Day 43
UPDATE#6
Grower update
Update #6
Here is an updated photo of the Chinese cabbage. I have another container of them, but something is chewing holes in the leaves. I will put out slug bait and see if that fixes the problem.
GrowLog
TransplantedMixed Seed-Starting Project Led by Outdoor Chinese Cabbage
Grow log by Sher · Original thread
6 visual updates6 photos20 replies
View recapCrop🍅Green onion, rutabaga, Chinese cabbage, pepper, tomato
VarietySweet Heat pepper, Orange Hat tomato, Venus tomato
MethodAeroGarden seed starting, outdoor container cultivation, coco-coir trial
EquipmentAeroGarden seed-starting bowl, outdoor containers
Plants23
AudienceAdvanced
What you can learnA broad seed-starting experiment with several crops, detailed hardening technique, transplant-timing comparison, and outdoor pest observations.
Actions:2 Finished1 Planting1 Equipment1 Nutrients1 Transplant
Useful practices
- raising the light
- adding nutrients and calcium-magnesium
- hardening seedlings in the removable starter bowl
- staggering Chinese-cabbage transplant timing
- monitoring outdoor storm and pest damage
Problems encountered
- rutabaga light burn and poor growth
- slow Sweet Heat germination
- transplant shock in later cabbage batch
- leaf-chewing pest damage
*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.
Conversation
U
They still look good! Here the night leaf munching bugs earwigs! If one is brave enough to go out with a flashlight they will get creeped out! They live in the damp mulch.
S
Oh, yuck!!!! There are some things I would rather not see!
Day 27
UPDATE#5
Grower update
Update #5
Rains from Sally will be hitting us soon. I thought I'd get an updated photo in case the rain beats them to tatters. I think I'll go ahead and harvest the biggest, prettiest one now, even though I think it's a little early.
Conversation
E
I love that vibrant shade of green!
U
I would definitely purchase that if I saw it in the farmer's market section of my store
S
It looks great. I also hope you do not get too much rain that causes any issues.
S
Shawn, we got a lot of rain all night long, some heavy. It is still raining, but my plants appear unharmed so far. My marigolds loved it. They are really putting on a display this morning! And the pepper plants came through well, too. I just hope they didn't get enough rain to cause fungal problems. Some sun and wind ought to take care of them.
S
Glad to know they are all ok.
Day 22
UPDATE#4
Grower update
Update #4
Actions taken
TransplantMoved five cabbages first and the remaining seedlings three days later.
I got 5 of the Chinese cabbages transplanted straight out of the seed starter without the first hint of transplant shock. I planted the others 3 days later, and they did suffer a bit of transplant shock. I think I left them in the seed starter too long without enough nutrients. Here is a photo of the first 5.
Day 15
UPDATE#3
Grower update
Update #3
Actions taken
FinishedAcclimated the cabbage by moving the entire seed-starter bowl outdoors for progressively longer periods.
FinishedThrew away the rutabaga seedlings after a diet change.
Here are the Chinese cabbage so far. I am hardening them off in the seed starter bowl itself. I just remove the bowl and set it outdoors, gradually increasing the time each day. i have done that with several crops I planned to plant outdoors with 100% success. It makes it so easy! My doctor put me on a low carb diet with no root vegetables. So I had to toss the baby rutabagas.
Conversation
U
Did your tent arrive yet,sher?
S
Corinne, I rethought the tent idea. I would have to worry about keeping the heat and humidity down, and make sure the light placement and air circulation was just right. I deal with keeping heat down and air circulation in my Kratky closet. I finally decided to expand the shelf space in the closet to make room for DWC projects, too. For the mini DWCs the little coolers cost $12 and the pumps $13 -- and the pump has a splitter that will service 2 units. That seems easier and much more affordable. Plus I bought another Harvest 360 for seed starting.
W
Looking green and healthy. Will you plant them outdoors in soil or a container?
S
They will be going into containers as soon as the temperatures drop out of the 90's and high 80's. I am having to harden them off very gradually. If I planted them anywhere except my deck, the deer and rabbits would wipe them out in one day.
Day 7
UPDATE#2
Grower update
Update #2
Actions taken
EquipmentRaised the grow light after rutabaga seedlings burned.
NutrientsAdded nutrients and then calcium-magnesium when rutabagas remained weak.
Everything is doing well except for the rutabagas. They were getting burned by the light, so I raised it. They still looked puny, so I added nutes. They were still looking puny, so I added calmag. I think I will transplant them into coco coir and start hardening them off. If they make it, they make it. If not, the Chinese cabbage is looking great. The micro tomatoes look happy. Still waiting for the Sweet Heats to sprout. The onions look funny!
Conversation
U
great progress in just a few days
Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update
Update #1
Actions taken
PlantingPlanted green onions, rutabagas, Chinese cabbage, Sweet Heat peppers, Orange Hat tomato, and Venus tomatoes.
I have seeds planted for both indoor and outdoor growing: 4 clumping green onions 5 rutabagas 8 Chinese cabbage 3 Sweet Heat peppers 1 Orange Hat micro tomato 2 Venus micro toms -- free seeds from Renaissance
Conversation
U
someone is gonna have fun! sounds good,sher!
S
Lots and lots of fun !
W
Excited to see these fall crops come along!