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Post by daylilydude on Feb 17, 2018 5:49:50 GMT -5
Is there anything that we should do for seedlings and small fruit trees before spring arrives if we planted seed to early?
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Post by ladymarmalade on Feb 17, 2018 8:36:17 GMT -5
Well, when I find myself at that point where my plants are ready but outside is not, I start giving them more darkness. Leave the lights off for a day or two or adjust the grow lights so that they are off a little more than normal.
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Post by brownrexx on Feb 17, 2018 9:49:39 GMT -5
Keeping them as cool as possible will slow their growth too.
I have discovered that tomatoes planted outside too early do not produce any sooner than ones planted out later so I quit trying to have them in the ground as early as possible and trying to provide protection from the cold.
Even when the weather seems like it is going to stay warm in early March I don't trust it and plant early. I stick with my target date of March 25 for planting my seeds. It was my Mom's birthday so it is a nice way to remember her and it keeps me from planting too early.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Feb 17, 2018 13:25:14 GMT -5
Great advice above. Obviously the best advice is to not plant too soon. But it's hard to wait sometimes!
Are the small fruit trees in active growth or fully dormant? If they are fully dormant, go ahead and plant them. They'll be fine. But if they are in a growth stage (bud swell or open leaves) then yeah, you have to keep protecting them from freezes.
As to the vegetable seedlings, I'm going to suggest a different approach to the problem just to give you something else to think about. Depending on the quantity of seedlings you have, and your time availability, you could also shuttle your baby trees and seedlings inside and out depending on the weather.
Most likely in Northern MS by next month you will have a number of warm days and cool to mild nights, interrupted by occasional cold fronts that bring a few freezing nights and cool to cold days. Just bring them in when it's cold and shuttle them outside for mild to warm days. You can leave them outside for the warmer nights (above 45F) also. The exception is the C. Chinense peppers, which I would bring in whenever temperatures drop below 55F, day or night. C. Chinense won't die unless they are hit by frost, but in my experience they will sulk if exposed to any cool temperatures at all. C. annuums don't seem to mind some nights in the 45F to 55F range as long as they days are mostly warm and they get sun.
In addition to the work of toting plants in and out, the downside is that you're going to have to keep potting them up to bigger containers, because being in sunshine will make them grow rapidly. Being outside they will get their first exposure to pests and diseases, so you'll need to be on the lookout for that. Disease pressures should be pretty low this time of year, though. However, bugs might come inside with your plants when you bring them inside on cold nights. Hope Mrs. Daylilydude isn't too squeamish about that.
(Of course, when you start taking things outside for the first time, you're going to have to harden them off gradually to the sun.)
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Post by pepperhead212 on Feb 17, 2018 21:35:25 GMT -5
Last year, with just my early peppers - the chinense - I started them on 2-18, 11 days after the year before, but they still got too large too quickly! Problem was, the winter was mild, so the room didn't cool off, when my thermostat went down to 60 while I was at work. On top of that, we had a very cold May, so they had to go out later than usual. They ended up in 2 qt pots - largest pots I have ever transplanted from! I reduced the light time some, and kept them on my cool back porch for a while, which helped, but they had just gotten too large! This year, I am thinking of starting on 3-1, but I may make it a little later still, given this hot Feb. I've been having (70 and 75° later this week!), which would give me that warm room again, plus, the heat is not going down, with me home all day.
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stone
Pro Member
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Post by stone on Feb 19, 2018 13:17:59 GMT -5
80s here... Inside plants are all outside... Including the fresh seeded tomatoes and bell peppers. Have some seedlings up! Planted in a big enough container, size isn't a big issue. I think I seeded a three or 5 gallon nursery pot... Will divide at appropriate time. Only problem I ever have... It gets so hot here that transplanting bare root plants kills them if I don't take the extra steps of individually potting each plant in gallon nursery pots and leave in shade. Last year... Was able to skip the leave in shade step.... It was raining... Very unusual to get spring rain when I need it..l Usually a drought here. And... The bottomless sand!
What kind of fruit trees? Couldn't you just repot everything in larger containers?
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