Basics of Growing Vegetable Transplants

On this week’s episode, the guys talk about growing vegetable transplants. When it comes to transplanting they recommend a lot of the fall and early spring crops -- Lacinato Kale, Green Magic Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Tiger Collards. Obvious crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, lettuce, and kohlrabi all do better when transplanted. Depending on the certain growing season there are some crops that you can either direct seed or transplant. These crops include beets, okra, zinnias, and sunflowers. Travis says that crops like corn, beans, and peas do not try to transplant at all they just do better direct seeding. They cover everything from the best seed starting mix, the best seed starting trays, how to seed the trays, how to fertilize once the seeds germinate and more! They discuss several different methods for growing transplants including soil blocks, cheap, flimsy seed trays, and quality seed trays that last a lifetime. Greg and Travis explain that if you use soil blocks for growing transplants then you end up wasting time because they take so long to prepare. Although the guys explain that the most effective method for growing transplants is to use our high-quality seed starting trays. They debut the new Premium Seed Starting Kits for fall. Which includes a Dramm wand, wooden garden labels, four garden seed varieties, pro-mix seed starting mix, and a seed starting tray. These kits allow you to grow over 300 plants in one complete kit. Travis also explains why organic fertilizers do not work well on vegetable transplants because it takes too long to convert organic sources to a usable form of nitrogen. As a result, they recommend using a conventional fertilizer like 20-20-20 to get fast results and keep plants happy in the vegetable garden.

Show and Tell Segment

On the show and tell segment this week, the guys talk about some cold crops like kale, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, collards, and lettuce that will be great to get ready to transplant soon. They show off a tray of zinnia transplants that are ready to be planted in their demonstration garden at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. They talk about how the root ball has developed nicely around the Pro-Mix seed starting mix. The Pro-Mix is also the tool of the week for this week. Greg and Travis have been using this seed starting mix for vegetable transplants for a long time in the greenhouse. As always the guys have tested this Pro-Mix in their greenhouses for a couple of years before adding it to our website.

Viewer Questions Segment

On the question and answer segment, the guys answer questions about cover crop planting frequency and the most problematic weeds in their gardens. Greg mentions that cover crops should always be cut and incorporated into the soil before going to seed. Therefore if spring crops are finished, you would need to plant a summer cover crop and follow that with a cool season cover crop in the fall. Travis suggests growing buckwheat or millet during the summer, mowing that and incorporating it into the soil, then planting some crimson clover in the fall. Greg mentions that his most problematic weeds include pigweed, nutgrass, and crabgrass. Travis has a sample of some purslane from his garden and he explains that this weed is problematic for him because it doesn't dry and die as easily as other weeds. It is the most aggravating because in order to get rid of the purslane you must go into the garden and remove it by hand to throw it away.

Tool of the Week

Pro-Mix Organic Seed Starting Mix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IvmdyYMa74