Just wanted to start a thread for anyone starting plants for their gardens inside. Maybe it can be a place to share techniques, results, etc…and of course, plant porn…I would love to see shots of everyone’s setup they have for growing inside. I’ll post some of mine shortly. I have a framed off section suspended from my basement rafters, wrapped in mylar blankets, with two shop lights, a fan, and seed heating mats…it’s fun…
I wish I was. Im not going to be able to have my garden going this year. Ive been so dang busy with work and school. I wouldnt be able to give it the love it would need.
On the bright side, my soil is going to have a good rest year. Im going to put lots of nutrients back into it and let it sleep till next year.
Don’t have any pics. But, my setup utilizes the room that houses my furnace and hot water heater. That room stays a nice 78F and works great for starting seeds.
I like to use red Solo cups to start seedlings in. They have much more room for root development and maintain moisture a lot better. Plus, you can use a sharpie to label the cup. I drill a couple of holes in the bottom and use fold top sandwich bags for a humidity dome for each cup. This works well in case you have some seeds sprout before others, since you can simply remove the dome from the ones that have sprouted.
Tip: If using the Solo cups you can drill 8-10 at a time by drilling them while they are stacked.
Holy hell I have a feeling my garden will get out of hand this season. I’m sure Ill be canning till the cows come home and giving produce away in the fall. I found an urban farm supply store nearby and they have had their seed racks out since mid January. Ive been there a half dozen times and always walk out with a half dozen packs of seeds.
I started 3 kinds of peppers last week. I’ve got an old drafting table set up in my dining room with some grow lights. If I put it in the basement, I’d forget all about it.
[quote=“shizzy”]Holy hell I have a feeling my garden will get out of hand this season. I’m sure Ill be canning till the cows come home and giving produce away in the fall. I found an urban farm supply store nearby and they have had their seed racks out since mid January. Ive been there a half dozen times and always walk out with a half dozen packs of seeds.
I started 3 kinds of peppers last week. I’ve got an old drafting table set up in my dining room with some grow lights. If I put it in the basement, I’d forget all about it.[/quote]
If you had to move it to the basement, just move a small beer fridge down there with it, and you will never forget about the seedlings…LOL
[attachment=2]everything.jpg[/attachment][attachment=0]tomatoes-top.jpg[/attachment][attachment=1]hot and bell peppers.jpg[/attachment]
N8young, those plants look awesome. I got a little lazy this year and haven’t transplanted my seedlings yet. They’re growing but are too big for the small cups their in. What do you guys do for fertilizer once they are up and have leaves? I think I over fertilized some and I started to have mold grow on the top of the dirt. My other problem was they were in the basement and it is too cold down there. I need to move them next year up stairs and make sure they’re nice and heated.
I like the solo cups idea as well. Might transplant some into solo cups tonight.
I use a basic organic fish fertilizer, diluted in water…I also water from the bottom…so I just pour into the tray…
Heating…you can buy a cheap lamp and throw a normal bulb in to provide some heat. my setup is near my furnace, so I think that helps. I also used a seed heating mat for germination(these mats can be had fairly cheaply on amazon, and work great - my plants all germinated in 5 days). Once the plants have germinated, heat isn’t as much of an issue as is light. I bought a cheap two outlet timer, and have my two shop lights on for 18 hours a day so my plants get all the light they need.
I’m at the point now where I may need to transfer the little devils from their 4 inch square pots to something bigger. We can’t plant safely until mid to late May, and my maters are already 7+ inches tall…Ruh Roh
Looking great man! Last year I got overly ambitious and started peppers indoors way too early. By the time I planted them out, they were already developing peppers! So I held off a bit this year, and now it looks like spring/summer has come two months early. Now I’m playing catch-up to get things in a bit early. Planning to plant some greens and maybe root crops this coming weekend. Exciting, isn’t it? 
Holy moley n8. That is a beautiful thing!
I swear I see Eliot [Colman] Maine in your location. 
I confess that I am lame about starting plants indoors
and cannot offer any indoor plant pr0n. Sorry.
Just wanted to say really nice setup.
Still count on that late frost. :cheers:
At least a frost is easy enough to protect against. A hard freeze can be an issue.
[quote=“pinnah”]Holy moley n8. That is a beautiful thing!
I swear I see Eliot [Colman] Maine in your location.
[/quote]
I apologize Pinnah, it’s early and i’m missing the humor…what does Eliot [Colman] Maine mean? I’m sure there’s humor there, but it is just lost on me at the moment…please explain
[quote=“n8young”][quote=“pinnah”]Holy moley n8. That is a beautiful thing!
I swear I see Eliot [Colman] Maine in your location.
[/quote]
I apologize Pinnah, it’s early and i’m missing the humor…what does Eliot [Colman] Maine mean? I’m sure there’s humor there, but it is just lost on me at the moment…please explain[/quote]
Sorry. In my simplistic western style
I thought everyone who grew vegetables in the state of Maine
must know who Eliot Coleman
http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/
is.
Few hundred miles up the coast from Eliot it seems.
[quote=“pinnah”][quote=“n8young”][quote=“pinnah”]Holy moley n8. That is a beautiful thing!
I swear I see Eliot [Colman] Maine in your location.
[/quote]
I apologize Pinnah, it’s early and i’m missing the humor…what does Eliot [Colman] Maine mean? I’m sure there’s humor there, but it is just lost on me at the moment…please explain[/quote]
Sorry. In my simplistic western style
I thought everyone who grew vegetables in the state of Maine
must know who Eliot Coleman
http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/
is.
Few hundred miles up the coast from Eliot it seems.[/quote]
Yeah, I had no idea who he was…I did immediately bookmark the site. Looks like a good reference. Thanks!
I just requested a couple of those Eliot Coleman books from our public library - looks promising. Thanks, pinnah!
Tomato plants roughly 1 foot in height, and not super leggy and spindly. Just transplanted into 6" deep pots, as the 3.5" pots I started them in ended up being waaaaay to small. Can’t wait for May when they can go in the ground.
Wow, you are killing me here. 8) Very nice work.
Do you blow on them to make the stems stronger?
Looking good!
I plan to have quite a bit of mine in the ground by the end of the week or the beginning of next.
[quote=“pinnah”]Wow, you are killing me here. 8) Very nice work.
Do you blow on them to make the stems stronger?[/quote]
You are correct. What you can’t see, is up above I have a fan clamped to the floor joist, blowing on the plants 18 hrs a day, to try to make them stronger.
Those will be monsters come May.
What kinds of tomatoes do you have there?
