Tag: plant conditions

May 11, 2022 – Genetics

May 11, 2022 /

If you think you are just going stash a survival seed bank and survive the apocalypse by starting a garden, I think that you another thing coming. I come at gardening from the aspect of food quality and the potential of what you can do the with the bounty. This means that I have less interest in the care and maintenance of the plants and garden itself.

I don’t know if my poor results in seed starting this year are the results of my skill or my interest. Particularly last year, I kept telling myself that I will water tomorrow or I will plant tomorrow. The results of that were no garden at all. I do have interested in studying the variables in making the plants grow.

All that being said, I have one tomato plant that survived and one cabbage plant that has survived. Both of them happened to be on the outside of the light bank. I have a strong suspicion that had a lot to do with it. I already observed that the light was to intense before I repotted the survivors.

Whether I am right or I am wrong, I wanted to talk about the survivors for a moment. Let’s say that I needed to start tomatoes from seed (because the world has ended). If I get tomatoes and I pick the best one, in theory those seeds would have the genetics to survive in my particular conditions the next year and provide the results that I want from a fruiting standpoint. I am really considering doing an experiment next year by saving seeds from this plant. I also want to plant seeds from the original packet and check those against my new one.

I have heard that for most vigorous results, taking the seeds from plants that you grow will do better because they are adapted to your soil, climate and personal habits. The theory of survival of the fittest is in play when adapting plants that you grow. How did we get all of these varieties anyway? It was by people performing dedicated breeding.

Cabbage is a different story. You have to wait for the plant to go to seed, not just fruit. But in theory, the genetics are the same principal. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower are all related. First they flower and then seed pods are formed. It is difficult to let it go that long because in theory, the plant is past it’s prime. I suppose that if you harvested but let the plant grow, you might get the best of both worlds. I don’t know, I haven’t tried it.

End Your Programing Routine: I know that my theory is solid, I am not sure about my practical application. I suppose this is where the rubber meets the road and time will tell. I am not ready to give up on the garden but I don’t think it will be a majority from my own started seeds. In the interest of science, I am going to protect my one surviving tomato to see if I can save some seeds and maybe get my own customized genetics.

April 13, 2022 – Lessons Under the Light

April 13, 2022 /

Every year I learn something. Given my state of having a place to plant my starts, I am more concerned about identifying the variables then the results thereof. Today, I am going to talk about how my starts are doing.

Before that, I thought that I would mention that it is currently snowing. We are 9 days away from the average annual last frost date. Granted, it is not actually freezing, it is 34 degrees but it is worth noting for those itching to get starts into the ground. By all accounts, I think this is going to be one of those later years because we have this forecast for the foreseeable future.

What did I do differently this year? Well, I changed from fluorescent to LED grow lights was the biggest thing. I don’t know if it was coincidence or not but I did have a pretty high germination rate. This year I also rotated the tray every couple of days. I was trying to get more equal light and heat distribution.

My observation is that different plats are growing at different rates. this makes it difficult to have the optimum conditions for all the items in the trays. For instance, initially, I had five of six habanero seeds germinate. Whereas last year, I think that I only had one pepper germinate. These were new seeds, so maybe it was a vitality problem but I don’t think so. Four of six jalapenos germinated and three of six bell peppers germinated and those were the same seeds from last year. So, something of those variables I changed last year worked.

Getting to my point now, even though the peppers germinated, I don think any of them are going to make it. It seems like the grow lights are too intense and are burning the dicots (the two initial leaves that come up with the start). Every day, I am watching them slowly wither from the intensity of the light.

The tomatoes on the other hand are doing better than I have ever seen. They are the reason I had to take the humidity dome of as they were touching the top within two weeks. They are clearly adapted and thriving in the environment. Ideally, with each of these plants I would have the capability to cover and move the light higher or lower to get the best results.

I have thought about the idea that maybe I should upsize the pots that they are in. This is the six week mark for the seedlings and they are probably going to stay potted for the foreseeable future. I feel like six inch is probably the optimum size, so maybe I will try to get this done this weekend. The last couple of years that I have been dragging my feet getting stuff potted, the roots were highly constrained in these little starter cells.

End Your Programming Routine: I am pretty sure that I can get the tomatoes to survive. The rest of them, I will cross my fingers. But, like I said in the beginning I had a pretty poor germination rate over the last couple of years so as much as I want to have a yield, I am focusing on getting stuff started first.