I had some white spidery mold last year. There the lights keep the plants warm enough, but if the temps should drop, the heat pads are turned on again.

    Another good place is in a big picnic cooler, with the lid propped open part way and the heat pad and rack on the bottom. I did some peppers like that last year, and they really germinated quickly!

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  8. That's cool! Some extra heat will get them germinating faster for sure. Once they sprout through they will do fine in a cooler environment, that way they will grow slower. Tomatoes have a tendency to grow into monsters quickly!

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  9. Congratulations! I well remember my excitement with my first tray of tomato seedlings -- and for that reason urge you to make sure they get plenty of air circulation, and I don't think a bit of sun would be at all amiss. (My very first babies, years ago, got damping off sickness when they were a week away from transplant and looking bright and healthy.)

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  10. Good for you! Now is when the fun begins. There will be more - trust me.

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  11. Warm and light, of course you want both. Granny's idea is a good one, or foil around the lights for more reflection. I should try that downstairs.

    Congratulations on the babies.

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  12. LOLOL - I'm such a tool. I totally sang along. LOL.

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  13. I used a rope light coiled in a serpentine pattern on a piece of plywood. Then I set my seeds trays directly on top of them. The lights kept the seed trays a constant 72 degrees. I know not quite warm enough to germinate everything well, but it is better than the 60 degrees in my basement.

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