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Your Questions About Indoor Gardens Pa

June 18th, 2011 by Garden Lover

Susan asks…

Hardening off Container Plants in PA?

I have an indoor garden of plants in containers that I wish to harden off to bring outside. When is the best date/time/temp to start the hardening off progress? The plants are mostly Brugmansias which are zone 8, I live in Pennsylvania in Zone 5? Thanks

Garden Lover answers:

You really cannot put them out yet, there is too much danger of frost. I would start putting them out during the day at the beginning of May and bringing them in at night. After doing that for the first part of May you could leave them out at night, if you have some sort greenhouse covering.

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Jenny asks…

HELP with my seedlings ! ! ?

September in Western Pa. is a perfect time to start an indoor garden with a plant light which I have done. Now I’m faced with the same problem I had when I sowed seeds outdoors this summer. My seedlings grow to about 1 inch (just enough to develop a first leave or two) then they bend over and die. ( ? ? ) Soil is good. Light is fine and I’m misting the soil to keep it damp. What am I doing wrong ?,,,,,if anyone has any idea I’d sure appreciate it.

Garden Lover answers:

Here’s a link to lots and lots of good information on damping off disease:

http://tomclothier.hort.net/page13.html

For indoor seedling problems, the biggest points are – don’t re-use soil. Use new sterile soil for each new batch of seedlings, and provide air circulation…a fan at a distance works great.

Read through the section on “damping off can be prevented”, and you get info on how to do everything, and even some safe organic additives you can use with your mister to help prevent it.

Betty asks…

Winterizing my indoor geraniums? And a ? about my “spider” plant… And what houseplants do well in cold clim?

Okay, so I just moved to Bradford, PA, the coldest spot in the nation. I have two new geraniums I bought this year that haven’t flowered yet, and one I rooted from a plant that has flowered. I know that I need to let them dry out somewhat over the winter, because they can be perennial and will come back next year. Do I just keep watering them and maybe put them out of the window in a low light location? I don’t have a nonwindow sill high light location in my house. Last year, they both died, but I think that was because I didn’t attempt to winterize at all, and they got frostbitten outside in my further south location, so I bought new ones this spring.

Also, how long should I give my varigated spider plant, to become rootbound enough to produce babies? I’ve had it in a 6 inch (self-watering, if that makes a difference, the roots probably stay damp as the tips are brown) since May, and although the new leaves are huge, some are an inch or so wide, it seems to be showing no inclination to make some babies for me, lol. I fertilize about once a month with a spray bottle, and they are all lush and green, ‘cept for my rooted geranium, she’s a little spindly still because the plant I got her from was huge and spindly, but I’m hoping she’ll do good next year 🙂

And what houseplants can I get cheaply to add to my window garden and maybe keep over the winter?

Thanks!

Garden Lover answers:

My friend brings her garden geraniums (potted) into her garage and sets them near a window – giving little water over the winter. They make it through the winter fine – just never seem to get big an healthy looking. I keep mine in a sunny window inside the house and have beautiful blooms all year. If you are bringing them in from the garden, you just have to make sure to get rid of the bugs first.
As for the spider plant – just type the name in your search area and you will get all sorts of information about growing them.

Steven asks…

When can I start vegetable seeds indoors in Pa, what kind of seed mix, and what kind of lighting do I need?

I am in zone 5/6, and want to get a head start on my vegetable garden. Latest frost is mid to late May. I have peppers, tomatoes, corn, broccoli, cauli, beans, onions, spinach, tomatillos, cucumbers, carrots, celery.

I don’t really have a window that faces south, so can I use some type of indoor lighting?

Also what seed medium should I use?

Thanks.

Garden Lover answers:

A grow light would be fine.

Cucumbers, carrots, corn and beans – don’t start inside. Wait until the ground is thoroughly warmed – mid to late May, and direct seed in the ground. They all germinate and grow very fast. (Well, the carrots take awhile to germinate, but I’ve never found the extra space and time and effort needed to start them inside to be worth it)

Peppers, tomatillos, and tomatoes – definitely use grow lights and a bright window. Start them 4-5 weeks before planting out. Around early April. (some say 6 weeks – but if you light is insufficient, they will get leggy and weak)

Broccoli & Cauliflower – start in mid to late February, plant out late March, early April. Onions can be sown in the ground as soon as the soil can be worked.

Spinach you can start inside – Sow in shifts – every two weeks. You can also direct seed as soon as the soil is warmed. Spinach doesn’t like hot weather, so I stop planting out in May. And then plant a fall crop in August. Ditto on the Broccoli – my best harvest comes from the seeds I plant in early July, and plant out mid-August. They start maturing as the weather cools – and they LOVE it. They laugh at frost.

Any seeding medium is fine, or even potting soil, if that’s what you have on hand.

Indoor Gardens

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