New Pics of Seedlings

12 years ago

By request, here are a couple of pics I took on 04.13.12 for folks to look at. Click on either picture to see larger if desired, but please note this will redirect you to my flickr page.

This pic shows my grow box full of various seedling flats and up-potted transplants.

The following pic shows my impatiens. The seeds are started in flats shown at bottom of photo. When they get large enough (top of photo) they are thinned out and up-potted into Solo-type cups and placed in home-made wooden crates (middle of photo), where they grow until safe enough to plant out (usually around May 14 in my area).

I use standard 1020 flats with 8/12 inserts. This means that I get 96 seedlings per flat. When up-potted into the solo cups one flat of seedlings ends up filling approximately four crates of transplants. The crates are approximately the same size as the standard 1020 plastic flats. I ended up seeding 10 flats of impatiens this year which means I will somehow have to find space for forty crates of these plants. Oops! (Just kidding - everything is planned out ahead of time.)

BTW the seeds were harvested from last year's plants. I got tired of paying high prices for tiny amounts of seed so I learned how to properly harvest them. I have not purchased impatiens seeds for at least five years now.

Why do I use Solo-type plastic cups? They are not the best solution by any means, but they are convenient to purchase locally if I run short and I have found them to be more durable for reuse than the standard black plastic nursery pots, thus cheaper in the long run (some of these cups are over ten years old). I also like that the plants easily pop out of the cups when transplanting, and that they are tall and somewhat narrow, which is a perfect shape for root development and efficient use of potting soil. With the size of these cups I am also able to cram a lot of transplants in the grow box or under the artificial lights when cold weather necessitates doing this.

When I give plants away locally I always request that the cups be returned to me in return for more plants next year. UV light from the sun eventually makes them brittle so when they break or get damaged I retire them to the recycling bin.

Plants that I sell at farmers markets are planted in black plastic nursery pots - looks much more professional.

-Tom

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Comments (4)

posieh
12 years ago
Looking good! But why are you putting plastic solo cups in your recyling? They don't break down. I have used paper cups which are hard to find but work just as well. You have a great looking bunch of plants. Thanks for sharing.
soilent_green
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for your post.

I am afraid I don't understand your question. I purchase new cups on occasion when necessary, but I also have two local churches save the used cups from events and I collect and rinse them out for reuse. Those cups would otherwise end up in the landfill after being used only once and yes, I have tried to get the churches to attempt to recycle all their plasticware to no avail - too messy plus health department issues I am told. The only reason they save the cups for me is because my mother is involved with both churches, plus I bribe the little church ladies with free plants. ;)

By reusing the Solo-type cups in my possession year after year I am by definition recycling them. The plastic eventually gets brittle from UV exposure, so when they crack or split I put them in the recycling bin. Type 6 plastics are accepted by my local recycler, and it is my understanding that this plastic is shredded and reused in playground equipment amongst other things.

Recycling Solo Cups

If I do not recycle the broken cups then they will end up in the landfill. Some people around me still burn their garbage and plastics, which I find offensive and consider that method to be both wasteful and polluting, not to mention technically illegal at this point. I am taking the high road by making the extra effort to recycle my plastics.

I have tried using paper cups and making my own newspaper pots. Both were problematic so I gave up using them. There is a certain size square black plastic nursery pot that I think would work better for several reasons but it is hard to find, is not available locally in a pinch, and is sold wholesale only and has to be purchased in bulk by the case and then shipped to me at added expense. This is the best system I came up with - it works for me but I am always open to different ideas I have not tried yet.

Hope to hear back from you. This is an interesting topic and I would appreciate some clarification regarding what you stated in your post.

Best Regards,
-Tom
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buncobabe2u
12 years ago
WOW. I'm jealous I got nothing started this year (too many family medical issues) and this is so impressive!! Good job on the set up and the recycling of plastic cups.

Mary
posieh
12 years ago
Hey! Guess I should read and understand better. Sorry! I was thinking you were putting them in the compost bin, not recycling. My mistake. I knew they wouldn't decompose in the compost. Now you can wack me with a wet weed!