Timothy Li

M Ljin wrote:

Morgan Brooks wrote:You are very welcome, Timothy, and I am glad chives caught your eye. If you want leaves for cooking soon, I would buy a small established plant. You can start snipping lightly once it is settled and growing strongly, usually within a few weeks. Seeds work well too and are cheaper, but they need patience. They can take a couple of weeks to sprout and a couple of months before you have enough growth for a proper harvest, and it is best not to cut them hard in the first season. Since you love cooking with chives, a potted plant now plus a few seeds later could give you the best of both.

If you know gardeners already, they may be swimming in chives and walking onions and need to get rid of them.

Yea that's the goal LOL.

T. Woolf wrote:

Timothy Li wrote:

Thanks, that helps me narrow down what to look for! An adjustable light sounds useful for my small setup. What signs would tell me that the light is too close or stressing the plant? As a beginner, I’m not sure how I’d distinguish that from not getting enough light.

Keep the light at 6 inches or so from the top of the plant, and it won't stress it. Brown and curled leaves are usually signs of light stress.

Thanks for explaining! Knowing what changes to look for in the leaves is helpful. I’ll check the recommended distance for whichever light I get and keep an eye on how the plant responds.

T. Woolf wrote:That's the question: What dwarf tomato varieties would you recommend and who do you suggest I buy the seeds from? Yes, I am growing them in a hydroponics system. I prefer the tomato plant to be around 15 inches or shorter. Mini or regular tomatoes okay. Yellow or other colors preferred but red is okay.

I have been growing orange hat tomatoes, but I got the seeds from Amazon and apparently the germination is meh. I have one plant growing. Another is starting now that I've had to reseed it twice. 🤬 So if you recommend Orange Hat, can you recommend a better source?

Thanks.

I’m new to growing plants from seed, so I’m curious, Did you change anything when you reseeded, or try again with the same setup?

Timothy Norton wrote:

Timothy Li wrote:I’m new to gardening, so I’m curious about the soil moisture part. How would you tell whether the ground is dry enough to use a broadfork? Is there a simple way to check, or is it mostly something you learn through experience?

My worry comes from working water-logged soils. It created compaction layers. Water acts kind of like a lubricant so instead of lifting and fluffing soil, working the ground instead collapses air pockets creating dense sections to form. If my soil doesn't feel sticky and sopping wet, I may consider working it. I think Judith makes a great point that soil can also be too dry and make working it difficult. It may be better described as a balance of moisture?

Thanks, that helps! I had assumed drier was always better, but it sounds like the goal is soil that isn’t waterlogged or too hard to work. Your explanation about collapsing air pockets makes it clearer why working wet soil can cause problems.

Morgan Brooks wrote:You are very welcome, Timothy, and I am glad chives caught your eye. If you want leaves for cooking soon, I would buy a small established plant. You can start snipping lightly once it is settled and growing strongly, usually within a few weeks. Seeds work well too and are cheaper, but they need patience. They can take a couple of weeks to sprout and a couple of months before you have enough growth for a proper harvest, and it is best not to cut them hard in the first season. Since you love cooking with chives, a potted plant now plus a few seeds later could give you the best of both.

Thanks for explaining the difference! An established plant sounds like a better starting point for me, especially since I’d like to use it for cooking sooner. I’ll look for a small potted one and keep your advice about waiting for strong growth before harvesting in mind.

Morgan Brooks wrote:Hi Timothy, if I had to pick just one for a Michigan winter, I would start with chives. I have grown them on a windowsill for years, and they forgive a lot of beginner mistakes. A 6 inch pot with drainage holes and potting mix is plenty to start.

South facing windows give the best winter light. A test I use is to hold my hand about a foot above the sill at midday. If it casts a clear shadow, the light is probably enough. If the shadow is faint or missing, the plant will likely stretch and go pale, and that is when a small grow light helps. I run mine about 12 hours a day, roughly 6 to 12 inches above the leaves.

