Great ideas, Luke! One I came across from a local Gardner friend of mine was to use clear (see through) shower curtains. I bought some from Walmart and have been using them to help germinate seeds outdoors bc the temps are still somewhat cold and they act like a little greenhouse for the seedlings, light can get through and it provides the warmth/humidity for them, bonus is that they only cost me about $4 a piece.🥰🥰
Omg! Thats the best hack ever! I just bought row fabric covers on Amazon for $20 to keep seedlings moist when I could've gotten cheap shower curtains at Target...
Bless your sweet heart. I was thinking that the board was going to be a straight edge. The thought of crouching, then falling headfirst into the bed, made me laugh. Thank you for sharing the ideas!
This is also my plan. I had such bad carrot seedling success last year I am glad I researched. The baby carrots were still alive this spring and I ate a couple. Delicious. I never thought I could overwinter them in northern Mi. Garden :)
I used the cardboard trick to get my carrot seeds I ordered from you to germinate. 🤩 Since I'm a newby gardener and can't tell the difference between seeds sprouting and weeds, I use toilet paper rolls to remember where I planted cabbage seeds and buttercrunch lettuce seeds I ordered from you. I dig a hole, put an empty TP roll in, put some soil in, place a couple of seeds in, then add more soil on top.
I transplanted a young eggplant seedling then decided to weed the area. Needless to say that young eggplant went flying. Good thing I started two of them!
I’ve recently changed how I go about sowing, and it’s made my garden incredibly abundant. I lay the seeds in the row, then lay compost between rows. If they don’t germinate within the time they’re supposed to, I simply plant a row of something else. Seeds are cheap/free if you save them. This way I always have something growing. I keep this up year round, mulching around plants constantly with compost
That sounds just great. Not worrying too much. See how the seeds go. Sowing more. And let them do their stuff. Like the sound of that mentality about not worrying too much about it all!
I’ve been gardening for almost forty years and I began with direct sowing of everything except tomatoes and peppers. I’ve been working for years on starting seeds inside under lights and in a small greenhouse. Watching you now almost makes me miss direct sowing. Almost! Too many variables and I’m too old to thin and weed constantly. I have found I really enjoy the greenhouse and seed starting in a standing position. I love your videos and occasionally learn something, just proves you’re never too old.
Thanks for the great tips...especially for carrots. I like to use plastic silverware from the dollar store to mark my rows. Usually plastic knives but don't be surprised to see plastic forks and spoons in the garden too. I also use different colored ones to mark where I want to plant tulip and daffodil bulbs in the fall so I know where my gaps are.
Great tip with the cardboard Luke! Tried this with my chamomile seeds since viewing this video and they have sprouted!!!!! Thanks for sharing that tip!!!
Thank you I've learned so much since I discovered your channel. I use plastic knives for my row markers as I always seems to I have so many left over out of the mixed packs of cutlery and I can write on them what I planted in that row. I can get several years out of them before they get too brittle to re-use.
I'm going to try the cardboard trick. Since I'm gone during most of the day I've been trying to figure out how to keep the bed wet enough for my seeds to germinate. Thank you for sharing that!
Great tips Luke. Thanks for sharing. I use the board method too. I cut my board approx. 8 inches longer than the outer width of the bed frame and screw a short length of 2x4 (sideways) on each end. These blocks prevent the board from slipping off the side rails but still allows the board to stay aligned while being slid down the length of the bed as needed.
Thanks Luke I havent been great at growing carrots so this explains why. I need to save cardboard. The kids will be so excited to grow more carrots this year!!
I just started direct sowing few days ago in my raised garden and can see some sprouts now. This video is really helpful. I will use cardboards for my other seeds. Thans for sharing!
Oh you are so funny! Lol. Here is my answer to getting in that bed. Do not try that board at 60 years old! My beds are only 2 feet wide and work just as well! Im not trying that board. Now next thing, I take my phone and do a short video stating and showing what I have just done in my garden. I just learned this last year after years of keeping it all in a notebook! So much easier! I love your seeds and plants that I mail order from you. If any of you guys have never ordered from him you should. Great prices and great germination rate.
