Food for Everyone Foundation

Q. I saw something on Joy in the Garden (a Salt Lake TV show) that says you can plant tomato seedlings in a Wall O Waters now, and have very early tomatoes. She said that when water freezes it gives off heat, and this is what protects the little plants. Has anyone tried this? It […]

Q. I read that if you leave your light source only about 6 or 7 inches above your plants it will help defeat them getting leggy, is this right? The problem is that I feel the plant light I have over them right now may be too strong and that I might burn them, so […]

Q. My tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and cabbage are dying only hours after taking them outside! What have I done wrong? The room they were in has a West-facing window, so they received 2-3 hours of sun on sunny days. I put fertilizer in the potting soil, but did not feed them after that. A. It […]

Q. Why are my kitchen-window-grown plants so weak? On taking them outside they turn yellow, burn, and many die the first day. A. The whole reason for growing plants early – in the house or greenhouse – is to give them a headstart under good growing conditions. The key to success, however, is accomplishing the […]

Your goal when growing seedlings is to make them as strong and sturdy as possible, and do it as quickly as possible. Excellent instructions for growing healthy seedlings are contained in Let’s Grow Tomatoes pages 51-53 and Grow-Bed Gardening pages 86 – 92, and Grow-Bed Gardening has many pictures illustrating the procedure. Regrettably, both these […]

If you are using an exterior seedhouse and it’s cold, build a small second covering on one of the tables, then place a small electric heater beneath it. That way, rather than trying to heat a large greenhouse in cold weather, you’re only heating the small area for a few flats of new seedlings. A […]

Common mistakes in growing seedlings include: 1) Not maintaining even temperatures between 70+ and 80+ degrees Fahrenheit during seed germination, emergence, and formation of first true leaves. 2) Not giving the seedlings full sunlight immediately upon emergence and all day thereafter – or if using grow-lights at least 16 hours of light each day. 3) […]

Q. I was asked to look at a greenhouse full of seedlings that were not growing, and in various stages of dying, in the hopes that I could save the crop. Here’s what I found was wrong – for starters. A. The trays or flats were built with no drainage. Number one No-No! Plants must […]

Q. What conditions are necessary for germinating my pepper and tomato seeds? How long will it take? A. Peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant like the soil temperatures to be at least 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and they will germinate much faster in the low to mid-80’s. Tomatoes can germinate in less than a week under ideal conditions, […]

Pepper seedlings are among the hardest vegetable plants to grow, and some hot peppers are even more difficult than the sweet peppers. Seeds should be planted at least 8 weeks before the ALFD (average last frost date) in your immediate area. And you should not transplant the seedlings into your garden until after the ALFD. […]