True confessions of a seed starter

[Tormahto]

Today, I went and did it, I bought an annual plant.

It's the first time in more than a decade. I have distant memories of yearly buying one SunGold plant, but that variety hasn't been available for that past decade.

It was Lieutenant broccoli. The main entrance at WalMart was extremely busy, which likely meant no shopping carts in that area. So, I went in at the garden center. Most veggie plants had nearly dried out containers. I rescued this broccoli, and immediately took it to the water fountain for a drink.

I've rarely trialed broccoli, and must admit that I've never got any plants to head, just lots of large leaves. This one already has a tiny head forming. I hear the variety doesn't produce much of any side shoots. So, the plan is to cut off some of the head to eat, and let the rest go to seed.

Meanwhile a stray/feral? cat has showed up, that I'm now feeding. Perhaps it will keep mice and squirrels away. Prior to last year, I've always had at least one of the neighbor's cats living, in the daytime, in my garden jungle.

[AKgardener]

Sometimes you just got to go for it .. because not everything’s works out the way we want to I had to go and get some starts as well..

[karstopography]

Tom Sawyer, my folks orange cat, used to patrol the garden for bunnies. Tom was a good bunny catcher, less good at catching squirrels. No cats have subsequently adopted my garden since Tom crossed over.

I bought all my broccoli as starter plants this past fall. Mostly Green Magic. Great investment, the initial heads were so-so, but the side shoots were insane. We could hardly keep up with the side shoots.

I’ve grown lieutenant broccoli. It’s a recommended variety around here, but I have no idea why. One mediocre central head and little side shoot action.

I bought some broccoli raab seeds for this fall. Natalina Di Fasano Cima Grande, has to be great with that name.

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

Getting soft...

I used to grow broccoli but stopped years ago. I had gophers tunneling under and into my garden for it. Stopped the broccoli; they stopped. I do love fresh broccoli though!

I bought celery and brussels sprouts - both of which did not come up for me again this year. Must be a trick to seeding celery that I am unaware of.

[Tormahto]

Getting soft...

I used to grow broccoli but stopped years ago. I had gophers tunneling under and into my garden for it. Stopped the broccoli; they stopped. I do love fresh broccoli though!

I bought celery and brussels sprouts - both of which did not come up for me again this year. Must be a trick to seeding celery that I am unaware of.

I've never tried celery, but I've heard that seeds need light and warm temps to germinate.

[bower]

I'm not an expert broccoli grower, and don't really go for the big headed types, but afaik the key to getting big heads is to get the seedlings into the ground and let the plants get very robust before they form heads.
Thus a bought seedling with a head forming on it in the pot, is sadly not likely to produce a spectacular head.

[GoDawgs]

I'm not an expert broccoli grower, and don't really go for the big headed types, but afaik the key to getting big heads is to get the seedlings into the ground and let the plants get very robust before they form heads.
Thus a bought seedling with a head forming on it in the pot, is sadly not likely to produce a spectacular head.

I think @bower is right about a head forming on your plant. It's trying to make something before it runs out of steam in the pot.

[GoDawgs]

Getting soft...

I used to grow broccoli but stopped years ago. I had gophers tunneling under and into my garden for it. Stopped the broccoli; they stopped. I do love fresh broccoli though!

I bought celery and brussels sprouts - both of which did not come up for me again this year. Must be a trick to seeding celery that I am unaware of.

I've never tried celery, but I've heard that seeds need light and warm temps to germinate.

I tried celery for the first time two years ago; Chinese White, Chinese pink and regular Tango. It took seven days to germinate. The seedlings looked rather leggy at first but eventually get upright. The taste of the Chinese celery was too strong for me. The Tango didn't thrive in the garden. Apparently celery likes a lot of water; it's almost a marshland plant. It needs six hours of sun and shade during the hottest part of the day. I don't have anywhere it would be happy so I pulled the plants.

As usual when trying something I've never grown before, I created my own "grow sheet" with info gleaned from about five sources. Here's what I have for starting the seeds:

Starting celery seeds: For areas with warmer springs and summers, start the seeds indoors about 10-12 weeks before the first frost for a fall harvest, and before the last frost date for a spring harvest.

Celery seeds are some of the more finicky seeds and take longer than most to germinate. Celery takes its sweet time to sprout. Germination can take up to 18 days! They are tiny and tricky to plant. Soak seeds in warm water the night before planting, to help them germinate quicker.

Press, but do not cover, seeds into a starter tray filled with loose soil. [alternately, “Make sure you start with a loose bed of soil in each cell. Tamp it down with your finger and add 2-3 seeds to each cell, but do not push the seeds down. They should be laid bare for the sunshine to see!” ] Keep the lights close to the soil.

Another important tip is to avoid planting the seeds in clumps of four or more. Celery seeds are notoriously tiny, so this isn’t always easy. But if you plant too many near each other, you’ll find yourself doing a lot of thinning later on.

One trick is to dip a cotton swab in water and then touch the seeds with it. Scrape seeds off and onto the planting soil one by one with a toothpick. If you have excellent fine motor skills, of course, you can just use your fingers like tweezers. Your delicate seeds will need to stay damp. You can cover the seed tray with some plastic wrap to keep it nice and humid in there, too.

Once seedlings appear, remove plastic wrap and position a grow light overhead. They’ll need about 16 hours of light per day. Young celery plants need moisture so be sure to mist the plants often.

