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Re: Strawberry question follow up

> From: Ross E Stanford <stanford4334@juno.com>
 >  ... On TV, I see gardeners start seeds in tiny containers and then
transplant
> them to larger containers when they get bigger.  
>      Why not just plant the seeds in the larger containers in the first
> place?  Is this a temporary space saving thing, or does it benefit the
> plants in some way? ...
>Stan

	Not sure why the TV gardeners do it but for me it's economics and space. 
I start mine in 3/4" plugs with 288 plugs/tray.  With my propagation setup,
I would theoretically have room for 12 plug trays (3,456 plants in the 3/4"
plugs) or 288 4-1/2" pots or 132 1-gallon nursery pots or some combination
of the three.  In practice, I never have more than 2-4 plug trays at one
time.   Using the small area for starting the seeds requires less  starting
mix (it's sometimes sold by the quart) and it's also easier to provide
uniform heat and light.  Makes it easier to care for and also provides
uniform germination and uniform initial growth.  Of course you could make
your own starting mix but I don't need very much and find it inconvenient
to stock all of the ingredients.  When transplanting to 4-1/2" pots, you
can use a cheaper mix and they require less care but should still be
checked daily.  Most are set out from the 4-1/2" pots but some , like
tomatoes, are planted up to 1-gallon to get a stronger plant when they are
set out in January.
	Some container gardeners sow seeds directly into 5-gallon pots using a 2"
starting mix layer on the top and it seems to work okay.
	I find that large-seeded plants with long, deep radicle roots (melons,
squash, cucumber, pumpkins, sunflowers, sweet corn, beans), most root
crops, and some herbs (dill, coriander, borage, chervil) don't transplant
well and should be seeded directly into the ground.  If it's necessary to
start these indoors, I would seed directly into the largest pot I plan to
use then plant out from it without going through the potting up exercises.

Olin Miller
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