DaleB’s 2026 grow blog

[DaleB]

Here I go again. Last year was an abject failure, with every seedling dying before I could get them big enough to transplant. This year will be better. For one thing, I tossed all of the coir that I tried to use last year and went with some nice black garden soil mix.

Four six-cell trays as of this morning. One each of Yellow Twist Bud, Perique, Chilean, and Maryland. They’re on a warming mat in the garage for now, but it’s getting nice enough I may start bringing the outside to sit in the sun part time when it’s above the low 70s and not windy.

We’ll see how well this works out. I got a late start, but I think there’s still time.

 

[Anders A]

Here I go again. Last year was an abject failure, with every seedling dying before I could get them big enough to transplant. This year will be better. For one thing, I tossed all of the coir that I tried to use last year and went with some nice black garden soil mix.

Four six-cell trays as of this morning. One each of Yellow Twist Bud, Perique, Chilean, and Maryland. They’re on a warming mat in the garage for now, but it’s getting nice enough I may start bringing the outside to sit in the sun part time when it’s above the low 70s and not windy.

We’ll see how well this works out. I got a late start, but I think there’s still time.

Good luck

 

[Tutu]

Nice! Sure you will succeed this year and have fun during the process!

 

[StoneCarver]

The quality of coir can be all over the place and it always should be considered as nutrient deficient and requiring nutrient supplementation.
When I use coir, I always rinse it real good. Sometimes it can have a lot of salt in it.

 

[DaleB]

The quality of coir can be all over the place and it always should be considered as nutrient deficient and requiring nutrient supplementation.
When I use coir, I always rinse it real good. Sometimes it can have a lot of salt in it.

Mine got thoroughly mixed in with the dirt in our planters, where it could do no or minimal harm. When I have plenty of good old dirt around, as well as my own compost, and ready access to various potting soils if I decide to go that way - I'm not going to bother trying to figure out how to make coir work. Dirt's easy.

 

[DaleB]

Almost a month in. All the varieties have come up, though growth seems very slow. On Tuesday I thinned out the sprouts, leaving only 1-3 of the strongest looking in each cell. When daytime temps are in teh mid 70s or higher, I've been setting the tray out in the shade to get more natural light. I suspect direct sunlight would be too much for them right now - they're tiny little things, maybe 1/4" across both leaves.

I also planted six cherry tomato seeds in another group fo cells. Five of them came up. I was thinking about re-planting the sixth, but decided we really don't need THAT many tomatoes. Then I took a look in the planter after planting some potato slices, and found that we have a good crop of volunteer tomato plants from last year's crop. I'm sure most are cherry tomatoes, but I'm hoping there is at least one Roma or beefsteak plant in the mix. We'll see in a couple months, I guess.

 

[DaleB]

Wow. 3-4 days outside in warm weather and shade with occasional direct sun, and these little guys have nearly doubled in size.