Tips on planting
vegetables from sprouts or seeds
Brian Jervis: Ask a Master Gardener
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Q: Which vegetables should be planted as
sprouts? If I grow my own, when should I start from seed? Kurt, Tulsa.
A:
Some vegetables do best
when planted as sprouts, rather than sown directly as seeds. To obtain the
information as to which vegetables should be planted as sprouts and how long it
takes them to grow from seed to transplants ready to be planted in the garden,
obtain the OSU fact sheet “Growing Vegetable Transplants.” This has complete
information about commonly grown vegetables in Oklahoma.
Many of the vegetables take from 5-7 weeks —
some shorter — to reach the stage where they are ready to be transplanted into
the garden. To decide when to start the seeds, you should get another OSU fact
sheet “Garden Planning Guide,” which gives a suggested date to plant each
vegetable. From these two documents, you can decide when to start the sprouts
from seeds. The Garden Planning Guide also lists how to plant and the time to
maturation of all vegetables.
Vegetables that you should consider starting
from seed now are tomatoes and those in the tomato family (peppers and
eggplant), as well as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, squash,
watermelon and others.
Fresh seeds may be obtained from all the local
garden centers, by ordering online or from a catalog. Some of the catalogs have
extensive varieties of vegetables, which may not be available locally as
sprouts.
To be successful in growing transplants, one
needs to understand and control several factors. This includes having the
proper fertile soil in which to plant, ensuring adequate lighting and
controlling the temperature, as well as water and humidity.
The soil in which seeds are started is important.
It should be sterile and drain well to prevent a common fungal disease of
sprouts called “damping off” (some seeds are coated with a fungicide to help
prevent this). You may make soil from a combination of various amounts of
topsoil, peat, sand and/or vermiculite. However, if you make your own, it must
be sterilized by placing it in an oven — a messy and stinky process. It is best
to buy sterile soil mixes available in most garden centers.
After planting, the soil should be kept moist
and never allowed to become dry or soggy. If your container is placed in a
large, clear plastic bag, good humidity can be maintained and less frequent
watering will be needed.
Seeds germinate and sprouts grow best next to a
sunny window. However, if this is not an option, one of several types of
grow-lights are available in most garden centers. However, sprouts grown under
artificial light tend to be leggy and weaker than those grown in the sun.
Gradually harden the plants for a week before
planting. This may be done by placing them outside during the day and bringing
them in at night. Then they will be ready for transplanting into your garden.
Garden tips
§ Ornamental perennial grasses such as pampas
grass may be cut back to 4-6 inches anytime in winter. However, because of
winter attractiveness, most gardeners choose to wait until early spring to cut
them back. All of the dead tops of these grasses should be removed by early
spring, allowing sun to get to new growth.
§ Liriope or "monkey grass"—which is not
a grass, but in the lily family—stays green year-round; it also benefits from
trimming to 2-3 inches before new growth begins in spring. Liriope and all ornamental
grasses will benefit from nitrogen fertilizer in spring when pruned.
§ Prune fruit trees in January, February and
March. OSU has a good fact sheet on pruning fruit trees, "Annual Pruning
of Fruit Trees".
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