Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
prevent them from growing to their full potential. Make sure you are
ready to plant your transplants into the garden as soon as you bring
them home.
Starting Your Own Seedlings
The process of starting your own seedlings can be intimidating, but
it can be easily accomplished with a little know-how. Smoothie
vegetables that do better started indoors and then transplanted to
the garden include:
•
Cauliflower
•
Celery
•
Lettuces
•
Onions
•
Peppers
Many nurseries or garden stores sell seed starter kits. They come
with all the components needed to start your own transplants-a tray,
cells, labels, and a clear plastic lid. The two most common sizes are
sheets that have seventy-two cells and sheets with twenty-four cells.
The larger the vegetable plants at maturity, the larger the flat you
should use for growing the seedling. For example, lettuce is usually
planted in the seventy-two-cell sheets and brassicas or tomatoes are
started in the twenty-four-cell sheets. The tray, cells, and lid can be
reused from year to year, but make sure they are clean. Use one
part bleach to ten parts water to clean them at the beginning of the
season.
Some kits come with a starter mix, but you may have to purchase
this separately. Use sterile potting soil made specifically for starting
seeds; it is lighter weight than your garden soil.
