This is the first time I have grown vegetables from seed indoors. Normally I am a direct-sow kinda girl, but I wanted the greater variety in vegetable options so I could focus on heirlooms this year. So I went out and bought a grow light, made my seed pots from newspaper, and got the growing underway.
It’s getting on late-April now and I starting to feel really discouraged. The tomato and eggplants seeds have been growing for a month and a half now, and they just don’t seem to be getting that big – I don’t even think they have their first set of “true” leaves. Then today I stumbled upon something that said the grow light should be kept on the plants between 12-16 hours a day. Now I feel like a really big dummie. I have been turning the grow light off in the evenings and back in the mornings, so they have probably only been getting about 10 hours of light. I guess I was thinking more about conserving energy than giving my seeds the most light… Damnit.
We will see what kind of second wind the seedlings will get, but I feel terribly behind. There is nothing like painstaking planning, filled with Excel spreadsheets, all for naught. Sigh. Worst case scenario my seeds don’t get big enough soon enough and I break down and buy some plant starts. But seriously, how annoying is that? I bought this grow light, I bought a huge order of seeds, all this time and care. Those suckers better grow.
On an up side, the vegetables planted under the cloches outside are doing really well. I won’t have buy lettuce again until late next fall. The carrots and beets are already up and doing very well. In another couple weeks I will need to thin the carrot rows. Swiss chard, collards, spinach and broccoli are all showing signs of promise.
I guess it’s sort of like casting a wide net. The indoor seeds might not pay off, but the vegetable bed covers will. And next year I will know a little more than I do now.
I’m growing seeds indoors in newspaper pots as well and yes it is very frustrating. I’m even trying to do it without a grow light or heat pad. When the seeds don’t sprout or grow slowly I remind myself that people did this for years without technology I just need to be patient (which is not one of my strong points).
Good luck!
hi! i have been enjoying your blog for awhile now. i am a novice gardener also in PDX and i have a community garden plot for the first time this year. i also started tomatoes inside, just in a very sunny warm window (no grow light) but they aren’t much bigger than yours, maybe 4 sets of leaves? basil is even smaller. i also wonder if i will have to break down and buy some starts later on. looks like cloches are the way to go! i will try that next year. the peas i started in the garden about a month ago look ok, and i found a patch of “volunteer” radishes. i think lots of things will be slow this year because of the old snap. good luck and keep blogging!
Hi, I am a fellow portlander and have been enjoying your blog too! How close are your lights to the seedlings? I had mine as close as possible, maybe 3 inches away, max. My lights are on about 14 hours a day.
Also, what kind of lights do you have, or rather what “temp” bulbs? There are some ranges that seedlings respond to and some that they don’t.
I did tomatos from seed last year for the first time, and I noticed that they grew SUPER fast once I got them in the ground, so they may well catch up, esp if they are early or shorter-season varieties.
Wow, you guys are all so incredibly helpful and supportive! The grow light I bought was a SunBlaze, and here is the link:
http://www.specialty-lights.com/960320.html
I don’t think anything is wrong with the light. From what a few of you have said, I think it was simply not leaving it on long enough. Perhaps over the next 2-3 weeks though, I am hoping the little starts can get big enough to survive once I move them outside.
Thanks for the encouragement guys.
Hey Ho, just found your blog, too much fun! (I think I found you via looking for making my own peat pots? Gah, can’t remember now.) We just got chicks too, and cannot believe how much fun it is. Woohoo!