This is the first year I am trying to start seeds indoors. Last year I planted seeds outside in trays of potting soil or directly in the ground, to mixed results. This season I’m up for trying something new; growing Cherry and Beefsteak tomatoes from seed. If all goes well I won’t be purchasing any more tomato plants from the local supermarket. Not that the plants were overly expensive. $3.00 got me 6 plants last year; this year I bought a seed packet for $0.20. If you factor in the light bulbs and other equipment, I spent about $20. Just have to hope the equipment lasts me a few seasons.
In a later article I’ll post pictures of my growing setup. For now I just wanted to share with you my Excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is my way of documenting my gardening efforts. Let me give you a brief description of the columns.
Date: Self explanatory
On and Off: This is the time of day that I turned my grow light on and then off.
Total: The total duration in hours the light was turned on. For you excel nuts, here is the formula: =(C2-B2+(C2<B2))*24
Height: This is where I measure growth, if any.
Notes: A place to comment about anything noteworthy, like watering, misting, bugs, types of lights, whatever.
Why take notes at all? Ideally, you want the lights to be on 18 hours a day. I didn’t want to pay the extra money for a timer. I’m not even sure a timer would work with my fluorescent light. Unfortunately, I always forget how long my lights have been on and if I have watered the plants or not. As it tracks the date, I’ll know if I started germination too soon or too late for my seeds. Next year I’ll learn from this year’s data and hopefully improve upon my results.
If you would like a copy of my spreadsheet: It’s your for free. I’m happy to learn and pass along anything to help fellow gardeners. Download the zipped copy of my Excel Seed Germination Spreadsheet.
I think they call this an ovulation calender.
That’s only if you spill your seeds.
Ack! You’ve reminded me to start my seeds. I don’t even have them ordered yet, and last year I kicked myself for forgetting. I never remember until May… *sigh*
Rebecca, I’m hoping to get some pics up today. I had a germination rate of 100% on my Cherry tomatoes. Now my Beefsteak tomatoes are following a few days later. This is the part where I hope my indoor lighting supports plant growth. If they all make it outside, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with 75 tomato plants. Make a bigger garden?
Can you write a post about planting for spring/summer. Every year when flowers start blooming and fruit/veges start growing I think about planting but its usually too late. Maybe you could come up with a yearly chart of when to prepare and plant?
Sheila
A growing/planting chart is a great idea Sheila. Several drawbacks to that plan though. First, I live in New Jersey, so the variety of vegetables I grow and the time I plant are very local localized. Secondly, there are numerous websites that provide fantastic agricultural data for potential farmers. Finally, I’m hardly an expert. Like everything else in life, I’m muddling through things and learning from my mistakes.
That being said, I do like to learn to do things the right way. I’m happy to share my logic, sources and methods. For example. Every area has a projected date of last frost. Look up your location at a place like http://www.victoryseeds.com/frost/ and note the date. Then read the back of your seed packet. Cherry tomatoes say to plant indoors 8-10 weeks prior to the frost date. My local frost date is March 15th. So Feb. 1st planting is exactly 8 weeks.