Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Seedling Update - Flirting with Desaster.

Indoor Seed Starting
Things are coming along slowly but surely on the seed starting front. I try to examine my seedlings very closely on a daily basis to look for any signs of trouble. Some of you may recall that I had a serious run-in with green aphids last year, which you can read about here. I'd purchased several infected plants from an online nursery and the little bastards ended up spreading to the rest of my indoor seedlings, ultimately decimating my artichoke plants.

You can understand now why I FLIPPED OUT yesterday when I spotted several green aphids on my bok choy microgreens. How on earth was this possible?! They'd disappeared from the basement when I set out all of my plants last spring and my fall seedlings showed no signs of infection. Then it dawned on me that several weeks ago, I'd brought inside from the hoop house my carrot bucket to thaw out. Stupidly, I placed it down in the basement next to my seed starting shelves. Upon closer inspection, the bucket harbored a huge colony of overwintering aphids (surely descendants from last year's brood). I moved as quickly as I could to quarantine my seedlings. I dumped the carrot bucket outside and moved the microgreens onto the back porch. I inspected my seedlings and found several aphids so I saturated everything with organic insecticidal soap spray. For now, I've placed clear plastic domes over all of my plant trays to prevent any stray bugs from getting to them. Tomorrow night, I will wipe down the shelves as an added precaution and spray again in a week. I will not remove the domes unless I am confident that the aphids are gone. From now on, no more foreign or outdoor plants in the basement!

Aphids aside, here's how the seedlings are looking at the moment:

Scallions
Last year's scallion seeds

celery seedlings
Last year's celery seeds

Lettuce Seedlings
Winter Density lettuce

Artichokes
Imperial artichokes

22 comments:

  1. OH NO!!! I hope you have outsmarted those aphids once and for all. Good luck, I have my fingers crossed!

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  2. Thomas, you have the most beautiful seedlings! I have two parsley sprouts....that's all. But man, you should see the blossoms forming on my lemon tree!

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  3. Oh, I'm sorry about the aphids. That stinks. Your seedlings look awesome, though. That's very similar to my seed setup. Sadly I can't start any this year, due to my change in living situations. I'll just have to live vicariously through everyone else!

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  4. Oh boy do I hate hate aphids! Sorry to hear about that! Hopefully you got all of them. Yuk!

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  5. I am sure all will be fine with your seedlings - you did notice aphids on time.
    Great thing that worked for me on green aphids (but not on black ones) is onions, garlic and cayenne pepper all mix in some water. Leave it for a few days and then dilute and spray. Aphids will be gone in few days and they will not return.

    I have pre-sprouted some artichoke seeds, as you did, and I am very happy with the results. Thanks!

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  6. Your seedlings are looking very happy & healthy :) It's a good thing that you found those dang aphids before they infested your seedlings.

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  7. That stinks! I've never had an insect problem with the seedlings, knock on wood! Hope you are able to get them eradicated because your seedlings are looking FANTASTIC!

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  8. Ugh, we had a problem with fungus gnats in previous years. We use bright yellow cardstock coated with a glue trap like goop I got from the local pet and feed store. They are attracted to the bright color and stick like nobody's business.

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  9. I am so sorry about the aphids. I hope your precautions have stopped them. Only a few weeks ago I discovered aphids on the parsley growing on the kitchen windowsill. I potted the parsley up from the garden last fall. It was quickly tossed out the door in the freezing cold. No way I want to chance those little buggers infecting my seedlings.

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  10. Those aphids are such wiley pests, I can't believe you're battleing them again! Good luck. Your seedlings are looking fantastic, I hope they stay that way.

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  11. Well it sounds as if you found the aphids in time and have done the right thing with the soap..and in ten days time another application...it does work. Fingers crossed.

    Must say..you run a CLEAN operation! Puts my old rusty lights to shame)))

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  12. I'm sorry about the aphids but you definitely have taken some beautiful photos. Ladybugs?

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  13. Everything looks good! Bugs are a pain, I find they can just show up without bringing them in.

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  14. Aphids aside, your seedlings are looking good! I like your set up....mine looks kind of "hokey" according to my kids..but it works...lol! I am also having a small aphid problem but so far no real damage.

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  15. That's so strange that you have aphids inside the house at all!

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  16. Pretty seedlings! ACK! APHIDS OVERWINTER? Is there no killing those pests??

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  17. Another thing to think of is to let the soil dry out a bit. You might have taken your photos right after watering, but letting things them go dry just before or after a little wilt seems to work really well for us.

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  18. The seedlings all look so nice. I hope you get your aphid infestation under control. I've never had to deal with one before on my seedlings.

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  19. Darn aphids! Your seedlings look picture perfect despite the imported insects! :D

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  20. I hope you've gotten the aphid problem under control now :) The seedlings in the pictures are looking great!

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  21. Was the company territorial seed? the same thing just happened to me...

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