When to start planting vegetable seeds indoors
Starting Vegetable Seeds Indoors: Planting, Watering, Feeding Tomatoes & Peppers- KIS Series (3)
welcome to the rustic garden so this is
my third video on starting vegetable
seeds indoors we're going to talk about
starting your tomatoes and peppers we're
going to talk about when do you water
them how do you know to water them and
when do you feed them in the next video
we're going to start lavender and herbs
so let's get started with the question
that I get asked very often how do you
know when to water your seed starts
number one is you don't want them to
always be overly wet and sitting in
water or you're going to run a good
chance of getting diseases and root rot
in your plants so this is a starting mix
right here that is a hydrated it's
filled with water they've been watered
and you can see how dark they are now as
they start to dry out the tops dry first
and the dry starting mix will start to
look like that the colors starting to
lighten this is a completely dry
starting mix you want to start thinking
about watering when you're starting
mixed the top of your starting mix looks
just like that you could water that day
that's perfectly fine if you're starting
mix gets completely light this is the
color that it looks like in the bag
that's okay but you're going to have to
water that day and what happens is the
tops dry first the moisture stays down
here in the cells in the bottom of the
cells so your plants getting moisture so
you just eyeball it as it transitions
from dark you know to a lighter brown to
completely light that's when you want to
water I'm going to show you how I bottom
water I always recommend bottom watering
it's a lot easier you just pour it into
the tray if you wandering on the top
your splash and all kinds of stuff
around and it's a mess now feeding your
plants and this is a question I get
asked a lot organic or chemical
fertilizer and chemical fertilizers are
basically processed by human beings the
truth is everything in the world is the
chemical this is a chemical this is a
chemical this will not harm you don't
get so attached to the word chemical
thinking that it's deadly poison it's
not this is an organic fertilizer it's
perfectly fine I like using organic out
in my garden in my earth beds for this
reason this is usually made out of
animal
products like blood meal or bone meal or
plant products cottonseed meal different
things that have to decompose and break
down to make the nitrogen phosphorus and
potassium available to your plants if
you put this into your starting mixes
because they're not fully broken-down
other things like them too like fungus
so if you're using new organics in your
starting mixes and if you can see all
this white growing on here when you move
it around
that's fungus that is growing because
this is these are chives are these
onions that are being started and I used
organic fertilizer fungus will enjoy the
organic fertilizer now that fungus
doesn't mean it's necessarily harmful to
the plant but you're going to get fungus
growth the other thing that can happen
is that smell attracts fungus gnats and
insects if you bring these in inside and
out while they're developing and organic
fertilizer will stink this is a
processed fertilizer this is what I like
using for my seed starts if you put in
the job's fertilizer in here mix it up
made a gallon for a supply after a
couple of days this is going to smell
and stink to high heaven that's why I
like to use a chemical fertilizers now
when you're using them in the last video
I said it you want an NPK that stays
under five five five this is a three one
two that's why if you want to use it
this is a fifteen thirty fifteen cut it
down so I used about a quarter strength
to bring this down as close as I can get
to a five five five so we have the
fertilizer in it when do you feed your
tomatoes and peppers
once they germinate break the surface in
about ten to fourteen days that's when
you want to give them their first
feeding they're going to survive off of
the seed coat to start the tomatoes here
I've been fed twice they just got fed
they're about five weeks old and they
look pretty good now it's too early to
start my tomato and pepper plants here
in Maryland zone seven you want to start
Tomatoes six to eight weeks before the
outdoor night temperatures hover around
50 degrees because they like
the warm so if you're putting them out
in the nights are getting cooler not to
frost where the plants kill the tomatoes
just sit there you want to start your
peppers eight to ten weeks before the
night temperatures are going to be
around 50 degrees and that's just a
general guideline so let's just assume
that this is it two weeks we got two
week old tomato plants or peppers in
there this is the same way if it wasn't
a feeding time this would just be plain
water and this is how I do it
just fill up the see tray to about a
quarter of the way the whole bottom
should have water on it maybe a quarter
let's see yeah a quart of the way and
you can see that these are floating
that's enough water now and I always
leave one side open like this so you can
just put the water and it'll take care
of all of these as we go to planting
you're going to see these get a little
bit darker I think let me add a little
more so about a quarter of the way third
