Show OFF your Seedlings ..2017

[Spike2]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

I always feel left out in these threads because mine are always to fruit ripening stage when the rest of the country is starting seeds.

I always feel left out also. I am still at least a month away from starting seeds. I LOVE this thread but it also makes me twitchy to get started.

[Spartanburg123]

Originally Posted by Spike2

I always feel left out also. I am still at least a month away from starting seeds. I LOVE this thread but it also makes me twitchy to get started.

You'll get there Spike! In no time you'll be slicing up a big red mater in your kitchen, covering a sandwich....

[Haraldsdotter]

I have pepper babies! I would post a picture (who doesn't have pictures of their new babies, right?) but I haven't figured out how to do that yet

[svalli]

Here are my babies, which are just straightening their necks. Jaune Flammee was first to come up and they got a bit tall, before I took the cover off and put them under light. These were sown on Monday and first were coming up on Friday. Even some seeds from 2007 were sprouting in just 4 days. I sprayed them everyday with diluted kelp extract with a bit epsom salt mixed in.
And as you can see from the background, it will be still some time before these can be moved to the greenhouse.

Sari

[rhines81]

1 of several trays at 2 weeks (+/-). I had them out and decided to take a picture. Prior to their 1st small fertilizer dose.



A mix of peppers and tomatoes (mostly tomatoes).

[Cole_Robbie]

greenhouse visitor. There is a hive nearby.

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

greenhouse visitor. There is a hive nearby.

Picture reminds me of a Johnny Lee song ... "Looking for buds in all the wrong places", but I may have the words wrong.

[Cole_Robbie]

Here's how my plants are spending the night. I have two 220 gallon stock tanks of water, with a piece of plywood over that, plus the tank on the end, plus a small one underneath the shelf near the end. I put a 1500 watt space heater between the two tanks. The hoops are then covered in plastic. I can get a balmy 20 degrees warmer in there than the rest of the greenhouse, which is a lot better than I ever did trying to heat the entire place.

[Andrey_BY]

John,
what a great amount of seedlings!
Hope you won't have your first tomato fruit before you get De Barao Polosatyi tomato seeds and some extras from me in a week or so

[loulac]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

Here's how my plants are spending the night.

Big thanks for showing us your seedling area, quite impressive. As you are obviously a professional you may answer a question I can’t take out of my mind.
In Time, Sunday February 26th I read :rury 26th day
http://www.foodandwine.com/travel/re...wsletter-brief
Considering that the average food item in America has traveled 1,500 miles from the farm to your plate, according to Worldwatch Institute, eating local—for your health, the environment, and your taste buds—is only logical.

Now my question : Do ”non-industrial” producers only sell their products on markets or can they sell to stores mostly selling local products ?

In the same article we find a list of “The Best Farm-to-Table Restaurant in Every State“. The dishes shown make my mouth water…

[Cole_Robbie]

Thanks guys.

It is possible to sell to stores and restaurants beyond the farmer's markets. There are a few difficulties. Some restaurant owners want to try to buy local, but they are not willing to pay a premium for the product. There is a co-op grocery that is the easiest store to sell to, but of course the farmer is only going to get about half of the retail price.

I see a lot of grocery stores touting "local" produce, but when I read the label, it might have been grown 100-200 miles away. Is that local? Sort of....

Small farms do well selling shares to their customers, who commit to taking a basket of whatever is available once or twice a month.

[AKmark]

Cole, that is a great way to create a micro climate inside of a GH, you can also stick a MH or HPS in there to add heat and light. A GH up the road does mini rooms like that for certain flowers. Great idea.

[Psalms441]

Prudens Purple seedlings, will be planted outside next week.

[BigVanVader]

Originally Posted by loulac

Big thanks for showing us your seedling area, quite impressive. As you are obviously a professional you may answer a question I can’t take out of my mind.
In Time, Sunday February 26th I read :rury 26th day
http://www.foodandwine.com/travel/re...wsletter-brief
Considering that the average food item in America has traveled 1,500 miles from the farm to your plate, according to Worldwatch Institute, eating local—for your health, the environment, and your taste buds—is only logical.

Now my question : Do ”non-industrial” producers only sell their products on markets or can they sell to stores mostly selling local products ?

In the same article we find a list of “The Best Farm-to-Table Restaurant in Every State“. The dishes shown make my mouth water…

A lot of the local movement is mostly talk unfortunately. When I approached a restaurant called Farm to Table about buying produce they wanted it delivered, the option to cancel orders, pay less than $1 lb for tomatoes and for me to be willing to match the lowest prices they could find. So in short they want me to give them free produce to increase their sales. This is typical of the kind of challenges a small grower faces. We can't compete with mass production tomatoes in price w/o cutting off our own heads.

[Gerardo]

I ran into similar situations. Restaurants seem to prefer cheap virus laden Romas, when they splurge they go with costco tomatoes from Bionatur, paying about 3 dollars for a sixpack of medium hydroponic reds that are what one would expect, grainy and reminiscent of brown pulp in both texture and taste.