The Greenhouse Advantage for Seed Starting

With proper planning there are several advantages that greenhouse enthusiasts have for seed germinating and getting their plants off to a great start.

Jump Start the Growing Season – Just as greenhouse gardeners are able to extend the growing season they can get a head start as well. Many desirable plant varieties cannot be sowed until after the last freeze of the season and in some cases it takes even longer for the ground to warm to an appropriate temperature for optimum seed germination. In the greenhouse, seed germination can start three to four weeks before the estimated last freeze of the season giving greenhouse gardeners a head start on their open air counterparts. This is particularly important for success with long season vegetables (those that require 70 or more days to produce) e.g., melons, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, corn, carrots and parsnips among others.

Climate Control – Most seeds germinate when the soil temperature is between 68 and 86°F. In some areas the greenhouse may be warm enough for good seed germination on its own, but if not, the sheltered environment of the greenhouse is a perfect place to use inexpensive soil heating cables or electric seed warming trays for starting seeds. An added advantage of the greenhouse for your new seedlings is protection from severe weather like strong wind, rain or unexpected cold that can be devastating to new sprouts. The increased humidity of the greenhouse also helps to provide an ideal germinating environment.

Pest Control – Seeds and young plants are particularly vulnerable to garden pests and predators. Birds in particular love seeds and often times they will dig them up from the ground before your plants even get a chance to sprout. This even happens when using sprouting trays or containers outside. Once seeds are sprouted, young plants are still quite vulnerable to small rodents and insects until they are 8-10 inches tall. The greenhouse gives plants protection from pests until they are strong enough to have a good chance of survival in the open air garden. An added benefit of the greenhouse is that it provides a wonderful environment for using biological pest control by releasing lady bugs into the greenhouse. Lady bugs will consume up to 1,000 aphids in their lifetimes in both their larvae and adult stages and work well in greenhouse settings.

Now is the Time! - If you have a greenhouse and have not considered starting your plants from seeds you now have all the information and reasons you need to start using this low cost alternative to starting your gardens. Good luck and happy propagation!

Dr. Christopher J. Kline is a master gardener and sunflower specialist living in Paradise Valley Arizona. He is also an editor for http://www.sunflowerocity.com/ The Ultimate Sunflower Site has everything imaginable about sunflowers including great information, links to the best products, sites and discussion boards. You can reach Chris at Chris.Kline@sunflowerOcity.com.

Seed Starting Choices

Starting from Seed – How to do it Right

With all of the advantages from starting beautiful gardens from seed it is no wonder that more gardeners are using seeds to start plants. There is something inherently satisfying about facilitating the miracle of nature that occurs when a plant is born from seed. This article contains all the information necessary to select the right location and supplies for this fun and exciting gardening task.

Selecting a Seed Starting Location

The first consideration is to select a good location for seed propagation. The following factors should be considered:

• Amount and Intensity of Exposure to Light – Once the seeds have germinated, the sprouts of most plant varieties need medium to high light in order to develop properly. If the light is too low the sprouts will become lanky which produces weak plants. Some gardeners prefer to start their seeds in a garage, greenhouse or other inside area with an artificial light source. The best alternative is to start your seeds in a greenhouse. Most greenhouses can provide ample, but slightly filtered light that is ideal for seed starting. In hot climates direct sunlight may be too intense for some seed starts to handle until the plants get their second set of leaves.
• Exposure to the Elements – Seeds and young plants are particularly susceptible to damage from the environment. This includes damage caused by rodents, birds and pests as well as inclement weather. Because of this it is generally best to find a sheltered area, or start the seeds indoors. Greenhouse enthusiasts have an advantage here as well.
• Temperature and Humidity – Most seeds germinate when the soil temperature is between 68 and 86°F. Depending on the soil temperature where seeds are germinated it may be advantageous to use an inexpensive soil heating cable or electric seed warming trays for starting seeds. Seeds need moist soil to germinate and the young seedlings benefit from humid conditions. Many seed starting trays come with a plastic lid that works as a mini greenhouse for seed starts.