When seedlings reach two inches high, it’s time to begin exposing them to the outdoors in preparation for planting. Transfer to individual peat pots with fresh soil, and place them in a warm outdoor spot for a few hours each day.

[MrBig46]

I am interested in what kind of celery you are talking about when you write celery. Do you mean stalked, leafy or bulbous celery? I have never had a problem growing seedlings of any of them.
Vladimír

[karstopography]

I bought stalk celery starter plants and have also started from seed. One 4” container bought at Reifels generally had three or four plants that could be separated per container. Two seasons ago, I let the giant pascal celery go to seed. I ended up with a lot of celery volunteers. Celery is grown over the fall and winter here and gets strongly flavored (bitter) in warm weather. Celery seed takes a long time to germinate, two to three weeks, even in perfect conditions, 21-25° C.

For as little celery I end up growing, it’s more practical for me and the timing works out better to buy the starter plants. Stalk Celery like Giant Pascal is a cut and come again crop so three or four plants is plenty for our needs.

[maxjohnson]

Three things I learned, heat resistant variety, timing and shade cloth. This year is my first time successfully growing spinach so there's that. I sowed them in the beginning of April.

I sent you a few Puntoverde F1 romanesco seeds through MMMM a few years ago, not sure if you ever got grow any. Growing Veronica F1 this year which is another alternative. Give them a try. I transplanted sometimes in mid April, maybe could have been sooner. Having 4 days of near 90*F, had to shade them. Hoping they develop fully before bolting.

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[Tormahto]

Tom Sawyer, my folks orange cat, used to patrol the garden for bunnies. Tom was a good bunny catcher, less good at catching squirrels. No cats have subsequently adopted my garden since Tom crossed over.

I bought all my broccoli as starter plants this past fall. Mostly Green Magic. Great investment, the initial heads were so-so, but the side shoots were insane. We could hardly keep up with the side shoots.

I’ve grown lieutenant broccoli. It’s a recommended variety around here, but I have no idea why. One mediocre central head and little side shoot action.

I bought some broccoli raab seeds for this fall. Natalina Di Fasano Cima Grande, has to be great with that name.

You do understand what broccoli raab is?

[karstopography]

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/b ... _tomatoes/

Broccoli Raab is one of the reasons I made dried tomatoes. Match made in heaven. But, the bitterness of broccoli raab isn’t for everyone.

@Tormato I’m guessing Broccoli Raab isn’t your thing.

[Tormahto]

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/b ... _tomatoes/

Broccoli Raab is one of the reasons I made dried tomatoes. Match made in heaven. But, the bitterness of broccoli raab isn’t for everyone.

@Tormato I’m guessing Broccoli Raab isn’t your thing.

Quite.

Even broccoli florets aren't my thing. I like broccoli stems, exclusively.

Have you ever had Romanesco before? Once again, I will attempt it, starting seeds later in the year. The flavor, to me, is almost unbelievable. And, I haven't seen it anywhere for sale, around here, for going on a decade.

The last time I had it, I paid $4.99/lb for a 5 pound head, and it was worth it!

[karstopography]

@Tormato no to the Romanesco, but I’ve been intrigued by the looks alone. What type of growing conditions does Romanesco favor? Any particular cultivar that might be easier or less difficult?

[maxjohnson]

@Tormato no to the Romanesco, but I’ve been intrigued by the looks alone. What type of growing conditions does Romanesco favor? Any particular cultivar that might be easier or less difficult?

check my comment above. I have never had success with regular romanesco, so i grow hybrids. unless you have more even spring temp, probably better to grow in the fall as it start to cool.

[bower]

What do you think of Kai Lan, @Tormato ?
I like it way better than broccoli. Stems and flowers.
My only problem is, the flowers are so gorgeous... if I let them open at all, I don't want to cut them.

[karstopography]

@Tormato no to the Romanesco, but I’ve been intrigued by the looks alone. What type of growing conditions does Romanesco favor? Any particular cultivar that might be easier or less difficult?

check my comment above. I have never had success with regular romanesco, so i grow hybrids. unless you have more even spring temp, probably better to grow in the fall as it start to cool.

Oh, no doubt, I grow all these cruciferous vegetables in the fall going into our winter.

[Tormahto]

@Tormato no to the Romanesco, but I’ve been intrigued by the looks alone. What type of growing conditions does Romanesco favor? Any particular cultivar that might be easier or less difficult?

The fractals are amazing, almost as unbelievable as the flavor.

I think that I'll search for some youtube videos, to see how many chefs have actually worked with it.

It favors growing conditions that don't seem to exist hardly anywhere. I've heard of maybe one home gardener, who sticking with it, finally had success. Instead of starting seeds in early spring, like most brassicas, they started in early summer. Hopefully, I'll have time to research what does, and what doesn't, work, and see if an early summer start will work, here. If I remember correctly (I just turned 65), I think Veronica? F1 was the easiest (for some people) to grow.

Do you get cabbage moths? I know that I'd likely add a floating row cover, although I've heard that because the head is so dense, the moths don't seem to lay their eggs there.

[karstopography]

No to the moths @Tormato

Botanical Interests had a sale on seeds including the non-hybrid Romanesco so I ordered a packet. Plus, burgundy broccoli, Belstar broccoli, and that Kai Lan mentioned above. Worse case, I’m planting a cover crop for the cool season.