Reader’s Question: Gardening Advice?

This week I received a letter from Christine, a new gardener:

Hi there!

I read your post for first time gardeners and I am in search of a few very specific questions. I have started seeds indoors (tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, and carrots so far) two weeks ago. And i’m hoping to start some more seeds (more tomatoes and peppers) . My first round of seedlings seem to be doing great. But i have some questions that i’m wondering if you would mind taking the time to answer. I live in syracuse, NY .

1) Are the standard  little black cells that i planted my seeds in usually large enough to hold tomatoes and other vegetables the full length of time indoors (6-8 weeks)?

2) Do I need to provide a support system (like little skewers or something) to the tomatoes and green beans while they are still indoors in the cells?

3) How do I know when they are outgrowing their pots?

4) Once the seedlings have germinated and they seem to be growing quite well, is there anything else i need to be doing to them at this point indoors?

5) When planting the tomato seeds-my son planted a lot of seeds in each cell. Should i thin them so that there is only one sprout in each cell?

6) When preparing my back yard garden bed, how much compost should i add to my soil? I’m not doing a raised garden bed. I was going to remove the sod and do an in ground bed working with my soil…which I think seems average …. should I also add some kind of fertilizer? Do I need to mix in another soil?

Hopefully this isn’t too overwhelming! thanks for your time in advance,

Christine.

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Well Christine, that is quite a bit to answer!  I’ll start out by saying that since you are in my Zone (5) and very close to me (just about an hour away) my advice on all the “outdoor” stuff should be pretty good for your area.  But remember–gardening is a bit different in every climate, so one of the best ways to have any gardening questions answered is to call your local cooperative extension office–they all have folks on staff who specifically deal with gardening issues, as well as a whole fleet of “Master Gardener” volunteers!  It’s a great resource.  To find a local cooperative extension just do an internet search for “Cooperative Extension” and then your county or state name.  Viola!

For you, the closest cooperative extension for Syracuse NY is the Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County.  So for any questions that I haven’t answered to your satisfaction, give them a call!

Now on to your specific questions:

1) Are the standard  little black cells that I planted my seeds in usually large enough to hold tomatoes and other vegetables the full length of time indoors (6-8 weeks)?

First of all, the “standard” black cells come in a couple of different sizes.  So it’s hard to answer your question. If they are the really small ones (where the top of the cell is about the size of a quarter) then yes, I’d pot them on to a larger size once they have their first “true” set of leaves.  If you’ve had stuff sprout you’ve probably noticed that the leaves at first look sort of narrow and different from what you’d expect for that particular plant.  Those are their little baby seedling leaves.  Once the next set sprouts, they will look more like what you’d expect from that plant and you can “pot up”.

If you are using the cells that are a 6pk or a 4 pk, they are larger and you can probably leave the plants in there if it is just 6 weeks or so.  I tend to just use the 6pk size when I start seedlings because I don’t like to pot them up.

Tomatoes have a special advantage in “potting up”–a tomato plant will grow new roots off of it’s stem if you bury the stem under dirt–so when you “pot up” you typically bury it a bit deeper–almost up to that first set of leaves.  That gives it a stronger root system, and lets it “dig deeper” in search of water once you put the plant in the ground outside.  Also, when you DO plant it outside, if you have several sets of leaves you can pinch off all but the top ones and bury the stem underground so that only those top leaves and a bit of stem is showing.  This technique is specific to tomatoes though.

2) Do I need to provide a support system (like little skewers or something) to the tomatoes and green beans while they are still indoors in the cells?

No–the seedlings should be strong enough if they have been given enough light and it was kept close (within 1-2″ of the top of the plants) as they grow.  Also, green beans are not a crop that one typically starts indoors–they don’t transplant well and if you plant them straight in the ground (around Memorial Day for me as the last frost date) then they have plenty of time to grow.

Most tomatoes will benefit from being staked or using a cage once they are in the garden.  You can also prune off the suckers on your tomato plants as they grow to prevent them from going nuts. And since early and late tomato blight are issues in the general area, you might want to do a Google search and be looking for signs on your plants this summer.

Beans come in two kinds–“Bush” beans do not require any kind of staking or trellis.  “Pole” beans do.  Take that into account when you plant things in your garden.

3) How do I know when they are outgrowing their pots?

I’d say once they start looking crowded.  If the leaves on the plant are out further than the size of the cell, then you can generally assume that the roots are going out about the same distance.  Again–if you have those tiny cells you are probably going to pot up.

4) Once the seedlings have germinated and they seem to be growing quite well, is there anything else I need to be doing to them at this point indoors?

Well they will continue to need water and light, but not to be OVER watered.  I like to water mine from the bottom–your cells are set into a plastic tray and you add the water to that and let it soak up from the bottom.  This prevents some of the disease issues that can come from watering closely spaced plants from the top while inside.

If you used “Seed Starting Mix” to start your seeds (which you should–it’s different than potting soil) then there is actually no nutrition in the soil for the plants.  Initially the seedlings don’t need any–they use the stored energy in the seed itself.  But after they have been out a week or so you probably want to start giving them a diluted fertilizer in their water once a week or every other week or so.  You need to be careful–too much at this point could actually burn the roots and cause problems.  I try to garden more or less organically, so I like to use liquid fish fertilizer diluted to half the normal strength (that’s about a tablespoon in a gallon of water) to feed my seedlings.

When it’s time to move them outside you are going to have to do something called “hardening off“–you can’t just take them from their controlled indoor environment and their weak lighting (even a good plant light is weak compared to the sun) and stick them straight outside.  They will go into shock and either be stunted or die.  You start by putting them outside in the shade for  a couple hours for a couple of days, then into the sun for an hour or so, then up to two hours, then four, then you can probably plant them out.

5) When planting the tomato seeds-my son planted a lot of seeds in each cell. Should I thin them so that there is only one sprout in each cell?

Once the seedlings are up and have their first set of true leaves, you can use a small pair of scissors and trim off all but the seedling that looks the strongest.

6) When preparing my back yard garden bed, how much compost should I add to my soil? I’m not doing a raised garden bed. I was going to remove the sod and do an in ground bed working with my soil…which I think seems average …. should I also add some kind of fertilizer? Do I need to mix in another soil?

The answer for compost is always “as much as you can” 🙂  Compost is great natural food for a garden, and it improves your soil structure.

Before you get to that though, you should learn a bit about your soil.  “Average” is good–that means you can’t tell obviously that it’s very sandy or full of clay.  But you can’t tell by looking how “good” the soil is for growing things in.  The cooperative extension can do a soil test for you (I believe for a small fee).  If you have an Agway near you, they will do a basic soil test for you for free–or at least the one here in Binghamton NY does.  There may also be a nursery or garden center near you that does the same.  A soil test will tell you if there is anything else your soil needs to help grow your vegetables.  Once you know that  you can make educated choices about “amendments” (that’s the official term for anything you add to the soil).

Of course you could just decide to wing it and go with what you have, working in some compost and seeing what happens.  I personally prefer to use limited fertilizer, and organic at that, but it’s a very personal choice.  I know may folks who use a basic conventional vegetable garden fertilizer and are very happy with the results.  The gardening aisle of your local big box store will have some options–just read the packages and choose something basic for vegetable gardens.  Of course the cooperative extension can be helpful with those types of recommendations as well.  Personally I sometimes work in some organic basic fertilizer (Miracle Gro makes one) after planting and then occasionally use water with the organic fish fertilizer added during the garden season.