Methods to Consider for Starting From Seed

Direct seed method – Many seeds can be sowed directly in the garden or containers, and in some instances this may be a viable choice. One problem is that seeds and small plants are much more susceptible to falling victim to pests and predators than even two or three week old transplants. In many areas the birds or rodents will dig up seeds and have a feast before the seeds even get a chance to sprout. It may be more difficult to care for and propagate young plants in your garden because seeds and sprouts must be kept moist and not be allowed to dry out. Another disadvantage is that there will always be some seeds that don’t make it to becoming viable plants. For uniform plant spacing in the garden it may be easier to use transplants that have already been selected as strong prospects. For these reasons and others, a general recommendation is to germinate seeds before transplanting into the garden or containers.

Using Professional Seed Starting Trays – Some gardeners prefer to start many seeds at a time in professional seed starting trays which are a plastic tray with separate compartments for each plant and a drip pan. With this method as many as three dozen seeds can be started in one try and then the weak ones can be weeded out while getting the sprouts off to a great start before planting them in the garden where they will face harsher elements and predators. With this method it is important to use a potting mix that is specifically designed for starting seeds. These mixes are finer than even premium potting mixes and contain all the nutrition that seedlings will need to make it through their first two or three weeks. This method is certainly acceptable, but it too has some draw backs. There is a chance, even with careful transplanting, that the plants will sustain damage to the root system which will stress the young transplant. It is for this reason that the following method may just be the best one available.

Starting with Peat Pots or Pellets – Peat pots are small pots that are made of pressed peat moss. They can be filled with seed starting mix and planted in the garden when transplants are ready. There is however, an even easier alternative. Peat pellets are an ingenious innovation that consists of a compressed peat wafer inside a biodegradable mesh case. When the pellet is soaked in water it swells to five times its size and makes the ideal seed starting medium. A seed or two is simply pushed into the top of each soaked pellet and they are placed in the selected germinating location and kept moist until germination has occurred. The pellets can even be bought with plastic trays that have clear lids and act as mini greenhouses for sprouting seeds. With these lids generally it is not even necessary to add additional water to the pellets until after the seeds sprout. Once the seeds sprout the lid is removed and sprouts are watered and grown in the trays until they form their second set of real leaves, generally two to three weeks. Then the biodegradable bags with healthy young plants can be planted in the desired garden location.

Choose a good location, select from among the alternative starting mediums and have fun starting your garden from seed this season. You will be glad you did!

About the Author:
Dr. Christopher J. Kline is a master gardener and sunflower specialist living in Paradise Valley Arizona. He is also an editor for http://www.SunflowerOcity.com. You can reach Chris at Chris.Kline@sunflowerOcity.com.

Overwintering in the Greenhouse

Many gardeners seem to shut down operations in the winter entirely and start completely anew each season. With proper overwintering techniques, which are made much easier with the use of a greenhouse, many plants can be preserved only to be more vigorous beautiful producers the next season. In addition to perennial flowers and ornamentals most berries including Black, Blue and Raspberries can be grown for more than one season as can most herbs including Basil, Chives and Parsley. Several vegetables are also perennials including Asparagus, Garlic, Shallots, Sweet Beets, Sweet Potato and many Peppers.

There are some distinct advantages to using a greenhouse for overwintering. In many areas rodents can be a significant source of damage to plants during the winter months when other food is scarce. Another major cause of damage and loss of plants during winter is caused by freezing and fluctuations in soil temperature, and this is an even bigger problem for plants in containers. Plants out in the open also often sustain tissue burn from the moisture loss caused by cold dry air. Proper overwintering in a greenhouse makes it much easier to protect against these and other winter hazards to plants.

It is possible to keep many plants from one year to the next. They will not continue to bloom profusely and grow over winter as they did during the summer, but in many cases they will have better production than they did in year one and will give the gardener a great head start on the next season.

Depending upon the climate, late August (Hardness zones 3-6) to late September (Hardness zones 7-8) is generally the window for beginning the overwintering process. In most areas it is practically impossible to keep plants thriving and producing outside past October. The low sun and shorter days tend to induce 'semi-dormancy', a period of reduced functioning in the plants. For this reason the beginning of the overwintering program will start by gradually tapering off watering and fertilization in October. In the winter the soil should not become bone dry or dusty, but should be watered only occasionally during the plant's dormancy.
It is best to hold off on moving plants into the greenhouse until just before the first freeze of winter sets in. Moving the plants inside too early will slow down the hardening off process and may result in undesirable out of season growth.

