My Seedling Set-up

Goodness, is it ever a cold and rainy start to May here in Toronto! And the forecast is looking grim as far as can be foretold into the future. Is May vying for T.S. Eliot’s “Cruelest Month of the Year Award?” I don’t know, but I wish for warmth and sunshine, and so do the seedlings I’ve potted up and who’d love to be out on the balcony, basking.

Here’s the thing: according to the Almanac, the last frost date in the garden where they’re going (in southwestern Québec, in the Châteauguay Valley), is May 18th. I would have loved to have the seedlings hardened off and ready to go in the ground by that time, but I’m a little worried that the temperatures just won’t cooperate. Specifically when it comes to heat-loving things like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, one needs to avoid exposing them to temperatures under 10 degrees Celsius. Over the next week or so, there’s hardly a day that we’re going to see that kind of warmth. What’s the opposite of a rain dance? 💃 🌞 💃

It’s important to remember, when starting seeds indoors, that you have to give them a transitional period of about 14 days, ideally, where they progressively get used to being in outdoor conditions. Avoid putting them out if it’s under 10 degrees Celsius, or if it’s really windy or rainy. Start by bringing them out for an hour or two of shaded, sheltered exposure on days 1-3. Increase the hours of exposure progressively, up to 5 hours a day, by day 7. Days 8-10, they can go in dappled sun for 4-6 hours. Days 11-13 are for full exposure, though you should still avoid heavy rain. By the final day, you’re leaving them out all day and night, and they should be good and ready for their final destination!

Ok - now let’s rewind a bit! After March Break, once back in my study in Toronto, I planted 6 72-cell trays up with everything that needed or that I wanted to give an early start to. I could have started earlier for certain plants, but travel made that impossible. Better late than never!

The trays live on two shelving units fitted with LED grow lights. Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and tomatillos got a slightly special treatment with a heat mat plugged in under the tray. Every tray was fitted with a humidity dome to keep the need for watering down, and when first watering, I only used a spray bottle to simply mist so as to avoid disturbing the soil too much. I also bottom-watered at this stage, because it’s hard to get enough of a soak-through with the spray bottle. A caveat, though - I heard bottom watering is controversial: some say it can cause root rot. So, as soon as it was safe to use a little watering can with a gentle flow, I switched from misting/bottom-watering to that. Once the seedlings had their first true leaves, I removed the domes and continued to keep up with watering, aiming for an even moistness that didn’t dip into soggy territory. Once a seedling was sturdy and tall enough that I imagined its roots might be outgrowing the cell, I pricked it out and potted it up. Certain seedlings (my ground cherries, Blue Spiral Eucalyptus, Red Beard Scallion, celeriac, chicories, for example) are slower-growing and won’t need to be potted up before being planted out. That said, they’ll still have to be hardened off, with the trays going in and out along with all the rest of it.

A few notes on equipment: two years ago, I levelled up with the purchase of the 6 72-cell air prune propagation trays from Bootstrap Farmer. These are sturdy trays built to last a lifetime. I wish the trays came with the bottom trays to go underneath and catch the water, but the quality of these items is still worth it in my books. For more information on air pruning, see here. (FYI: I am not affiliated with Bootstrap Farmer, so this is not an ad, but I truly do love their stuff and do not regret the investment).

For potting up, I use either solo cups with a few holes poked in the bottom (I find a thumbtack does the trick just fine) or old pots from the garden centre (they often give these away for free!) Either way, I recycle whatever I can!

Another handy option for free planting trays: those plastic boxes that salad greens come in. I poke holes in the bottom and holes in the lids (gotta take the stickers off first) and ta-da: a handy tray for propagation with a built-in humidity dome! The salad boxes are the perfect thing to use for winter sowing, where you’re creating a tiny greenhouse and giving them shelter even as those cold-hardy seeds remain outside from the winter solstice right on through to spring. And consider 1L milk cartons for things with deep taproots that are going to be staying for a while in their pots, like paw paws (lil update on that front - 4 of the 30 I planted after cold-stratifying in the fridge all winter have germinated!)

It’s easy enough to move a few seedling trays around, but once you’ve potted up, things have expanded, and you’ll have to consider how you’ll consolidate a few dozen solo cups or little pots for transport. Even if you’re only moving them from your house to the garden outside, it would be annoying to have to carry them out just a few at a time, every day for two weeks as they harden off on the patio or what have you. I’ve been lucky to find a few free clear plastic bins put out on the curb by spring cleaners, and I also use bread trays that were kindly offered to me by Grant’s Bakery in Huntingdon.

How I’m going to Jenga all these plants into two cars for the trip out to Québec, I do not know. If we live between two places for much longer, I’m going to have to invest in something like this! In the meantime, please pray for the weatherpeople to be wrong, because we could REALLY USE SOME SUN OUT HERE! Like, the Shakespearean tragedy of the lack of it…

So let’s end with ole Willy’s Sonnet 33:

Full many a glorious morning have I seen
Flatter the mountain tops with sovereign eye,
Kissing with golden face the meadows green,
Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy;
Anon permit the basest clouds to ride
With ugly rack on his celestial face,
And from the forlorn world his visage hide,
Stealing unseen to west with this disgrace:
Even so my sun one early morn did shine,
With all triumphant splendour on my brow;
But out, alack, he was but one hour mine,
The region cloud hath mask’d him from me now.
Yet him for this my love no whit disdaineth;
Suns of the world may stain when heaven’s sun staineth.