Planting Onions Radish & Tomatoes

Feb 6th 2018

Planting onions, radish and tom's in a controlled (heat/light) indoor/greenhouse environment.

Step 1, soil processing, when I purchase soil I have 2 containers, one for the soil bags and a second for the sieved soil. Following is an example of the containers.





One container is used to store bags of soil and a second is used for the sieved soil. Any pieces that do not sieve get dispatched to the garden/chicken run for further composting.

Step 2, have a list of seeds that can be potentially planted in the current month (very variable and depends on any controlled climate available to you).









Step 3, get your seeds ready. I buy these seeds at the end of the season for pennies on the pound and would not recommend buying them in packs like this from the shop in season. Look for a wholesaler of seeds online.





Step 4, sieve your soil into the pots, I personally use a second container as a catch all mess.
/sieved soil container.







The purpose of sieving is to remove the larger objects from the soil such as bark or other large objects that will inter-fear with the plants growth.  





Step 5, place your pots into the heated dome.



Step 6, place a half inch {-------} (thumbnail) hole into each pot, personally I use the free pencils from argos/screwfix.



Step 6, apply your seeds, as mine were source last year I will apply 3 per hole. If all 3 sprout I will delicately split them into beds once the temp raises outside. The free pencil comes in handy on this step for applying the seeds.



Step 7, lightly replace the soil over the seed holes.



Step 8, lightly apply a mist of water (preferably from rain harvested water). Should it be tap water then give it 12 hours to vent off the chemicals that are added.





Step 8, apply heated dome lid and set timer plug for 12 hour cycles on your selected light source led etc. For me I use 55k for sprouting.

Nice one ALAB.

You can get heirloom seeds which are the traditional seeds and not the hybrids which are expensive as hybrids have to be first children seeds.

Buying at the end of the season is always a good idea for cheap seeds, but, have you considered doing your own seeding as many items such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and many more things are easily seeded as you just scoop them out and dry them and artificially overwinter them in the fridge, cheap is nice, free is even better.

Hey assassin.

I certainly have considered seed harvesting and will be sourcing some heirloom seeds this year.

The main problem I face at the moment with seed harvesting is the time (which potentially has monetary value) required to invest compared to time working on other projects that will offer production ROI (return on investment) not monetary, but food, as pretty much a one man band for the most part so there is only so thin one can spread.

For the price I pick these seeds up at (literally a few pence a pack, all those seeds cost less than what I could earn in an hour working for another) they are worth it for the one season they potentially give, they come sealed in Mylar bags so last for a number of years with little prep apart from storing in the right location.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." Lao-tzu Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

Hi ALAB, yes I totally understand because I grow all my own and it has to fit in with working long hours and other projects which have to be done. I have got the other half to scoop seeds out of tomatoes and other things as they are cut up such as peppers as they are easy and take no time.

With heirloom seeds you can harvest the seeds as you cut up produce and they will grow due to not being genetically modified or adapted, and I find the time harvesting them is much less than going out shopping for them; but as always it comes down to the individual and their individual circumstances and their lifestyle.

I hate to mention it but I haven't bought many seeds for many years and this works for me.

Agreed, and will be taking that approach this year as I have sourced a larger growing plot for growing more produce to full term and will be able to let some go to seed also.

I grow a lot of micro greens so much of what I produce does not go past the firs true leaf stage anyway, more posts on the way about that .

Good luck with it ALAB and theres nothing nicer than pulling it straight out of the ground and eating it is there.