Starting seeds outdoors?

I'll be starting an outdoor grow this year and need advice about starting seeds. I think I would prefer not to germinate just start them in soil. I don't have any windows that get enough light so I was thinking about a propagator and/or just starting in the soil. Does anybody have experience using propagators outside? Also if I just use soil should I start the seeds in small pots then transplant? I'll be experimaenting this year using 5gal pots, 10gal pots, and digging 2ft holes in the ground and filling with potting soil. Any thought about just planting the seed directly into the ground with the potting soil? I'm located between San Francisco and Sacramento. I plan on starting some plants in late April (depending on the weather) and some others in a month and then again 2 months later. Thanks.

i would soak the seeds in water, then put them in a medium such as vermiculite and try and get a hold of a light. once they have their first big fan leaves, like the ones with 3 or 5, you can put them in the ground. they should be about 4-10 inches when you do this. it depends on how they stretch. propagators work really well, if used correctly.

I dont think l'll be able to use lights. Everything will have to be done outdoors, no greenhouse and can not do anything indoors.

I've heard it called "winter sowing" and the two major benefits I've seen is that it creates hardier plants and it saves time. The downside is you get lower germination and the seedlings are more susceptible to pests. In my neck of the woods mice and grasshoppers cause the most problems. Starting them in a cold frame helps a lot, but but not everyone needs or can afford them.

I prefer one gallon fabric grow bags or Terra cotta pots over flats but that's because of the marijuana laws I have to deal with (six plant limit) and the cost of seeds. I water the soil once prior to sowing and again a week later or as needed.

I check on them daily and if I want to germinate them that week I start in the spring when the temperatures are right

I forgot to mention, I like to transplant between the third and fourth week into my raised beds. And just like if I was growing indoors, I start my seeds in a "seed starting" potting soil. The raised bed are filled with a mix of commercial bagged potting soil and from compost I've created over the years. You can start directly in the ground, but I never have good luck with that because of the pests.

I normally sprout indoors under a small light and have good luck thinking about jiffy pellets this year then to soil

ccarrender said:

I normally sprout indoors under a small light and have good luck thinking about jiffy pellets this year then to soil

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Don't bother with jiffy pellets man. They suck. Solo party cups with soil work just fine.

i start lots outside and always get them but they are up on tables and fenced and too wet for the slugs to get so i'm good to go also i soak my beans for 24 hrs and just plant the cracked ones and we get 100 % germination rates or real close to it good luck

What do you soak your beans in? Also what size are your starter pots?

BWG707 said:

What do you soak your beans in? Also what size are your starter pots?

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soak in good water and if ya set up all the grow bags in advance and ya fencing the only thing you carry out is beans and stick in the dirt. the ones we start inside are in 1/2 gallon jugs and then taken outside depends on where we are growing as to what method i use or both if we do alot of plants

getawaymountain said:

soak in good water and if ya set up all the grow bags in advance and ya fencing the only thing you carry out is beans and stick in the dirt. the ones we start inside are in 1/2 gallon jugs and then taken outside depends on where we are growing as to what method i use or both if we do alot of plants

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I like to put my beans down in a warm, half full bottle of aquafina or dasani. that way I know they wont get spilled accidentally and therefore wont lose any of those expensive beans. they usually crack w/in 24 hr.s
After they crack, I place em in doubled up solo cups full of good soil. It's the best/least stressful way I've found for starting and transplanting seedlings.
I cut one solo cup down it's side in 3 equal spaces. and place it into another solo cup. that way when I transplant its as simple as lifting the inner cup out of the outer one, peeling the sides away from the soil and placing it into my hole in the ground. Here's a video of a similar technique, except he cuts the bottom off and only cuts it down the side once. but whichever works for each person. pretty much the same idea. BTW i poke holes into the bottoms of the cups before I do anything else (outer and inner cups).
[video=youtube;DRHzWdEORQ8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRHzWdEORQ8[/video]

Vindicated said:

In my neck of the woods mice and grasshoppers cause the most problems.

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seems same problems, I've had terrible problems with rats. how do you deal with mice?

Like most people here have said it's easily done. I've started beans right outside under the sun and had good germ rates. I mean they're seeds after all.
Someone already mention slugs. Just one of those little guys will go through there and destroy every single one of them. It's like them walking into a buffet.
So just safeguard against them and other small pests and you should be good to go. You can always cut the bottoms out of 2 or 3 liter bottles to make domes for your plants too till they get a little bigger. It'd keep slugs and smaller pests off from them as well. That's my 2gp on this.

Buy or build a simple cold frame. Amazon and Gardeners sells.them. Otherwise just start indoors

Id say get a cat to handle your mouse problem. But I caught the rotten furballs that stray around here eating an entire patch of seedlings I tossed out a few springs ago. Could just be stoner cats around here though, Im willing to bet they had the munchies when they killed and ate that wild rabbit in the field lol.

Thanks for the ideas. I think I'll try the plastic cups for some and some peat pots. If I was to find space for an indoor light just for starting seeds what type of light would I need? It's gotta be small, maybe able to start about 6 seeds at a time.

Vindicated said:

Buy or build a simple cold frame. Amazon and Gardeners sells.them. Otherwise just start indoors

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Cold Frame Made From Recycled Materials

http://doorgarden.com/01/cheap-cold-frame-from-recycled-materials

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I use a single 200w CFL bulb and hood for four plants and it does a good job of giving me a six week head start. That means instead of starting in mid-March, I can start in February. Pretty big advantage to me. If I had better lights and more room I'd start in January, but honestly that's just me being greedy. My harvest are very good as it is.

I don't know what the least amount of wattage you can get away with, but for me 200w was a good trade off between heating, space, and and the cost. My setup cost me around $180. Admitting buying a cold frame would have been cheaper since they cost around $75 and you don't have to worry about hardening the plants off for a week and don't need electricity. But when I was new to gardening I wanted a more sure thing so I opted to buy a Hydrofarm Hood that originally came with a 125w bulb which I quickly upgraded the following year.


As long as you get your plants in the ground before mid-April you should get a good harvest, even from just one plant. Avoid containers if possible. Obviously if your starting seeds indoors they will need a container, but get them out of those containers and into the ground as soon as possible.


most common mistake I see new growers make is starting to late and keeping in containers. The third mistake is using hydroponic nutrients outside in a garden. It hasn't been mentioned yet so ill go ahead and say it... stay away from hydro shops and stick with organic slow releasing fertilizers. If your smart and do your research there is no reason you can't grow a couple plants for under $60 from start to finish and that includes the cost of seeds.