Ralph D. wrote:

I have had persistent problems starting veggie seeds the last few
years,
especially tomatoes, and after much prodding finally talked to the
CoOperative Agent about it. The feeling is that I may have a fungus
around
and I am recontaminating things as I go along. I have decided to not
use any
seeds from last year (I never knew about the fermenting deal) and
have
decided to order new from Tomato Growers... I grow no hybrids and I
will
likely do a dozen of about 7 varieties (one of my old ones I cannot
find,
Spindley) but the packs comes in 30's and I'm wondering if the
leftovers
will still be good for next year? I know that I have used year old
seeds
before, but is it normal or was I lucky?

If you have trouble with tomatoes, you must have really a lot of
contamination. They are amongst the hardiest seedlings you can find.

You can keep seed packets in the freezer in a ziploc bag. They will
last forever.


To the extreme on that... I just found an unopened pack of Seeds Of
Change
Brandywine pinks (best one out there) that is dated as 'packed for
1997'
LOL! It's unopened, and has been under a stack of literature in a
little
cubby hole in the desk here. Never needed them as they gave good
seeds every
year until recently. There's a lot of shipping involved for just one
new
pack, and I'd like save $$$$ anywhere I can this year as money has
really
tightened up here.

Place a few in a folded wet paper towel on top of the fridge. If they
will sprout, they are usable.


Also... the agent wants me to sterilize all my little plastic market
packs
that I use and the shelves that I grow them on and the drip pans
underneath.
Is this realistic? It seems like the dishwasher is too hot, and the
10:1
Clorox deal seems light to me. Any experiences with sterilizing
everything?

I do the Clorox thing. Works for me and you have to do it if you have,
say, a six pack that contained garden soil last year.


Also... I was told to stop using my garden soil for seeds and go to
the
soiless stuff. Is this really that big of a deal? What if I spray all
of the
soil (after it's in the market packs) with Fungonil? I start my seeds
early
as it's hard to predict how they'll get along with the conditions in
the
house here, depending on the weather and how much the furnace runs or
doesn't. I shoot for May 1 for planting (a few earlier just for fun)
and if
they take off then I rather they be in soil so as to not have to keep
transplanting them.

That is good advice. Buy new, sterilized soil at the store for your
seedlings. It's garden soil that brings in the fungus and the other
critters. It has killed a lot of seedlings at my place. The mix from
the store is very light and will allow proper root development. You
could also consider boiling a big pot of quality garden soil, drain and
dry. If it sounds messy, it is because it is messy. I do boil some (in
a very large drum) for direct planting in the garden through the mulch,
but I do it mostly to kill the seeds present in the soil, and I give it
quite a few weeks to evaporate the water.

Also, it is a bit soon to plant tomatoes that will go out May 1. I'd
wait another 3 weeks. If they are kept indoor too long, they become
weak and spindly. I keep them indoor-outdoor starting April 15 (sunny
patio, move indoors if frost is forecast) and they still get a bit on
the spindly side for my taste. Basically, you have 8 weeks to put them
out, after which they will lose vigor. they are not plants that are
happy in small pots.




That's it for now... but the year is young :-)