away after 20 minutes of these cells
sitting in here whatever doesn't get
absorbed just dump out but with practice
you get pretty used to how much water
has to go in there so this will all be
absorbed through the bottom so every 10
to 14 days after germination feed your
plants that will give them enough
fertilizer all right let's get to
planting plantings pretty
straightforward now I'm also planning
these as if you know you don't need
massive amounts of tomato and pepper
plants you just want you know half a
dozen or 12 of each peppers I put in
three because sometimes they don't
germinate as well as tomatoes
you know you could do two if you don't
want to waste seeds and I'm not going to
plant all of these because like I said
it's too early here I'll probably start
mine probably peppers I'll probably
start the beginning of April there's
only two in there and the tomatoes I'll
probably start middle of April so once
the peppers are in you just put them on
top and then you're just going to press
them in now I did a video where people
you know would always well how far do I
plant them I did this with tomatoes I
put Tomatoes just right on the top with
like a little bit of soil on top press
them down a half an inch excuse me and
then press them down all the way to the
bottom of the starting cell and every
single one grew perfectly fine so you
don't really have to worry too much
about depth just press them in with a
popsicle stick cover them with this
starting mix and the water is going to
come up from the bottom I like to use
the popsicle sticks make sure you just
label them red cherry starting date
January 2nd that's all you need talk
about germination for both of these in a
second now the tomatoes same process
these are indigo apples I'm just going
to put two seeds in there I'm going to
do them all to just save some time
but just drop the two seeds down in each
corner and I just press them in about a
quarter of an inch and then you just
drop some your starting mix on top and
that gets your plants started now again
in keeping it simple you don't have to
start with these starting trays these
are more for somebody who's going to
have up to 72 plants in their garden if
you are just going to grow a handful of
tomatoes and peppers go ahead and use a
cups like I showed you in the last video
let's see those are peppers and you
would do the same thing fill the cup up
just like that
the benefit of doing this is once these
Tomatoes you know get to the size over
here they have to get transplanted in
two cups three pepper seeds just make a
triangle now this one should have been
Tomatoes but we'll just leave it pretend
that's it tomato plant or tomato seeds
and just press these down about a
quarter of an inch pack it down
and you have your peppers and your
Tomatoes when these get up to about that
tall maybe an inch just cut back the two
that are the weakest leave your
strongest plant let's get them out of
there and this is what you'll end up
with you have tomatoes and peppers a
single plant growing in an 8 ounce cup
and if you can see in there but there's
water same thing see there you go bottom
water from here there's holes in the
cups make sure you put holes in the
bottom and it just stays nice and clean
this way you're not splashing the soil
around it's not a mess you can bring
this in and out of the house if you want
to acclimate them to the Sun you wanted
to get into the Sun when it's warmer you
can do whatever you want put them right
under your grow lights but this is a
perfect way to get them started in
another video I was showing people how
you could just skip the cups now those
have eight plants over there but you
could just put your plants in by seed
into and container like this and then
we're going to cut them out and put them
right into the garden so there's a lot
of ways you can start tomatoes and
peppers and doors and you can do
whatever you see for a tomato you can do
for a pepper the difference really being
is Tomatoes you're going to start six to
eight weeks before the night
temperatures are about you know 4550
degrees and you're going to do peppers
eight to twelve weeks before
nothing is exact you might even hear me
say things a little bit differently just
follow these as guidelines and these
will these guidelines will help you be
extremely successful in seed starting
everything indoors let me just make sure
I covered everything all right this is
all you need to really get these going
for the lighting we're going to talk
about that and in case you're getting
started early what I'm recommending is
that once the tomatoes and peppers
germinate and break the surface give
them 24 hours of light for three days
that will just really help the seed
starts the germinating seeds be really
really strong now when you put in
tomatoes tomatoes are going to germinate
somewhere between 5 to 10 days when the
temperatures of the seed starting area
are 70 to 75 degrees
if you warm it up a little more they're
going to germinate quicker peppers tend
to take longer
they take somewhere 7 to 15 days and
they like the heat in a gentle area to
be 75 or 80 degrees so don't worry if
your Tomatoes come up first and your
peppers are sitting around because they
usually lag and come from behind the
peppers tomatoes hope you have a great
2017 I'm excited for the new year please
check out my blog at
www.micaelaferrero.com
