Garden chat & photos for torts and people ♫ ♫

[Sheldon the russian tortoise]

ok plant update.... I have began to harden them off and am ready to put them into there own little pots as the roots are becoming to big. Does anyone have any recommendations for a soil composition? All of the plants are about 4-6 inches

 

[jaizei]

View attachment 165875 ok plant update.... I have began to harden them off and am ready to put them into there own little pots as the roots are becoming to big. Does anyone have any recommendations for a soil composition? All of the plants are about 4-6 inches

What kind of light are they under? They're looking a bit leggy.

 

[Sheldon the russian tortoise]

They have been indoors for now but I just started hardening them off

 

[hingeback]

I just remembered seeing this thread last time. I've started planting lettuce and kale seeds about two weeks ago. When should I transplant those? I need a ton of help, thanks!
On the left is my lettuce and on the right is kale, but I have not changed the sign yet. Kale is about 4 inches.


Sawi that I planted a few days ago.


Backup looseleaf lettuce in case the first set fails, planted yesterday

 

[Pearly]

Pearly, seeds from which, or from all?

Plantains! Mallows... Ahhh.... but at least the plantains (narrow and broadleaf), maybe by some miracle I can get it to grow at least in controlled conditions (with irrigation system)

 

[Pearly]

Do you have a shady side section near a garage wall or other similar place where you could safely plant out of direct sun? Or a spot that gets no afternoon sun but does get morning sun that can be toned down some what with a lattice cover?

My outdoor "tort resort" is on East side of the house, gets nice morning light, about 1-1.5 of noon sun, and just pleasantness after that. I used to have bunch or roses there, beautiful hybrid teas that were gorgeous. The enclosure will wrap around the South side of the house which is under dense tree canopy, and eventually I think we may try to open the whole back yard to tortoises to roam around, but that's when they reach much bigger size... Man, I so wish I could get a sulcata.., would love to have a giant family heirlook jewel roaming my garden

 

[Pearly]

My outdoor "tort resort" is on East side of the house, gets nice morning light, about 1-1.5 of noon sun, and just pleasantness after that. I used to have bunch or roses there, beautiful hybrid teas that were gorgeous. The enclosure will wrap around the South side of the house which is under dense tree canopy, and eventually I think we may try to open the whole back yard to tortoises to roam around, but that's when they reach much bigger size... Man, I so wish I could get a sulcata.., would love to have a giant family heirlook jewel roaming my garden

Meant: giant family heirloom! Damn spellchecker!!!!

 

[Prairie Mom]

View attachment 165875 ok plant update.... I have began to harden them off and am ready to put them into there own little pots as the roots are becoming to big. Does anyone have any recommendations for a soil composition? All of the plants are about 4-6 inches

So are you planning on putting these in the ground or keeping them in pots? I don't know your climate, but if it's safe to start planting, I usually take about a week to harden off my plants -remembering to put them in more sun and leave them out longer each day, and then you can plant those little seed starter pods directly in the ground.

As for soil...If it's going in a pot, I just use whatever cheap potting soil and I'll fertilize during the growing season.

If I'm direct planting in a garden bed, I use my ground soil and mix in a shovel of manure or compost if I have some. I have access to actual poop, so I use that, but you can buy bags of compost mixed with steer manure at Home Depot.

Hope this is helpful at all

 

[Prairie Mom]

I just remembered seeing this thread last time. I've started planting lettuce and kale seeds about two weeks ago. When should I transplant those? I need a ton of help, thanks!
On the left is my lettuce and on the right is kale, but I have not changed the sign yet. Kale is about 4 inches.
View attachment 165925

Sawi that I planted a few days ago.
View attachment 165924

Backup looseleaf lettuce in case the first set fails, planted yesterday
View attachment 165922

Very cool!

Quick question...When you say "when should I transplant?" Are you asking about putting them outside in a garden or keeping them inside and putting them in a bigger pot?

If you're still keeping them inside, you can transplant to larger pots any time. You may want to start carefully separating the Sawi Kale soon, so the root systems don't mix together too much.

If you're ready to begin planting these outside, I'll have a longer answer for you

 

[gamera154]

O

 

[hingeback]

Very cool!

Quick question...When you say "when should I transplant?" Are you asking about putting them outside in a garden or keeping them inside and putting them in a bigger pot?

If you're still keeping them inside, you can transplant to larger pots any time. You may want to start carefully separating the Sawi Kale soon, so the root systems don't mix together too much.

If you're ready to begin planting these outside, I'll have a longer answer for you

Thanks, so how do I do it? How far apart should each plant be and how deep the soil. I've also heard to bury quite deep.

 

[Sheldon the russian tortoise]

So are you planning on putting these in the ground or keeping them in pots? I don't know your climate, but if it's safe to start planting, I usually take about a week to harden off my plants -remembering to put them in more sun and leave them out longer each day, and then you can plant those little seed starter pods directly in the ground.

As for soil...If it's going in a pot, I just use whatever cheap potting soil and I'll fertilize during the growing season.

