Germination (and then Termination)

Back on January 12th we posted THIS BLOG POST describing how we started our tomato, pepper and eggplant seeds indoors.  I thought it was time that we updated you on the progress of the seeds.  I keep the seeding trays on top of a cabinet in our utility room.  Hot air rises and to spur germination, you need moist AND warm soil.  Obviously light is a non-factor until the seeds sprout.  My main concern is to keep the soil moist, so each morning and evening I climb up on top of the washer and dryer and spray the soil in the seed pots with water.

On Day 10 after sowing the seed, this sight greeted me as I watered the soil:

Tomato Seed Germination!

Prior to sprouting, I keep the seed pots covered with plastic wrap in order to keep the soil moist while I'm at work.  When sprouting occurs, I remove the plastic wrap. Things were looking great so far. All of the varieties of seeds sprouted.  I calculated the germination statistics for each variety that we planted and it appears that we experienced a 100% germination rate on most of the heirloom tomato varieties that we started.  Fantastic!

Popping out of the soil, eager to grow

Now that we have tiny green leaves, light is needed.  I moved a four foot long fluorescent shop light that normally hangs over the workbench in the garage and propped it up with four canned goods on each side and turned it on.  The light provided will give the plants the 'artificial sunlight' they need to grow.  I once tried to just grow them near a window, but they grew so "leggy" that I decided that the plants just grew better under fluorescent lights.  You can see the spray bottle of water in the photo below.  I use it to water the seedlings.

Seedlings under the grow light

The peppers and eggplant have a longer germination period than do tomatoes, so I keep plastic wrap over them until they sprout.  

Peppers & Eggplants not sprouted yet and still covered

Looking back a bit, you can see the grow light up on top of the cabinet in the utility room.  As you can see this is a first class, professional organization (sarcasm!). You can also see the 3 milking buckets lined up ready for tomorrow morning. Daisy, Rosie, and Amy each have their own bucket.

The Seed Sprouting, Milk Pouring, Bucket Washing, Clothes Washing & Drying Room

Back to our discussion on seeds and their germination.  It would be nice to sit here and tell you that everything always works.  That would be a fat lie.  It doesn't.  I normally water the seedlings every evening and every morning.  Yesterday morning I forgot to water the seedlings as I dashed out the door on the way to my "real job." Last night when I hopped up on top of the washer and dryer, I was met with a sad sight.  About half of my tomato seedlings were dried, died, and laid to the side.  A hopeful post that began optimistically talking about germination has taken a 180 degree turn for the worse and now we're talking about termination!  Poor shriveled, dried out remains of what was once healthy vigorous tomato seedlings until my forgetfulness...

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust...

But as Winston Churchill famously said:

Image Credit

I've started my seeds early enough to allow for such miscues.  It's not too late to start all over again. I'll simply replant tonight and hopefully, armed with knowledge gained from the results of my oversight, I won't repeat the same mistake twice. Happy Growing, Y'all!