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Publication Date: Friday, July 06, 2001

If you can do only one thing in July, take 15 minutes to plant 12 broccoli seed in a six-pack. From November to May you'll be glad you did. Vegetables that require three or more months from seed to the table do not need to occupy space in the garden for the entire time. The broccoli plant that will feed you from October to May needs 4 square feet of garden space, but not until it is six weeks old.

Starting your cool-season garden from seed Starting your cool-season garden from seed (July 06, 2001)

By Marcia Fein

If you are now eating your own home grown squash, green beans and tomatoes, congratulations on your good planning! If you want to keep eating homegrown vegetables all year, now is the time to plan for your cool-season garden. Year-round gardening

Mountain View is blessed with a 12-month growing season, so your garden can be just as beautiful and productive from November through March as it is in summer. But you won't be picking tomatoes. Think about how the climate changes in winter: it is cooler, sunlight is less intense, and it rains. Then go for the vegetables that grow well in those conditions. The principal plant groups are Alliums (onions, leeks, shallots, garlic), Brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi), chicories (endive, escarole, radicchio), and the lettuces, plus root crops (beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips).

It may be difficult to think about winter crops while you are enjoying summer's bounty, but doing a few things now will keep the harvest coming through winter and spring. If you can do only one thing in July, take 15 minutes to plant 12 broccoli seed in a six-pack. From November to May you'll be glad you did. Raise your own transplants

"But wait," you say, "can't I buy good seedlings at the nursery when it is time to put them in the ground?" Well, maybe and maybe not. Some nurseries are getting better at stocking the right varieties for our area and at the correct planting time, but many sell the same things in Milwaukee and in Mountain View. You will be lucky to find a 4-inch broccoli plant before late September, a full month later than you can plant your own.

There are even more reasons to grow your own transplants from seed. You can choose from more varieties of a single vegetable, including those best suited to our area. You can also save money. For $1.49 you can buy one 4-inch potted seedling or a whole package of seed.

The best reason is to have all the fun of seeing a plant at the very beginning of its life cycle! Watching little plants break through the soil from seed you planted is a kick and a half. You will remember the whole process when you serve your homegrown vegetables for dinner, and so will the kids. Why not seed directly?

Why not plant the seed directly in the ground? Some vegetables should be sown directly because they do not transplant well (e.g., carrots), or because they mature so fast that it is hardly worth the effort.

Vegetables that require three or more months from seed to the table do not need to occupy space in the garden for the entire time. The broccoli plant that will feed you from October to May needs 4 square feet of garden space, but not until it is six weeks old. You can make fuller use of limited garden space by starting the broccoli in pots while the summer crops are still producing. Then when the lettuce, corn, or beets are harvested, add compost and replant with broccoli from four inch pots.

Another reason to start seed in pots for later transplanting is to gain better control of the conditions for germination and seedling growth than you have in the open ground. Keys to success

Here's what it takes to start a garden from seed for the cool season:

*Viable seed: Start with fresh seed or seed that has been stored cool and dry. Normal seed viability ranges from one or two years for lettuce and onion to decades for beans and corn.

*Sanitation: Everything should be really clean -- your hands, tools, potting soil and pots.

*Moisture: The soil should be as moist as a wrung-out sponge, not dry or soggy.

*Air: You need air in the soil (good drainage) and air flow around plants.

*Warmth: Most seed germinates readily in soil having a temperature of 65 to 85 degrees. The soil in your six packs or pots will be about 5 to 10 degrees cooler than the air in your house.

*Light: At germination move the pots or flats to good light but not strong direct sun.

*Timing: Start your seed at the right time to have transplant-size plants at transplant time. An easy, effective, inexpensive method for raising transplants

Work space: Pick a table or counter that's at a comfortable height. Make sure it is clean and easy to clean up. Spread newspaper over the surface.

Containers: Recycle disposable cups, food containers, nursery pots and packs. They should be 2 to 4 inches deep and have drainage holes in the bottom.

All of these should be soaked overnight and scrubbed until they are free of all particles. Now soak them in a bucket of 10 percent chlorine bleach, 90 percent water for an hour to overnight. Also clean some shallow trays to set the pots on (recycled aluminum, foam, plastic).

Soil: Soil for starting seeds should be light, have small particle size, retain water but drain easily, and be free of weed seeds and diseases. Do not use garden soil. The best results come with use of a specially formulated seed starting mix available at local nurseries.

The mix must be moistened with hot water. Cut off the top of the bag, put it in the sink and pour in two to three quarts of just-boiled water. Close the top and let it sit overnight.

Planting: Select the right size container. Think about the size plant you want to set out and how many times you're willing to pot it up before then.

Label the container with the name of the seed variety and the planting date to prevent confusion and planting errors later. Add an "L" if it needs light for germination.

Fill your containers level to the rim, and then tap gently to settle. Place seed on the surface and cover with soil to about three times the seed thickness (except for those L's). Use two seed for every plant you want. Use more for older seed.

Sprinkle gently with warm or room temperature water.

Cover containers to retain moisture. Use a new plastic bag and tie, or fresh plastic wrap.

Watch and wait: Check for germination every day. Never let the soil surface dry out. Sprinkle with warm water.

The first time you see signs of life take off the cover and move the pot into the light.

Light: The best cheap solution is a standard 4-foot florescent shop light with one cool white and one daylight bulb. Keep the bulbs 1 to 2 inches above the leaves.

An east-facing window is ok, but you will need to rotate plants one quarter turn every day and you will need to move them soon to get more hours of light.

Seedlings need eight to 14 hours a day of good light.

An incandescent bulb won't do. It gets too hot and lacks the light spectrum plants need.

Growing: Put a waterproof tray under the pots to protect your surface and permit watering from below.

Keep the soil moist, not wet. Let the surface barely dry between waterings.

Use half strength fertilizer solution when there are two sets of true leaves.

Monitor the florescent light or increase natural light as plants grow.

Maintain good air flow among and around plants. Crowding promotes fungal infections.

Potting on: Move plants carefully to the next size larger pot when the roots have reached the edge of the pot.

Thin, divide or prick out plants from flats into individual pots.

Use a richer soil mix this time.

If the plant will be in this pot more than two weeks, add fertilizer.

Hardening off: Gradually acclimate your plants to the temperatures, direct sun and air movement outdoors.

Set out your homegrown transplants when they are thoroughly acclimated and the weather is mild. Do it in the late afternoon or evening, or on an overcast day to minimize transplant shock. Recommended varieties and planting dates

The local University of California Cooperative Extension publishes a list of vegetable varieties that have been proven successful in our climate and soil conditions. To receive a copy of "Cool Season Vegetables for Santa Clara County" call the Master Gardener Hotline between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Marcia Fein, a UCCE-trained Master Gardener, has been growing flowers, fruit and vegetables in Mountain View since 1979.