If I'm direct planting in a garden bed, I use my ground soil and mix in a shovel of manure or compost if I have some. I have access to actual poop, so I use that, but you can buy bags of compost mixed with steer manure at Home Depot.

Hope this is helpful at all

thanks so much i think i will be potting them and letting him eat whatever reaches the ground

 

[hingeback]

Thanks, so how do I do it? How far apart should each plant be and how deep the soil. I've also heard to bury quite deep.

I might transplant them outdoors this Saturday. The coco peat will arrive at the nursery that day.

 

[Prairie Mom]

thanks so much i think i will be potting them and letting him eat whatever reaches the ground

That sounds like a good plan for a tortoise.

Mind a little more advice from someone who likes to chat gardening and can't do her own right now? If you haven't grown squash and pumpkin yet, I wanted to let you know that those plants are "fussy" about being moved from pot to pot and can sometimes die just from the stress of being dug up and potted again. I have learned that when I am growing them from seed, the best thing to do is immediately transplant the seedling like you have right now into the largest permanent pot I can come up with and leave it alone to grow. Typically the larger the pot, the longer the life span and better health for those kinds of plants. Pumpkin vines can be planted together in REALLY LARGE POTS in groups of about 4. For squash, it depends on the kind of seed. Some varieties are long vines like pumpkins and can be group planted, others grow into a single huge bushy plant and should be alone..

Peas do fantastic in pots. I grow mine in pots every year and feel no need to have them take up my valuable garden space because they do so well in pots.. Definitely plant these together in groups. Also, it is NORMAL for peas to have a shorter life. When you see the leaves starting to yellow and get see-through, you can always push a few new seeds in the soil to get the round of pea seeds started.

Here's some peas in pots...

 

[Prairie Mom]

OView attachment 165980

Wow! Is that Aloe? Impressive

 

[Prairie Mom]

Thanks, so how do I do it? How far apart should each plant be and how deep the soil. I've also heard to bury quite deep.

As far as burying deep. I usually keep my seedlings about the same, BUT when they are stretched out like your Kale is, I will plant them deeper in the ground leaving a few inches above the surface.

As far as separating the seedlings. When you plant them close together in a box like that (I do it too! Nothing wrong with it!) you're going to have to be brave and simply dig your hand in and pull out a chunk of dirt Yes, you'll loose a few and you'll need to be especially careful with your Kale because your plants stretched out a bit looking for sunlight and can break easily at this point.

Here is a super short you tube video where someone separates some seedlings. Take a look and be brave

*****Also, be aware that seeds started inside your home will need to get used to the outside very slowly or they will die of shock. If you're unfamiliar with this, it's called "hardening off" your plants. I've been speaking about it with Sheldon the Russian tortoise in recent posts that you may want to take a look at and feel free to ask questions.

---As for how far apart to plant them...Different people plant their leafy greens differently. Yvonne G plants them together in super tight rows of mixed greens and gets great results. Other people space them apart and give them a large amount of room. *If I were you, I would consider this year a practice run and experiment to see what way you like best. You have enough seedlings that you can try out a few different ways. Try out planting your seedlings in the ground as if they were centered in the middle of a large Dinner plate.--Do you understand what I'm trying to say? From there you can try giving others more and less room, let them grow and you'll figure out how you would rather grow them next year.

 

[gamera154]

Wow! Is that Aloe? Impressive

Yup its pretty big

 

[Blakem]

I'm glad I looked at this thread to see how people are doing seeds. I just put together my raised bed. Both are 15x5 feet so I've got some good space for my vegetables. I laid chicken wire down to keep gophers out. I'm going to lay cardboard over it, then compost, topsoil/dirt. I'll be planting very soon! I'm figuring out a layout, and I'm probably going to use the square foot gardening technique.

Looking forward to seeing what others do!

 

[Pearly]

hello Texas Spring!!!!

 

[Sheldon the russian tortoise]

That sounds like a good plan for a tortoise.

Mind a little more advice from someone who likes to chat gardening and can't do her own right now? If you haven't grown squash and pumpkin yet, I wanted to let you know that those plants are "fussy" about being moved from pot to pot and can sometimes die just from the stress of being dug up and potted again. I have learned that when I am growing them from seed, the best thing to do is immediately transplant the seedling like you have right now into the largest permanent pot I can come up with and leave it alone to grow. Typically the larger the pot, the longer the life span and better health for those kinds of plants. Pumpkin vines can be planted together in REALLY LARGE POTS in groups of about 4. For squash, it depends on the kind of seed. Some varieties are long vines like pumpkins and can be group planted, others grow into a single huge bushy plant and should be alone..

Peas do fantastic in pots. I grow mine in pots every year and feel no need to have them take up my valuable garden space because they do so well in pots.. Definitely plant these together in groups. Also, it is NORMAL for peas to have a shorter life. When you see the leaves starting to yellow and get see-through, you can always push a few new seeds in the soil to get the round of pea seeds started.

Here's some peas in pots...
View attachment 166060

thank you so much, hopefully we have some big plants soon