I will definitely use the card board this weekend. I hope to get a lot done Lol. Weather usually does not cooperate but im going to try. I told my kids no family interruptions this weekend. 🙃🤪
i bought flags this year, used for irrigation system fixes since i moved things in the fall...and now using them to mark the winter sowing transplants to the planting beds, wrote the flower name on the flag
I've been heavily sowing radishes and carrots in the same bed at the same time. The radishes grow in fast and provide some shade and moisture to the young carrots. by the time the radishes are a few inches tall and have 5-6 leaves, I thin the radishes to give some more light to the carrots. I also ussualy sow the radish thickly enough that I can taste one every morning, when I check up on them. I usually do this in my round raised beds and containers, sowing the carrots and radishes in concentric rings to minimize damage to the carrot roots when I thin the radishes.
I cut hundreds of “tags” out of old plastic containers (sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc). Just cut from the top down to the base, all around the container until you can press it flat (it will look like a kindergarten sunburst craft project) then cut them off around the base. I save all of my containers for seed starting (and for painting and other odd jobs) so I had plenty to chop up. An added bonus: the kids were able to take the bases and make mini frisbees LOL They should last a few years, and sure beats the $9.99 the local feed store wanted to charge for 30 plant tags!
Luke thanks for the trifecta +, came last week, put on my seedlings, and bang saw a real growth spurt. Dang, looking forward to adding to soil when I transplant my tomatoes and peppers in my garden
I think I've been planting carrots too deep cuz I don't get much germination. I'm gunna try again today with the cardboard method. Thanks a bunch!!!! ❤️🌱❤️🌱❤️🌱❤️🌱❤️🌱
I use a 2x4 and call it a leaning board. I can't crouch, or kneel in the garden. With my back issues I can bend and use the board to help support myself.
I made a lasagna bed and actually sat down and drew up a little bed with a key showing different shapes for different seeds. I planted it all out and there was a nice gentle off and on rain the next couple days. About 3 days after I planted the bed I came home to it dug around in by the neighbors' dog... 🤦🏽♀️ I might as well have just thrown the seeds in at random, cause no telling where things ended up.
Oh my goodness 😟 I had a similar thing happen this year. I tilled our entire garden and got my main onion bed planted. It took up maybe 1/30 of the garden. Well that night one of our cows got into the garden and trampled all over that little space where I had planted out the onions.... Couldn't hardly find another spot it had stepped. Animals... They do not care about ruining our hard work! Lol We also had our dogs dig up my freshly transplanted raspberries. I think they see that nice fluffy dirt as a perfect place to dig.
I wish cardboard would work but I live in upper Michigan and we call our land Mt. Everest cuz we are on top of a giant cliff, that's constantly windy. The cardboard would end up in the sheep pasture. But on the plus not alot of mosquitos. Haha
I’ll be honest- planting outdoors is easier for me than a start room. I’ve always planted direct sow. This is my first year starting lots inside, indoor starts are a major struggle for me.
Plant carrots on/ in finished compost (1' or so) take burlap and cover. Carrots germinate 90% or more. You just pull of the burlap 1-2 weeks after germination and start another bed up till August October and those will be be your winter storage crop...
I think if you’re hand watering every day, you could simply take photos each time. But if someone is using drip irrigation they’ve probably already filled what would’ve been watering-time with other tasks. Bummer tho, as I find time lapses way more effective than watching someone just seed something.
@@phifediggy9659 just a suggestion maybe set a camera in a window upstairs crop it and take pictures and record every time it can end up being garbage however if you saw how much you planted everywhere and watched how everything grew over time you could definitely make a couple videos or even throw clips into videos to fill space or give time to talk and voice over idk
@@melissasullivan1658 it could be as easy as just cropping and leaving a camera in an upstairs window. I mean cleaning pruning just like literally record everything and see how the whole yard comes alive
My dearest Luke, I hope that when you are around 60 years old or older you can still squat on that board and get yourself back up without falling in the soil ;). As for me, I know what would happen once I squatted down ;). (Fortunately, all my seeding is in a 2 - 2.5' width from the house or in pots ;).
Can you list more seeds that germinate best in dark/would do well under the cardboard? Lettuce needs light, for example, correct? Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
i've always heard from others they have a hard time get directly sown seeds to start, as long as the seed is viable i have never had a seed not start in my garden. In pots however, at least 1 or 2 pots won't start every year
I am using walmart bags for grow bags and kiddie pools. can I put an onion plant or garlic or basil in the bag with a tomato plant to help with bugs and critters?
