Like the rest of the world, I hit March of 2020 in a state of disbelief, anxiety through the roof, and an expectation that I'd be back in the office in a couple of weeks so I'd better make the most of it #staycation. There were 3 types of hobbyists during this time: those who started gardens, those who adopted a dog, and those who hoarded toilet paper. Fortunately, I don't have a fear of running out of toilet paper and we already have a wonderful couch dog, so I devoted my energy to growing seedlings and micromanaging my garden.
I'd recently (Jan '20) purchased two 4x8 CedarCraft raised beds and had already purchased supplies to start seedlings, giving me a jump start on this new pandemic hobby sensation. I have a pattern of underestimating the level of effort and complexity on almost anything, and true to my ways, when I installed these planters they were initially uneven and I bought a total of 8 cu ft of potting mix bags to fill all 4 beds - ifykyk.
Spoiler alert: my partner kindly fixed the uneven beds and let me know you can just go to a topsoil and landscaping supply retailer and they will sell you a compost garden mix for like $30/half yard which is a fraction of the cost of filling them with bagged potting mix. I think we ended up using maybe 3/4 of a yard and just topped the flower gardens with the leftovers. I also recently found out that a local supplier also sells a half yard of potting mix for $100, so if you have a truck, then probably explore your options outside of the bag.
I then went ahead and started my tomato and pepper seedlings in early March. I also started the cucumber, basil, squash and everything else you shouldn't start in early March in the PacNW - I highly recommend you use a planting calendar as a guide for when to start, transplant, or seed outdoor. Tilth Alliance also has a fairly expansive book on PacNW Maritime gardening that extends beyond vegetables that I would highly recommend.
I can't emphasize enough that when starting seedlings you need to use a high quality seed starter mix. I use the Black Gold Seedling Mix that can be found both online and usually at your local nursery. You can also find other brands in your local hardware store that will also be effective, but make sure to not start your seedlings in another growing medium. It may be a high price tag for the volume compared to regular potting mix, but you won't need much (given the limited size of the plants and containers) and it can be more forgiving for managing moisture during this sensitive stage. If the seed starter mix has low moisture levels/is dried out, you will need to add moisture to it before starting the seeds. You can Google adding moisture to seed starter for directions and additional information.
Now that you have seed starter, you will need to buy seedling trays and plant cells/containers. I recommend these plant trays as they are very heavy duty and can be used even when your plants are repotted in much larger containers. The only con is they are non-conforming size to the plant cells and grow lights. Your other option is to go with a seedling tray/seedling starting kit that you can buy online or at your local hardware store, but I've found them to be usually very flimsy and really only good for the beginning stages of growth.
Below is a picture of all of my happy (but really kind of sad) seedlings that suffered through my first year of trial and error. You can see the squash and cucumbers emerging with the tomatoes - big mistake. The peppers took an additional 3 weeks to germinate, and if starting peppers I would highly recommend a growing heat mat, such as the Vivosun.
Note: I no longer use biodegradable seed pots (I know, the environment and sea turtles), but I found they often fell apart and would get soggy and moldy. So I switched to plastic containers, but I do try to reuse them each year - which requires washing and sanitizing them.
My indoor setup today is a little more organized, but more of a DIY grow rack as opposed to many of the more expensive options on the market. I'll share pictures of my current setup in a later blog.
About 2-3 weeks before your seedlings are transplanted outdoors it is time to start hardening them off. This is especially critical for plants grown under grow lights that have had minimal or no exposure to the sun. If you expose seedlings to the sun without proper hardening they will have sunscald and their delicate leaves will turn white and may fall off. I've found it easiest to harden them off on cloudy days (make sure it is at least 55-60 degrees F), and gradually expose them for more hours. On their first days with sun limit it to an hour or two and then work their way up. It isn't really a science, but take the time to observe your plants and be conservative. Sunscald won't usually kill the plant, but it can stunt it.
Look at these happy clams sunbathing after being hardened off (photo mid-April '20). Reminder that 2020 was an unseasonably warm and sunny spring, in 2022 the temperatures that time of year would have killed the seedlings. Always check the weather and use good judgement.
So what happened when I started squash, cucumbers, and basil out of season? Well, they outgrew their home much faster than the Seattle ground temperature warmed up. Squash and cucumbers grow significantly faster than tomatoes or peppers, and are really meant to be transplanted within a few weeks of germination when the ground is already warm. On trend, I made the bold move to transplant them outside in April and the cucumber quickly succumbed to the cold and rainy Seattle spring. The squash did survive, but really struggled to produce any meaningful harvest. Hindsight I should have just restarted the seeds in early May, which is a more 'normal' time in the PacNW for starting these crops.
Coming next: amending soil and transplanting seedlings
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