Carefully move the trays to your tunnel. Place them. Now cover the seeds with a layer of vermiculite. Do not cover them to thickly. Water lightly.
The seedlings will grow very quickly in the tunnel. Commercial growers will feed the plants through daily watering. Each time they are watered they are fed. The concentration is thus fairly weak. Remember the cavities are small and dry out quickly water regularly. Do not let them dry out.
Be careful to use a fine spray. If you do not, the newly germinated seeds will wash out.
Watch closely. You do not want leggy seedlings. If they just begin to stretch move them from the tunnel to the shade house. Here they will grow on and harden off.
Your seedlings are ready when you can pull a plug. Take one seedling and gently pull. If the seedling comes out of the cavity with the growing medium intact and in the shape of the cavity, they are ready. This is called a plug.
In summer it will take about 4 weeks from seed to plug.
Vegetable, herb, flower and tree seeds all do well. Tree seeds may take longer to germinate.
You can even grow pumpkin, melon, butternut and cucumbers this way.
Part 4 is for the home gardener.
No comments:
Post a Comment