I just watched your newest vid on high intensity planting. In it you mentioned that it’s okay to question standard practices. My question for you is why “thinning”? What happens if you let them grow? Also, I don’t get enough time to watch everything I want so I’m 2 weeks late seeing this but just sowed my carrots last week. Is it too late to cover with cardboard or is there still enough time for it to be useful?
I deliberately save disposable chopsticks from take-out meals for marking seed lines, Free is good but repeatedly re-using something that would only get used ONCE makes me even happier - and eventually they get snipped up and tossed in the compost heap - win win win!!
@MIgardener. Different subject but I need to ask. I am being over run by squirrels. They are decimating my cabbage and broccoli plants and digging up 50% of my seeds that I planted. I have never had this much trouble. I know its squirrels because I have the whole garden fenced in with chicken wire. and catch them in there everyday. Please help.
Direct sowing worked for me the first year I tried it. Then after that, insects devour anything before it gets even a new leaf unless I do it in a container or planter.
Great ideas, Luke! One I came across from a local Gardner friend of mine was to use clear (see through) shower curtains. I bought some from Walmart and have been using them to help germinate seeds outdoors bc the temps are still somewhat cold and they act like a little greenhouse for the seedlings, light can get through and it provides the warmth/humidity for them, bonus is that they only cost me about $4 a piece.🥰🥰
If you're near a dollar tree they have them also.
Omg! Thats the best hack ever! I just bought row fabric covers on Amazon for $20 to keep seedlings moist when I could've gotten cheap shower curtains at Target...
Is it a bother or does it have any effect if the shower curtains offgas??
We do this also
Bless your sweet heart. I was thinking that the board was going to be a straight edge. The thought of crouching, then falling headfirst into the bed, made me laugh.
Thank you for sharing the ideas!
LOL I had the same thought and same reaction. LOL
Me too lol
Yep, add me to that list too! If I crouched down like that, I reckon the seeds would be up before me!! Oh to be young and agile again!
I love direct sowing, much less tedious than babying the seedlings and then transplanting.
Luke I hope you know the happiness you cause so many people you are a really influential person !
I'm definitely going to try the cardboard method for carrots this year. Thanks, Luke. 🌻🌷🌻🌷
Using a board for this works great too!
I've done it twice now for my carrots and it works great!
Cardboard attracts termites. Be careful.
This is also my plan. I had such bad carrot seedling success last year I am glad I researched. The baby carrots were still alive this spring and I ate a couple. Delicious. I never thought I could overwinter them in northern Mi. Garden :)
or earwigs probably if too wet.
I used the cardboard trick to get my carrot seeds I ordered from you to germinate. 🤩 Since I'm a newby gardener and can't tell the difference between seeds sprouting and weeds, I use toilet paper rolls to remember where I planted cabbage seeds and buttercrunch lettuce seeds I ordered from you. I dig a hole, put an empty TP roll in, put some soil in, place a couple of seeds in, then add more soil on top.
Great idea!!!
I transplanted a young eggplant seedling then decided to weed the area. Needless to say that young eggplant went flying. Good thing I started two of them!
I’ve recently changed how I go about sowing, and it’s made my garden incredibly abundant. I lay the seeds in the row, then lay compost between rows. If they don’t germinate within the time they’re supposed to, I simply plant a row of something else. Seeds are cheap/free if you save them. This way I always have something growing. I keep this up year round, mulching around plants constantly with compost
Interesting!
That sounds just great. Not worrying too much. See how the seeds go. Sowing more. And let them do their stuff. Like the sound of that mentality about not worrying too much about it all!
Having seen 2 days of on/off rain in the forcast i dropped seed this past weekend & will let mother nature do her thing!
I’ve been gardening for almost forty years and I began with direct sowing of everything except tomatoes and peppers. I’ve been working for years on starting seeds inside under lights and in a small greenhouse. Watching you now almost makes me miss direct sowing. Almost! Too many variables and I’m too old to thin and weed constantly. I have found I really enjoy the greenhouse and seed starting in a standing position. I love your videos and occasionally learn something, just proves you’re never too old.