Once plants are in the greenhouse temperature control is very important to overwintering success. Temperatures of 45°-55°F are ideal. The higher the temperatures above this range, the more likely the plants will produce weak growth out of season which can make them susceptible to various infestations. Greenhouse temperatures can generally be controlled using ventilation during the day to keep the greenhouse from overheating. In very cold climates a heat source may be necessary to keep the temperature close to the ideal range, particularly at night.

Most plants will benefit from some pruning back in mid-March in preparation for the vigorous growth during the new season. This is also a good time to consider transplanting plants that grew a lot during the past summer into the garden or larger containers. Plants adjust best to gradual change. At this time, the greenhouse can be allowed to reach slightly warmer temperatures (65°F days, 55°F nights). Resume fertilizing with balanced blend mixed ½-strength. When all danger of frost is past, the plants can be moved outside again for the summer, and the greenhouse temperatures can be raised for plants that will remain in the greenhouse or for germination of new plants for the growing season.
For successful overwintering in the greenhouse keep these tips in mind:

• Begin overwintering by reducing water and fertilizer in late August to late October, depending on Hardness Zone.
• Take care not to allow soil or air to become overly dry.
• Wait until just before the first freezing weather of the season to move plants into the greenhouse.
• During the winter dormant period maintain greenhouse temperatures as close to 45°-55°F as possible.
• Prune plants back in mid-March in preparation for the new growing season.
• After pruning, increase greenhouse temperature to 65°F days, 55°F nights and resume fertilizing with balanced blend mixed ½-strength.
• Move plants to desired outdoor locations when all danger of frost has passed.

About the Author:
Dr. Christopher J. Kline is a master gardener and sunflower specialist living in Paradise Valley Arizona. He is also an editor for http://www.SunflowerOcity.com The Ultimate Sunflower Site has everything imaginable about sunflowers including great information, links to the best products, sites and discussion boards. You can reach Chris at Chris.Kline@sunflowerOcity.com.

The Incredible Versatile Sunflower

The Sunflower has never been as popular as it is today. As well as being beautiful, sunflowers are very versatile. Images of sunflowers conger up thoughts of peace, life, spring and a whole host of positive thoughts, it’s no wonder that the image is so prevalent in the marketing of all sorts of products and services from Sunflower Broadband to The Sunflower Peace Project.

Although it is easy to think of the sunflower as a single flower, it is actually a composite of small florets, which, arranged in circles, comprise the face of the sunflower head. Each floret has its own ovary, stigma, style, and anthers, and produces a single seed. A large sunflower head, perhaps a foot across, can have as many as eight thousand florets. Perhaps no other pant congers up images of prehistoric times like the giant sunflower. The outer ring of florets has large ray petals, which can be a greenish yellow when young, turning a darker yellow orange on maturity.

Sunflowers are remarkably easy to grow. In fact, they often self-seed, as bird feeding enthusiasts know. More black oil sunflower seed is used each year for bird feed than almost all other seeds combined. Many people just know of the classic yellow large sunflower, but there are hundreds of varieties from the giants like Sunzilla, Skyscraper and Russian Mammoth to the great dwarf varieties like the Sunny Smile, Teddy Bear and Elf and all sorts of different sizes and colors in between. They can be used in so many different ways, to create so many different garden looks during the hot months where most other plants struggle. Sunflowers are also becoming more widely available as cut flowers, as their popularity grows. They are long-lasting (7-10 days in a vase), and make fabulous, bold arrangements, irresistibly drawing the eye with their large blooms and bright colors.

Sunflower seeds can be eaten roasted and salted as a snack, or baked in breads and biscuits, or used as a tasty garnish for salads. As well as being delicious, they also provide a wealth of nutrition and energy. Sunflower seeds are 25 percent protein, making them higher in protein than grains. Sunflower seeds are a good source of vitamin E, as well as magnesium and selenium, for people with high blood pressure, sunflower seeds are a good choice because they are very high in potassium but low in sodium, a balance sorely needed in the snack-food industry. Substituting sunflower seed oil for butter and shortening when cooking is a move in the right direction.

Believe it or not, there is even talk about the use of sunflower oil as a partial substitute for petroleum based fuels. Perhaps in the not so distant future we will see beautiful fields of sunflowers cropping up all over this great country providing us not only with spectacular views, but clean natural resources as well. What’s not to love!

About the Author:
Cristie Kline is an extreme sunflower enthusiast and one of the editors of The Ultimate Sunflower Site http://www.SunflowerOcity.com Cristie can be reached at Cristie.Kline@SunflowerOcity.com