[Rockporter]

[QUOTE=greentiger87;306333]I usually direct sow lettuce and chard seed as well, at the beginning of October. I'm late on the lettuce this year, but given our hot temps this week that was probably a blessing in disguise. Sorry your spinach didn't come up.. it does seem to have less germination than some other leaf veggies, but I scatter sow those as well, so i don't notice it as much.

By "transplant mix", do you mean something to grow them in until you put in the ground? If so.. why not just put them in the ground now? Are you worried it's still too hot? I could see that being a problem for the lettuce, maybe.. but the chard should be fine. The sooner you get them in the ground, the sooner you can start enjoying your crop.

As far as individual pots for transplants vs large pots with multiple seedlings, it's really a personal choice that varies with your specific conditions. If you intend to delay planting them in the ground for a while, individual pots are best to avoid entangled root system. These are already pretty shallow rooted plants that don't like root disturbance, so I'd go for individual pots regardless. But once you get a feel for the mix you're using and the age you want to transplant at, you may find that separating the root systems is no big deal and that a big pot is more convenient for you.

Your proposed mix of peat, vermiculite, and perlite is fine as long as it is very short term. The vermiculite in particular will dissolve into a soupy mess quite quickly. Jiffy seed starting mix is in fact a 50:50 mix of vermiculite and peat fines. Remember to use lime though, to raise the pH to an acceptable level. 1-2 tbsp per gallon of mix is a very rough estimate. Also remember that this mix is very poor in nutrients - fine for seed starting, not so much for growing young plants, unless you supplement with water soluble fertilizer.[/QUOTE]


I will plant the chard and lettuce at the community garden and it has been too hot for that. I found some red sails lettuce and some romaine that is ready to plant at the local nursery so I can at least start that. I can plant the seedlings I am growing after these plantings are done giving lettuce to me.

Thanks, for the hints on the lime, I will use that for sure and I have some ferts I bought the other day to use in the mix.