Thanks for the great tips...especially for carrots. I like to use plastic silverware from the dollar store to mark my rows. Usually plastic knives but don't be surprised to see plastic forks and spoons in the garden too. I also use different colored ones to mark where I want to plant tulip and daffodil bulbs in the fall so I know where my gaps are.
Great Idea!! You can write on them too!
Great tips. My Seed orders from you are always A+++. Ty vm.
The board! Life changing.
Thank you for the video. I learned something new about planting carrot seeds.
Great tip with the cardboard Luke! Tried this with my chamomile seeds since viewing this video and they have sprouted!!!!! Thanks for sharing that tip!!!
Cool tip with the use of board, it made you look like a skateboarding gardener.😆
Love those marker flags!!!! Better then my 3” plant tags! Thanks for the idea!
Oh less talk, more planting j/k lol!
Fantastic tips! Thanks!
Godspeed!
Thanks for the video and facts on carrots planted some in a big container and they came up have never had carrots in my garden looking forward to them
I see a 2x10 in my future!
Love the cardboard idea.
Thanks for taking us along.
Thank you I've learned so much since I discovered your channel. I use plastic knives for my row markers as I always seems to I have so many left over out of the mixed packs of cutlery and I can write on them what I planted in that row. I can get several years out of them before they get too brittle to re-use.
Oh my, great quad and balance work out using that board!
You have completely changed the way I approach my garden
I'm going to do the cardboard for sure. We get lots of dry strong wind in the spring that blows around the soil. This will be great help!
Thank you for your knowledge! Watched all your videos in the last year and it made me way more comfortable in my garden!
This came just in time!!
Thanks for the seed sale! I didn’t need more seeds but got everything else I wanted because why not!
I'm going to try the cardboard trick. Since I'm gone during most of the day I've been trying to figure out how to keep the bed wet enough for my seeds to germinate. Thank you for sharing that!
Super helpful! Love the idea of the board over the edge of the beds.
Thanks for the advice Luke. Excited to learn more and see both of our gardens flourish this year!
Awesome! I was just getting ready to start my squashes! Thanks for the tips! The board just BLEW MY MIND!!!!
My garden is coming along awesome because of your tips. I've already harvested some lettuce.
Cool tips; thanks! I used the cardboard tip this year and it worked great! Have a blessed day.
Great video thanks!
I wish I had this tip regarding siwing my carrot seeds, I was so anxious! I will definitely use that cardboard trick in the future.
Great tips Luke.
Thanks for sharing.
I use the board method too.
I cut my board approx. 8 inches longer than the outer width of the bed frame and screw a short length of 2x4 (sideways) on each end.
These blocks prevent the board from slipping off the side rails but still allows the board to stay aligned while being slid down the length of the bed as needed.
Thanks Luke I havent been great at growing carrots so this explains why. I need to save cardboard. The kids will be so excited to grow more carrots this year!!
I just started direct sowing few days ago in my raised garden and can see some sprouts now. This video is really helpful. I will use cardboards for my other seeds. Thans for sharing!
Oh you are so funny! Lol. Here is my answer to getting in that bed. Do not try that board at 60 years old! My beds are only 2 feet wide and work just as well! Im not trying that board.
Now next thing, I take my phone and do a short video stating and showing what I have just done in my garden. I just learned this last year after years of keeping it all in a notebook! So much easier!
I love your seeds and plants that I mail order from you. If any of you guys have never ordered from him you should. Great prices and great germination rate.
I will definitely use the card board this weekend. I hope to get a lot done Lol. Weather usually does not cooperate but im going to try. I told my kids no family interruptions this weekend. 🙃🤪
definitely learned something from this video. the idea for the little flags is great, also the board over the raised bed was completely new to me.
i bought flags this year, used for irrigation system fixes since i moved things in the fall...and now using them to mark the winter sowing transplants to the planting beds, wrote the flower name on the flag
I've been heavily sowing radishes and carrots in the same bed at the same time. The radishes grow in fast and provide some shade and moisture to the young carrots. by the time the radishes are a few inches tall and have 5-6 leaves, I thin the radishes to give some more light to the carrots. I also ussualy sow the radish thickly enough that I can taste one every morning, when I check up on them.
