Time to share my top secret indoor seed starting area.  This is the first year I’m starting my own tomatoes from seed. Previously I purchased plants from the local Shoprite supermarket.  Last year $3.00 got me 6 plants a little late in the season on clearance.  This year using seed purchased from the same store,  I paid $0.20 a packet and got almost 50 plants with seeds left over.   Not all plants will make it to the garden, but I can always give away the extras.

When to start growing from seed:  Check the Internet for the date of the last frost in your area.  In New Jersey that date is March 15th.  For tomatoes, you want to start your seeds 8-10 weeks before that date.  

• Equipment:  The following equipment is what I’m using, not a requirement.  The idea is to allow your plants a 2 month head start, not to raise a crop indoors.  Thanks to the indoor marijuana growing industry there are a wide range of products available online.  Unless your goal is to grow pot for a hobby, avoid the high priced grow lights and hydroponics and use what you have lying around the house
• Seed Flats – 72 tiny square pots is plenty.  The plastic cover keeps the moisture in and lets you use it later outdoors without birds eating your seeds.  The only important facts are drainage holes at the bottom and a waterproof tray below.
• Potting soil – Nothing fancy, just needs to be weed free.  That’s why you don’t want to use soil from the garden.
• Seeds – Pick something designed to grow in your area.  Check the website of your local agricultural Cooperative Extension
• Light Fixtures- Fluorescent is better as they use less power, also, incandescent fixtures get hot when left on for 18 hours a day, but use whatever you have lying around the house.  If you must buy something, cheaper is better unless you are experienced and know exactly what you want.  No matter which type of lighting you choose, be sure your bulb matches the fixture.

As you can see above, my makeshift area is doing just fine.   The light fixtures themselves I scrounged from the garage and attic.  The seed trays and potting soil I found in my shed.  The only expenditures this year were $15 for the two light bulbs. A General Electric 41624 60-Watt Plant Light Bulb and a G E LIGHTING #49892 GE15W Plant Fluo Bulb , $3.00 worth of potting soil. and $1.00 in seeds.

Seed Starting tips:

Use fresh seed: While seeds may last a few years, either use your own gathered from your best plant last year or buy new.

Spreading the seeds: Flatten out the soil, put a seed in the center of each pot, then put 1/4 inch of soil on top of that.

Water from the bottom: Pour water into the tray below and allow it to soak upwards.

Proper lighting distance: A rule of thumb is 5 inches above the leaves for fluorescent lights and 10 inches for incandescent lights, but check the package for the bulbs you are using.  If the plants are drooping, the light may be too close.  Plants should be reaching up for the lights.  As the plants grow, raise the height of your light source.  Keep lights on 18 hours a day, not 24 hours a day.

Transplant once before planting:  The tiny flats are way too small to support proper root growth.  One you see two real leaves, not those bogus cotyledons pictured, move each plant into a planter of it’s own.  I’ll be using 18 ounce plastic drink cups with drainage holes cut in the bottom.

Harden off your plants: This means to put your plants outdoors in the sun for an hour a day to start, then increase the time daily before you’re ready to plant permanently.  About a week before I’m ready to put them in the ground, I’ll put all my plants into a little wagon to make transportation easy.

Do not use fertilizer: Until you get your plants into the ground.  The exceptions are some synthetic seed starting mediums that contain no nutrients.  Just go with cheap potting soil and you’ll be fine.

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This is the first year I am trying to start seeds indoors.  Last year I planted seeds outside in trays of  potting soil or directly in the ground, to mixed results.  This season I’m up for trying something new; growing Cherry and Beefsteak tomatoes from seed.   If all goes well I won’t be purchasing any more tomato plants from the local supermarket.  Not that the plants were overly expensive.  $3.00 got me 6 plants last year; this year I bought a seed packet for $0.20.  If you factor in the light bulbs and other equipment, I spent about $20.  Just have to hope the equipment lasts me a few seasons.

In a later article I’ll post pictures of my growing setup.  For now I just wanted to share with you my Excel spreadsheet.  The spreadsheet is my way of documenting my gardening efforts.  Let me give you a brief description of the columns.

Date: Self explanatory

On and Off: This is the time of day that I turned my grow light on and then off.

Total: The total duration in hours the light was turned on.  For you excel nuts, here is the formula: =(C2-B2+(C2<B2))*24

Height:  This is where I measure growth, if any.

Notes:  A place to comment about anything noteworthy, like watering, misting, bugs, types of lights, whatever.

Why take notes at all?   Ideally, you want the lights to be on 18 hours a day.   I didn’t want to pay the extra money for a timer.  I’m not even sure a timer would work with my fluorescent light.  Unfortunately, I always forget how long my lights have been on and if I have watered the plants or not.  As it tracks the date, I’ll know if I started germination too soon or too late for my seeds.  Next year I’ll learn from this year’s data and hopefully improve upon my results.

If you would like a copy of my spreadsheet: It’s your for free.  I’m happy to learn and pass along anything to help fellow gardeners.  Download the zipped copy of  my Excel Seed Germination Spreadsheet.

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Stolen content is a serious issue in the blogosphere.   Particularly for me, since my job at CMF Ads is to approve and deny every blog submitted.    If most of the content is original barring the occasional image or video, I let it slide.  (I’m talking to you, funny cat people).  If the majority of content is stolen, then I draw the line and reject the blog.  However, every so often I get a plagiarizer who submits their blog to  CMF  Ads and then flat out denies they stole any content.   This is one such exchange.

