Here is a run down.
BLOCKING (
I took most of the following from “The New organic Grower”, Eliot Coleman)
The blocking mix is different than a potting mix
because the blocking mix needs extra fibrous material to allow it to be formed
into a paste suitable for making blocks. It also needs good water holding
capability. It is a mixture of peat,
sand, soil and compost. Go to Johnny’s
Seed to watch a video to explain it. Look
under “Hand Held 4-cell soil blocker”.
Here is a link to the video at Johnny's Seed => Click here
SEED
STARTING FORMULA: (Bucket => about the size of a mop bucket) Using the following batch formula, it created
enough soil to furnish 250 cells and 10 each 4” pots and had one 5-gallon
bucket of starter left over.
WATER:
About 1 part water to 3 parts mix. For
successful block making the mix will be wetter than you would use for
flats. The most common mistake is to try
to mix it too dry.
GERMINATION: Give
the seeds very little cover if any.
Larger seeds do get some cover. Cover
with seran warp until sprouted (ie do not keep watering). For most crops the temperature needs to be 70
to 75 degrees. Asparagus, cucumber,
eggplant, melon, pepper and squash needs 75 to 80 degrees.
GROWING: Keep
the water level high using a mist sprayer or take the trays out to go water
someplace you don’t mess up the room.
COST
The picture above shows the final result: 250 individual cells and 10 pots. After placing the seeds, I noted carefully which cell had which seed, and covered the entire tray with saran wrap. Below is my record of what I planted and the results.
Here are some pictures 6 days after planting.
Within a week
of planting, everything in the light system came up and was growing like crazy
except for the Ithaca lettuce and the Parsley.
I understand the Parsley, but I think the Ithaca lettuce seed is no
good.
This has been
a roller coaster ride of emotions! Do I
water or not water? Do I transplant
outside or not transplant? What happens
if I leave them to grow under the lights?
Will they dampen off and die or grow large plants? How long do I experiment with this before I lose
the opportunity to put them in the ground?
By day 8 everything is either in 4" pots or has been put into the garden except for some lettuce, turnips and sweet pea flowers and I am ready to start another batch!
I know if I had planted the above directly into the garden, I would have used a lot more water, worked a lot harder, and would have had to wait a lot longer. There are a lot of environmental factors going on under the ground to prohibit seed sprouting that are overcome by the light system that I am sure I would not have had as much success with direct sowing and would have had to wait a lot longer for the results.
After a few weeks, I lost almost everything I had started under the lights in the last experiment. They grew long and spindly then dampened off. So in terms of producing something in the garden, this was a failed experiment. In terms of what I learned, it was a complete success. So I tried again.
EXPERIMENT #2 This time I cut the Superphosphate in half. I had better results. Here are some plants I started 17th of January. We have had some hard freezes, but the weather is warming up and I think I will be ready to plant next week (28 February). I expect good results.
After a few weeks, I lost almost everything I had started under the lights in the last experiment. They grew long and spindly then dampened off. So in terms of producing something in the garden, this was a failed experiment. In terms of what I learned, it was a complete success. So I tried again.
EXPERIMENT #2 This time I cut the Superphosphate in half. I had better results. Here are some plants I started 17th of January. We have had some hard freezes, but the weather is warming up and I think I will be ready to plant next week (28 February). I expect good results.
After I figured our freezes were over, I transplanted to the garden. Within a week nearly everything was dead!
What did I do wrong?
What did I do wrong?
Marta told me I had skipped a very important phase: The plants were Sun Burned! I needed to have "Hardened Off" the plants to get them accustomed to the sun even though the days were mild. Hardening off is a process of slowly getting the plants used to being outside.
In conclusion, I have a LOT more to learn and to develop a routine that works best for me.
A year has past since I started this blog. I have used the light tray/blocker several times successfully and am happy with it.
A year has past since I started this blog. I have used the light tray/blocker several times successfully and am happy with it.
