We are getting close to the typical average last frost date at March 3rd. So now is the time to start some cucumber, squash or melon seeds indoors.
Starting Mix
First, you need some seed starting mix. You can use ready-made mixes, or you can make your own by using potting soil mix you have on hand. Since I always have some potting soil mix on hand for use in containers or up potting starts, I use that. I suggest screening it through a ¼ inch hardware cloth sieve to take out any larger pieces which might block the seeds from poking through the mix.
Once the soil is hydrated, add it to the seed trays. Since cucumber, squash, and melon seeds are larger seeds, they are planted at about twice their size or roughly ½ inch depth.
Next, place your starter tray on a rack or designated place, covering it with a humidity dome. If you have plant-start heating mats, they can be very helpful by warming the soil, but are not absolutely necessary. It is customary to “bottom” water seeds, so add water to the tray your seeds are in. The soil should be moist enough from the initial wetting process described above, thus only a little water should be needed in the tray. Add water only when soil dries out slightly. After about 15 minutes, if any water remains in the tray, drain it. The humidity dome should stay on until the seedlings begin to show.
Seedlings
The Armenian cucumber seeds in these photos germinated over five days from February 17th through the 22nd with the humidity dome being removed on February 22nd.
At this point the seedlings should be placed under grow lights slightly above their height. Adjust the height of the light as the seedlings grow. If the grow lights are too high, the seedlings will likely become “leggy,” because they are stretching to reach more light. This will cause them to be weaker due to the main stem being too long and thin, and likely top heavy. The first set of leaves on the seedlings are the cotyledon leaves. The next set of leaves you will see are the first true leaves and the cotyledon leaves will likely drop off.
Preparing Plants for the Garden
Hardening off is the process of acclimating the new seedling to the outdoors. This starts by moving them outdoors the first day for perhaps 2 hours. This continues daily, increasing amount of time of outdoor exposure each day for about 1 week. By then your new starts should be able to handle being transplanted into your outdoor garden.
If you prefer not to jump start your growing season by starting seeds indoors, cucumbers, squash, and melon seeds can be started in the ground in late March. Just be sure to check the long-range weather forecast to see if any possible freezing temperatures might happen.
Tim Long has been a UC Master Gardener in Stanislaus County since 2020. All photos are by the author.
/h3>/h3>/h3>Now is the time to start thinking about which delicious vegetables you want to grow in your garden. Ted and Rho will go over all the possibilities with you in this class.
Spring Vegetables
These vegetables don't mind the cold and can be planted from seed in February. They may grow slowly, but as weather warms they will grow more quickly. Lettuce, Swiss Chard, arugula, mustard greens, and other leafy greens do well. Radishes, beets, carrots, turnips, and happy during this time as well. However, by late spring/early summer, many of these plants can't take the heat and may “bolt,” sending up flower stalks that the bees enjoy.
Summer Vegetables
You can plant these vegetables from seed or transplant in late March. They prefer warm weather and may “sulk” and grow very slowly if you plant them too early. These vegetables include melons, squash, winter squash, corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
Hope to “see” you there!
Where*: On Zoom. You will receive a link the morning of the class.
When: Tuesday, February 22, 2022 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Cost: Free
Register at: http://ucanr.edu/spring/veg/2022
Instructors: Master Gardeners Rho Yare and Ted Hawkins
/h4>/h4>/h4>
- Author: Ed Perry
Symptoms of Blossom-End Rot
The first symptom is usually the appearance of a small spot at or near the blossom scar of green fruits. As the spot enlarges, the affected tissues dry out and become light brown to dark brown. The area then develops into a well defined sunken spot, with the tissues collapsed and leathery. The spot can grow large enough to cover the entire bottom half of the fruit. The skin remains unbroken because it is the tissues beneath that have dried out and collapsed. The disorder not only affects tomatoes, but can also occur on peppers and squash. While the fruit looks unappetizing, you can still eat it - just cut out the affected part.