This Blog/article site is absolutely original and written by me. What makes you think this is not original? Please clarify. I repeat this is no duplicate content site.
Expecting a reply soon.

http://factoidz.com/john-keats/

http://article-junction.blogspot.com/2010/01/remembering-john-keats.html

At the least you are double posting every article on both factoidz and your own site.
Written by you? Probably. Original? no. Unless you knew John Keats you certainly used sources you didn’t bother to cite.

So let’s see where you stole your information from. You wrote “In the same autumn, Keats contracted tuberculosis and he felt that death was already upon him.”

Now let’s check poets.org: “Keats contracted tuberculosis, and by the following February he felt that death was already upon him.”

You wrote ” His posthumous influence on poets such as Alfred Tennyson and Wilfred Owen was immense.”

http://ephemera.typepad.com/ephemera/2009/10/john-keats-gravestone-rubbing.html wrote “…his posthumous influence on poets such as Alfred Tennyson and Wilfred Owen would be immense”

Now, you certainly write well enough to rewrite other people’s work. But to say “absolutely original and written by me” is a pretty boldfaced lie, don’t you think? Congratulations on changing enough words on subjects you Googled to claim expertise on any topic. Expecting a reply soon. turnip

Hello
No, I don’t knew Mr. Keats personally. Neither I knew Tagore or Wordsworth (personally that is). But we all know about any personality or any subjects by going through some information. Can you deny that? As far as I know paraphrasing is on in the blogging industry. Many sites accept articles if someone re-write a subject by his/her own way. I did just that. I never claimed that I’m a expert of any subject. Show me the proof that I said that. I never realized that it would be better to give the refs. in side my article. That is a point you made and I accepted it. But that doesn’t mean my article is not written by me or not original.
This is my personal article site. So few of my articles could have been published earlier on different sites. what’s the big deal? It’s my article after all not others.

Sorry I don’t have anything against your site or you. But your message was insulting. I didn’t say any bold faced lie. I have written articles in my own words. You didn’t like it it’s okay. It doesn’t match your site’s criteria this is fine to me. At least i’m not insulting others. I Repeat I haven’t claimed to be a EXPERT and you are talking unreasonable things.
Best of luck with your site. I DON’t WANT ANY HELP OR ADS FROM CMF. You can cancel my account if you want. Good luck with your business. I have regards for your site and hope it’ll do great. Thanks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism

Here’s a topic for your next article: “Plagiarism is not only the mere copying of text, but also the presentation of another’s ideas as one’s own, regardless of the specific words or constructs used to express that idea.”

The reason I called you an expert is you are a paid writer for factoidz.com. To quote their website “Factoidz Writers … establish a reputation as an expert in specific topics,… and earn recurring revenue payments on their work.”

Save me the speech; you are stealing other people’s content for profit. “As far as I know” that is theft. If calling you a liar and a thief is upsetting, so be it. You won’t be half upset as you are now if I contact the original authors and factoidz.com itself and asked them to explain why they approve your articles. “paraphrasing is in” is no more true than “cheating on taxes is in” or “drunken driving is in”.

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I wish to sincerely thank the New York Jets for making the last two weeks so exciting.  With 2 minutes to go, I, along with countless others, were thinking “Oh no, same old Jets”.  What creative way were they going to come up with to lose a football game this time?  Then Rex “Cryin” Ryan showed us what a team can do when they back their coach 100%.  A lesson still to be learned by ex-Jets coach Man-gina.

So Jets win and I’m yelling at the TV in disbelief.  I turn on the radio to catch what the local sports talk guys had to say… and they blew it.  Same old Jets?  Not this year.  Same old Jets fans?  You got it:  Joe Benigno & Evan Roberts from WFAN finally getting a chance to shine.  Instead they end up fumbling the ball. 

Hey guys, if you didn’t notice, your team won.  Buddy Ryan after the game didn’t say “I bet we get more home fan support than the NY Giants now”.  Boomer Esiason didn’t mention on the postgame show “That bald headed jackass I work with on radio sure will be happy Monday”.  But what do you guys do?  First thing out of your mouth is “I can’t wait to hear what Mike Francesa says on his show tonight”.  Did you guys know you were even on the air?  Your post game broadcast could have been part of New York legend.  Instead all you care about is some pompous afternoon radio guy’s pre-game prediction.  Earth to Joe, Mike Francesa wasn’t playing on Sunday.  Even his days of looking like an offensive lineman are in the past.

You don’t have to be a graduate of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting to be aware of the moment.  2006’s “Pandemonium in Piscataway” was a bit over the top, but at least Chris Carlin lost himself in the euphoria of the moment.   Four years later I still remember the call clearly.  Will anyone be playing clips of  “I can’t wait to hear what Francesa says tonight on Miked Up” years down the road?  Doubtful.

Note: I’m actually a fan of the Joe and Evan show.  But I can’t be the only one hoping the Jets win the superbowl just so we don’t have to hear Joe’s schtick again about “Dying before the Jets win it all”.  For those outside the New York radio listening area, WFAN is where 24/7 sports talk radio originated.

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