I usually do this in my round raised beds and containers, sowing the carrots and radishes in concentric rings to minimize damage to the carrot roots when I thin the radishes.
So inspiring, thank you Luke.
The board is an amazing tip, wow!!!
I use old "mini-blinds" for garden labels. Just cut the plastic "blind" into 6 inch pieces and write on it with a Sharpie.
I cut hundreds of “tags” out of old plastic containers (sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc). Just cut from the top down to the base, all around the container until you can press it flat (it will look like a kindergarten sunburst craft project) then cut them off around the base. I save all of my containers for seed starting (and for painting and other odd jobs) so I had plenty to chop up.
An added bonus: the kids were able to take the bases and make mini frisbees LOL
They should last a few years, and sure beats the $9.99 the local feed store wanted to charge for 30 plant tags!
These are great tips! Thank you!
Guys all those cottage cheese and sour cream containers....cut them up and make tags for your plants!
nah...I use them to grow seeds indoors ..yogurt cups, drink cups, sour cream, all sizes ;)
I did try the cardboard, it worked, mostly, I got maybe 50% germination on the carrots, which is much better than the 1 -3 plants I get without it lol
Love these tips! Thank you!!
I use vermiculite to cover my seeds. Holds in moisture and marks where they are planted.
Luke thanks for the trifecta +, came last week, put on my seedlings, and bang saw a real growth spurt. Dang, looking forward to adding to soil when I transplant my tomatoes and peppers in my garden
Great tips Luke
I think I've been planting carrots too deep cuz I don't get much germination. I'm gunna try again today with the cardboard method. Thanks a bunch!!!!
❤️🌱❤️🌱❤️🌱❤️🌱❤️🌱
I use a 2x4 and call it a leaning board. I can't crouch, or kneel in the garden. With my back issues I can bend and use the board to help support myself.
Same!
I am going to use one for the same reason!!!
Brilliant!
Brilliant tips as always!👏😺
Especially exited about the cardboard cover I’ll be trying out soon!!:p
Nice garden, i am jealous
Could you list some other seeds that would benefit being covered by cardboard?? That would be extremely helpful! :)
I use pebbles or a large piece of bark mulch from the path to mark my last seed if I get interrupted
Have you ever made a video or do you have tips that help to prevent/stop groundhogs from getting into the garden?
I make a simple garden map, and then I use rocks along my paths to mark where I've planted.
I made a lasagna bed and actually sat down and drew up a little bed with a key showing different shapes for different seeds. I planted it all out and there was a nice gentle off and on rain the next couple days. About 3 days after I planted the bed I came home to it dug around in by the neighbors' dog... 🤦🏽♀️ I might as well have just thrown the seeds in at random, cause no telling where things ended up.
Oh my goodness 😟 I had a similar thing happen this year. I tilled our entire garden and got my main onion bed planted. It took up maybe 1/30 of the garden. Well that night one of our cows got into the garden and trampled all over that little space where I had planted out the onions.... Couldn't hardly find another spot it had stepped. Animals... They do not care about ruining our hard work! Lol We also had our dogs dig up my freshly transplanted raspberries. I think they see that nice fluffy dirt as a perfect place to dig.
I did a garden map! I also used square foot method so the grid can help me identify where my sprouts should be.
you just solved my carrot prob... thanks luke
Thanks for the tips. Would you recommend using the cardboard method when direct sowing beets?
Wooden coffee stir sticks as markers. Sharpie on what and when sown.
Great tips
I wish cardboard would work but I live in upper Michigan and we call our land Mt. Everest cuz we are on top of a giant cliff, that's constantly windy. The cardboard would end up in the sheep pasture. But on the plus not alot of mosquitos. Haha
I’ll be honest- planting outdoors is easier for me than a start room. I’ve always planted direct sow. This is my first year starting lots inside, indoor starts are a major struggle for me.
Nice tips 👍👌
Plant carrots on/ in finished compost (1' or so) take burlap and cover. Carrots germinate 90% or more. You just pull of the burlap 1-2 weeks after germination and start another bed up till August October and those will be be your winter storage crop...
Great information
The board thing is ok for people with great knees and balance.