Causes of Blossom-End Rot
Tips for Preventing Blossom-End Rot
There are several things you can do to prevent the calcium deficiency, and blossom end rot. First, water deeply, and on a regular schedule, especially during hot weather. Use a soil-covering mulch around your plants to conserve moisture, especially if your soil is sandy. If you are growing tomatoes in containers filled with a porous potting soil, you may need to water the plants every day during hot periods. When cultivation is necessary, it should not be too near
the plants nor too deep, so that valuable water absorbing roots remain uninjured and viable. The best way of preventing the disorder is to maintain adequate and uniform soil moisture in the root zone throughout the growing season.
More Questions about Vegetables?
Stay tuned for an announcement about an upcoming in person class in August! In the meantime, fill out our Ask a Master Gardener survey http://ucanr.edu/ask/ucmgstanislaus and attach any applicable photos.
References
UC IPM http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/ENVIRON/blossomendrot.html
Ed Perry is the emeritus Environmental Horticultural Advisor for University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) in Stanislaus County where he worked for over 30 years.
/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>- Author: Anne E Schellman
In August we featured an article by former Environmental Horticulture Advisor, Ed Perry, called "Save the Right Seeds."
This article discussed how to successfully choose which vegetable seeds to save to plant in your garden next year.
Now, we wanted to follow up with tips for how to save your chosen seeds. Master Gardeners Royce Rhoads and Heidi Aufdermaur taught this class last year, and plan to teach it again in 2021.
Here is a list of items to gather. Most likely you already have most of them:
-Tomato
-Marker and masking tape
-Knife and spoon
-Jars and rings; or just use paper cups
-Paper towels or cheesecloth
-Fine mesh or strainer
-Paper plates for drying
-Letter envelopes
Most people save tomato seeds, so let's go over the steps to save them. Tomato seeds have a gooey covering over them that needs to be removed first.
Allowing the seeds to sit in water lets “good” bacteria break down that covering. The empty seeds will float and you can skim them off. The seeds you want are at the bottom of the jar.
Step 1: Label the outside of your jar with masking tape and a permanent marker.
Step 2: Cut tomato, scoop out seeds & put into jar.
Step 3: Fill your jar, with the seeds in it, 1/2 full of water. Cover with paper towel/cheesecloth.
Step 4: Two days later, skim off floating seeds and remove.
Step 5: Wait a few more days until a film forms on the surface (fermentation* process).
Step 6: Strain the pulp through a screen until seeds separate. Spread onto labeled plate until dry for a few days.
Step 7: Label a paper mailing envelope and add seeds. Make sure to include the date.
Your seeds can last up to 4 years if stored in a cool, dry, dark place. Did you save any seeds using this post? If so, please tell us how you did in the comments below!
Vegetables such as peppers, eggplants, and melons are much easier to save than tomato seeds. Just remove and spread them out to dry. Squash seeds are also easy, but may need a little bit of cleaning by straining and rinsing with water.
- Author: Ed Perry
Hybrid
Most of the dependable varieties of vegetables that you grow in your garden are from hybrid seeds that were developed to improve the yield, quality, and dependability of crops. However, along with these advantages, the opportunity to grow seeds at home was lost because hybrid seed must be grown under very special conditions not found in most home gardens.
Hybrid seeds result from crosses between parent plants that are unlike. These crosses bring together the desirable characteristics of the parents, and allow you to grow better quality vegetables. However, any seed you save from hybrid plants and grow the next season will produce plants and fruits that have unknown and usually unfavorable characteristics. If you want to grow hybrids, the only solution is to purchase new hybrid seeds each season.
Open pollinated from plants that cross with other kinds of plants
A number of vegetable crops, including corn, squash and melons, cross-pollinate in your garden. In order to grow genetically sound seed from these crops, you must plant them at a considerable distance from similar plants. The distance varies for different crops, but ranges from several hundred feet to a quarter of a mile. Saving seeds from this group of vegetables is likely to give you disappointing results, unless you enjoy growing odd vegetables.
Open pollinated from plants that do not cross with other kinds of plants
Examples are tomatoes (non-hybrids), peas, beans, peppers and eggplant. You may save satisfactory seed from these crops from one year to the next for several years. However, even with these crops, a little genetic change takes place from year to year, so it's a good idea to get new seed every three to four years.