Comments on: Starting Tomato, Cucumber, Watermelon, and Pepper Seedlings

By: Erica

Erica — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:19:57 +0000

Thanks for the great pictures and information. I live in Zone 0/North of 60 and have no chance of ever moving my plants outside the house. I planted my tomatoes and peppers in mid-February. If you thought your plants were leggy, imagine if they were planted on a window sill in the arctic when there was only 8 hours of daylight. But they are all flowering now and I’m anxious to see if they’ll produce ripe fruit. (Now we have 20 hours of daylight, and I have to make an effort to give them enough hours of darkness).
Next year I’m not sure if I will wait or not, but I may build a shelf greenhouse to provide more light. Cheers, great blog!

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:10:24 +0000

Hmmmm, perhaps you can further explain what they look like. Are they turning color? Drooping? Leaves curling? Or even better if you can, email me a picture and I’ll write a post about it! (dave@albertahomegardening.com)

By: Deepa

Deepa — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:19:01 +0000

It is so goo to see that your plants are growing well. My tomato seedling which are 20 days old started to grow well till now. All the leaves are becoming lifeless and dull. Not sure what the problem. I am getting worried. Any suggestions?

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:55:22 +0000

I only had 2 come up out of 5 and I hope they make it……hmmmm, I need a hot bed or cold frame…..off the south of the house! Ps….only 3 more weeks until garden time!!!! I hope the weather stays nice!

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:40:52 +0000

The watermelons I’ve grown have been in my hoop-style greenhouse (cold frame). I can’t say how ‘effectively’ they grew, but the two melons I got in 2006 sure tasted good!

The watermelons I planted in 2006 were originally in peat pots that I transplanted into my greenhouse in the last week of April. Of the six seeds I sowed, only one actually survived long enough to produce. The ones that didn’t produce were planted in peat pots on April 7th, transplanted into the greenhouse on the 29th. Both were watered on automated soaker hoses. No fertilizer.

Things are growing pretty good now - though I’ve had to re-seed a few things.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:44:06 +0000

I will post current pics of my plants later today…I started my watermelons and pumpkins last week and they are growing! I’m very interested in how and where you plant your watermelons….as my father claims they just can’t be effectively grown here….( I would love to have a great crop to prove him wrong…lol) A tip for pumpkins…. we plant in peat pots as the roots are easy to disturb….(that is also from my father) How are things growing now???

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:01:46 +0000

I’ll be sure to keep you posted on those watermelons. Last year I got two or three softball-sized watermelons that never got ripe. But the year before that I got two basketball-sized melons that were delicious!

My trouble is lack of space too. I don’t have a basement, but I do have two little kids who love digging. There’s only so much space at a height above three feet!

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:59:45 +0000

I’d really like to hear how your watermelons turn out later in the year.

I started some seeds already in February. I’ve got some good sized purple cone flower, sweet basil (already “harvested” some when I pinched back the plants), and parsely. I also have some yarrow seedlings started from seedheads a neighbor gave me. I just took the six healthiest and put them in pots today. Last week I started some liatris bulbs and a couple bags of daylily roots.

I’ve run out of room under my lights and I still haven’t started the vegetables! We’ll probably buy some more bulbs and attached them to some of the wood shelving in the basement.