You ever think about doing timelapses like take pics of you planting 8 things each in 9 beds then how they develop and perform
I think if you’re hand watering every day, you could simply take photos each time. But if someone is using drip irrigation they’ve probably already filled what would’ve been watering-time with other tasks. Bummer tho, as I find time lapses way more effective than watching someone just seed something.
@@phifediggy9659 just a suggestion maybe set a camera in a window upstairs crop it and take pictures and record every time it can end up being garbage however if you saw how much you planted everywhere and watched how everything grew over time you could definitely make a couple videos or even throw clips into videos to fill space or give time to talk and voice over idk
@@melissasullivan1658 it could be as easy as just cropping and leaving a camera in an upstairs window. I mean cleaning pruning just like literally record everything and see how the whole yard comes alive
G’day mate cheers for the video x
nice tips, i had some luck last year using warm water and card board.
Lemme see you do that with your board when youre 57...lol
great info
My dearest Luke, I hope that when you are around 60 years old or older you can still squat on that board and get yourself back up without falling in the soil ;). As for me, I know what would happen once I squatted down ;). (Fortunately, all my seeding is in a 2 - 2.5' width from the house or in pots ;).
Can you list more seeds that germinate best in dark/would do well under the cardboard? Lettuce needs light, for example, correct? Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Cool deal 👍
i've always heard from others they have a hard time get directly sown seeds to start, as long as the seed is viable i have never had a seed not start in my garden. In pots however, at least 1 or 2 pots won't start every year
Once you grow red vein sorrel you have them forever (in a good way). Very deep rooted plant.
I am using walmart bags for grow bags and kiddie pools. can I put an onion plant or garlic or basil in the bag with a tomato plant to help with bugs and critters?
I would be really interested in buying a mega mix of all the different varieties you grow of one herb of fruit.
Awesome 👏🏻
Just a silly question? Wouldn’t planting the length of the bed give you more growing space than planting across the bed?💚🙃 I like the cardboard tip!💚🙃
I just watched your newest vid on high intensity planting. In it you mentioned that it’s okay to question standard practices. My question for you is why “thinning”? What happens if you let them grow?
Also, I don’t get enough time to watch everything I want so I’m 2 weeks late seeing this but just sowed my carrots last week. Is it too late to cover with cardboard or is there still enough time for it to be useful?
Liked it but the board trick only works on those monster 2 x 10 boards, if you have corrugated metal raised beds those are thin and light weight
Make a wide piece of board and put ends on it the height of the edges of the raised bed. Much more secure.
I deliberately save disposable chopsticks from take-out meals for marking seed lines, Free is good but repeatedly re-using something that would only get used ONCE makes me even happier - and eventually they get snipped up and tossed in the compost heap - win win win!!
How do you feel about growing celery from the stalk end?
I thought my playback speed was on 1.5. I guess Luke is just a fast talker. 😅 Thanks for the informative video.
Chamomile too? Thx so much!
I planned on a smaller scale so I use coffee filters to cover my seeds
Wow 888 thou subs
WTG Luke
I dare you to try to balance on that board when you are over 65!
At my age, the only thing I could plant using the board technique is my face. 😉
Face plant! Good one! If I bent my knees on that board like that I'd be there till harvest! I'll walk around thanks.
Or see if you can get back up after kneeling down lol
Haha. A board can also help by giving you something to put one arm on when leaning out.
Got to switch to 3/4" plywood after 50! 😂
I wish the cardboard method worked in my yard...the rolie polies move under it and take out all the plants just as soon as they emerge.
What is that plant in the middle of the shot? Just curious.
@MIgardener. Different subject but I need to ask. I am being over run by squirrels. They are decimating my cabbage and broccoli plants and digging up 50% of my seeds that I planted. I have never had this much trouble. I know its squirrels because I have the whole garden fenced in with chicken wire. and catch them in there everyday. Please help.
I tried the board thing and my stomach gets in the way. Got any diet videos?🤭
🤣🤣
I use flags in my garden. Even where I have a small plant so I don't step on them. I call it " fun with flags"
Big Bang?
We’re just going to call you Sheldon!😊🇦🇺🇦🇹🇧🇩🇧🇯🇧🇼🇧🇬🇧🇳
Can you do this with radishes, the cardboard.
Direct sowing worked for me the first year I tried it. Then after that, insects devour anything before it gets even a new leaf unless I do it in a container or planter.