Water only when the top inch of soil feels dry, about half a cup once or twice a week, and let excess water drain away. Snip the outer leaves first, leaving at least 2 inches so it keeps regrowing. Good luck, and you are welcome to use this reply in your class report.

Thank you for your suggestion Morgan!  Would you recommend buying an established chive plant or starting from seeds at this time of year?

Hugo Morvan wrote:Maybe a seed saver on here could send you some seeds of herbs in the post? If you don't have money to spend, then i would start with a mint plant, because they're everywhere in gardens. The way they grow is very interesting, they grow roots that kind of creep through a garden soil on the surface and then send out new shoots. I'd go out and look at people's gardens. Figure out which one is mint. It usually is a big patch in no time. It's easy to smell if you rub a leaf. Most gardeners are nice people and wouldn't mind you take a bit of their plant. If you're lucky they'll give you a pot and some soil.
I'm always giving plants away. The more people are busy with herbs/plants the better for me, because when it dies in my place they can give a bit back. Nature is abundance like nothing else. Sharing it creates human bonds and security.
Oregano can also be split because it just keeps widening over the years.
Basil in Europe is of a very poor quality nowadays. Starts dying before you're back from the shop. That's best started from seeds from people's gardens as well. And it has flowered in my greenhouse and i've collected the seeds. It should be still standing in most gardeners places because most people just buy a new one every year. It's very picky. I finally managed to get one that is a shrub, it's an African variety. I got it under lamps and it's regrowing. Got seeds to share if people in EU interested.

If someone offered me some mint, would I need a piece with roots already attached, or could I start with a stem cutting?

T. Woolf wrote:

Timothy Li wrote:Since I’m starting with just one plant and trying to keep costs down, what should I look for in a basic grow light? Also, how did you figure out how many hours to leave yours on?

Most grow lights have full spectrum lighting (but not UV--that's expensive and unnecessary for what you are growing) and are LED. They have 6 hour, 8 hour, and 12 hour settings, usually. Set yours for 12 and the plants will be mostly happy. Some like 16 hours, so if your plants do, try doing 12 hour and then 4 hour (or vice versa). The trick is to find a lamp that can clip onto shelving or something from above OR is tall enough so a fully grown plant has at least 6 inches from the lights. Otherwise, the plant will get burned or at least stressed. A cooler lamp is preferable, but most LEDs aren't that hot.

Thanks, that helps me narrow down what to look for! An adjustable light sounds useful for my small setup. What signs would tell me that the light is too close or stressing the plant? As a beginner, I’m not sure how I’d distinguish that from not getting enough light.

I’m new to gardening, so I’m curious about the soil moisture part. How would you tell whether the ground is dry enough to use a broadfork? Is there a simple way to check, or is it mostly something you learn through experience?

Jay Angler wrote:

Timothy Li wrote: What herb would be manageable for a beginner during Michigan’s fall and winter, and how would I figure out whether my window provides enough light?

The short answer is that there will likely not be enough light in Nov, Dec and January.  I have Mustard greens, peas, Holy Basil and Sweet basil on my windowsill but I have a decent quality grow light on adjustable chains and on a timer. The timer comes on from 5am to 10am, then again from 4 pm to 8 pm. There's an override button and if it's a really cloudy day, I will often give them the extra light all day.

The Mustard greens are a special treat for my son's Mother in Law. It is so she can make a celebratory dinner when she is settled in a "new to her" house. Neither they, not the peas are expected to over-winter. I have tried to grow lettuce under these conditions and it doesn't cope during our darkest 3 months.

Many people choose to grow sprouts in these sorts of conditions. You harvest them small to add nutrition to salads and then start a new batch.

Thanks for sharing your setup, Jay! Since I’m starting with just one plant and trying to keep costs down, what should I look for in a basic grow light? Also, how did you figure out how many hours to leave yours on?