{"id":1143,"date":"2016-08-04T12:45:02","date_gmt":"2016-08-04T16:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/?p=1143"},"modified":"2016-08-04T12:45:02","modified_gmt":"2016-08-04T16:45:02","slug":"eureka-seedlings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/eureka-seedlings\/","title":{"rendered":"Eureka!  Seedlings!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve just had a huge &#8220;a-ha!&#8221; moment!\u00a0 I think I can officially say that I now know how to start brassica seeds!\u00a0\u00a0 Sounds silly doesn&#8217;t it?\u00a0 But, for the first time ever, there are some really gorgeous cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts seedlings just waiting to be transplanted into the fall garden.\u00a0 And it was such a simple fix from my previous method that <em>always<\/em> ended in disaster.<\/p>\n<p>Let me back up just a bit.\u00a0 I have always had great luck with starting tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, zucchini, canteloupe and cucumbers.\u00a0 No problem.\u00a0 But, anything from the brassica family?\u00a0 Nope.\u00a0 Nada.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve always started all my seeds under the shop light fixtures I use for the different varieties of microgreens I grow for farmer&#8217;s markets and &#8211; except for the brassicas &#8211; I&#8217;ve had really good luck.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-1143 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0371-1000x750.jpg'><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" data-src=\"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0371-1000x750-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail lazyload\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-769\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-769'>\n\t\t\t\tPlenty of lumens for microgreens\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0370-1000x750.jpg'><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" data-src=\"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0370-1000x750-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail lazyload\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-768\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-768'>\n\t\t\t\tGarnet Amaranth, Kale &#038; Broccoli\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>The florescent shop lights each have a warm and a cool tube which supposedly supplies the full spectrum of light.\u00a0 All of my starts have always done well &#8212; except for those pesky brassicas.\u00a0 But, as it turns out, the 1,600 lumens the shop lights produce is not strong enough for the brassica family.\u00a0 So, a couple of weeks ago, I put a hoop tunnel over one section of our newly constructed sixteen foot raised bed.\u00a0 I covered it with a double layer of row cover held in place by clamps.\u00a0 This particular bed gets a full eight hours of bright, hot sun each day and I was sure that, even with the row cover, it would be much too intense for sensitive broccoli and cabbage starts.\u00a0 But it&#8217;s working!\u00a0 The brussels sprouts seedlings are about three inches tall with nice fat, healthy stems.\u00a0 Ditto for the cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and dinosaur kale.\u00a0 I even started some spinach under there since there&#8217;s no room among all the summer veggies in the garden to just cast seed.<\/p>\n<p>After doing a bit of research (amazing how helpful that can be, right?) it became apparent to me that, while brassicas are not fond of hot weather and can&#8217;t take direct, full sun, they <em>do<\/em> need a <em>lot<\/em> of light to sprout and grow into strong seedlings.\u00a0 The florescent lights that were perfect for growing healthy microgreens did not have a high enough lumen count for brassica seedlings.\u00a0 Each spring and each fall I inevitably headed to a home improvement store or a farmer&#8217;s market for brassica plants to transplant into the garden.\u00a0 Sigh.\u00a0 But now, with luck, we&#8217;ll be completely self sufficient in this area and start all our own healthy seedlings.\u00a0 Anyway, the fingers are crossed that there will be strong brassicas going in the garden in a few more weeks.\u00a0 More photos coming when we get some sunshine, but here&#8217;s what the whole seed starting thing looked like a week and a half ago: (And yes, I <em>do<\/em> know &#8212; peat is a nonrenewable resource &#8212; but I&#8217;m using up several boxes I had stockpiled before I found that out).<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-1143 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/IMG_0517-e1469975136445.jpg'><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" data-src=\"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/IMG_0517-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail lazyload\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-1110\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/IMG_0517-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/IMG_0517-45x45.jpg 45w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-1110'>\n\t\t\t\tDouble layer of row cover\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/IMG_0520-e1469975066641.jpg'><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" data-src=\"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/IMG_0520-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail lazyload\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-1113\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/IMG_0520-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/IMG_0520-45x45.jpg 45w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-1113'>\n\t\t\t\tBrassicas just starting to grow\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>And while I&#8217;m thinking about the whole seed starting process, research led me a couple of years ago to a tip about preventing damping off (another problem I was having with seed starting).\u00a0 Apparently, in addition to fungal issues in the soil itself,\u00a0 those little gnats that love to prowl around your seedlings also help spread a fungus that can kill seedlings.\u00a0 But, by sprinkling a tiny bit of cinnamon on the top of the potting soil, you can eliminate that problem.\u00a0 It cured the problem and I never had any more fungus gnats on my seedlings.\u00a0 Plus, it only takes a tiny bit of cinnamon.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s just really cool to learn all these techniques and put them to use.\u00a0 Learning is fun when it results in tasty vegetables you can cram into your mouth!\u00a0 Yum!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve just had a huge &#8220;a-ha!&#8221; moment!\u00a0 I think I can officially say that I now know how to start brassica seeds!\u00a0\u00a0 Sounds silly doesn&#8217;t it?\u00a0 But, for&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[51,52,49,50],"class_list":["post-1143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gardening","tag-damping-off","tag-fungus-gnats","tag-seed-starting","tag-starting-brassica-seed"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Eureka! 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