SeedBeds:Bare*Root,Field*grownBrassicaTransplantProduction Bare&roottransplantsgrowninoutdoorseedbedscanbeamoneyandlaborsavingoptionforvegetable growers.beforeinexpensiveplasticgreenhousesitwasacommonpracticetoproducecabbage,broccoli, kohlrabi,onions,tomatoesandpeppersasbareroottransplantsinhot&beds,thegarden,orinthefield. MartinandIusedbothgreenhouse&containerandfield&grown,bare&roottransplants.Theearliest plantingswerestartedinmarchinaheatedgreenhouse.bare&rootcabbageandbroccolitransplantswere startedoutsideweeklyinseedbedsfrommay1tomid&july.thissaveduslaborandmaterialsand enabledustomanagethefarmwithsignificantlylessgreenhousespace. ComparisonOfContainer*GrownAndBare*RootTransplant Advantages Disadvantages Container& Grown Greenhouse Transplants Bare&Root Field&Grown Transplants Thereislesstransplantshock Itiseasiertomaintaina consistentgrowing environmentinsideaheated andweatherprotected greenhouse. Seedscanbestartedearlier, whenitisstilltoocoldoutside. Lowercostperplant. Rootsarenot root&bound by theplasticcontainer. Plantsare hardier, less soft thangreenhouse&grownplants. Theyarealreadyaccustomed totheweather. Nogreenhouseisneeded. Celltraysrequireaslightlyroot&boundconditionif plantsaretoberemovedwithoutdamagingsoil&to& rootcontact. Root&boundtransplantsgenerallyreestablishmore slowlythanyoungertransplants. Taprootdevelopmentcanbeaffectedforthelifeof theplantaffectingheadsize. Moreexpensiveandmorelabor. Requiresadvanceskills.Challengingforbeginners. Requiresmoreseed. Requiresmorecareatplantingtimetoreduce transplantshock. Notsuitableforallcrops. Requiresadvanceplanningandweedpreparation. Noprotectionfrominclementweather.
Bare*Root,In*GroundTransplantProductionSystems. In#ground)Field:Seedsareplantedatclosespacingdirectlyinthefieldandgrowntotransplantstage, whentheywerepulled,andreplantedintheproductionfield. In#ground)Hotbeds:In&groundhotbedswerecommonlyusedforearlytransplantproductionbefore heatedgreenhouseswereanaffordableoption.acoldframeisbuiltwithwoodensidesafoottalland glasswindowstocover.insidethecoldframethesoilisdugoutabouttwofeetdeepandfilledwithsix& eightinchesoffreshhorsemanurefromastablewhereurine,manureandstrawarecollectedtogether. (Theurineincreasestheheat.)Themanureisthencoveredwiththetopsoil.Seedswereplantedinthe soil.theglasswindowsareusedtocoverthebeds,holdintheheatgeneratedbythefreshmanure,and protectfromfrost.amoderndayhotbedcanalsoutilizeothersourcesofgroundheat.(hotwater runningthroughpipes,geothermal,electricheatcoils.) RelativeEaseofTransplantingBare*RootVegetableSeedlings Easy MediumDifficulty Difficult:NotRecommended Beet Broccoli BrusselSprout Cabbage Kale Kohlrabi Cauliflower Celery Eggplant Pepper Cucumber Muskmelon Squash SweetCorn Watermelon ProductionProcess 1. SiteSelection 2. PrimaryTillage 3. StaleBedPreparation 4. Fertility 5. Seeding 6. CoveringWithRowCover 7. Irrigation 8. Pre*PlantingPreparation ProperSiteLocationisacrucialcriterionofa successfulseedbed.ideallythesiteshouldbe chosenoneseasoninadvanceandprepared withsoilbuildingcropsandaweedbank reductionfallowperiodtheseasonbefore.
SiteSelectionCriteria: Goodsurfaceandinternaldrainage. Protectedfromhighwinds. Well&drainedsoilthatisdiseaseandnematodefree. Nosurfacecrusting surfacecrustingcanpreventseedsfromemergingaftergermination. Nosubsurfacecompaction subsurfacecompactioncanlimitrootgrowth. Nosurfaceerosion avoidslopingfieldsasseedsareplantedshallowandcanwashout. Lowweedpressureespeciallygrasses Accesstoirrigation. Thebestsoilforseedbedstendtobesandyorsandyloams.Thistypeofsoilisidealforharvesting (pulling)theplants.heaviersoilssuchasclayscanmakeplantharvestdifficult. Primary tillage is best done with a field digger and drag. Avoid doingitwhenwetandcausingsoilclumping. AvoidusingaRotovatorforseedbedpreparation,especiallyifyou have clay soils. A rotovator damages the soil structure and beneficialaggregationofsoilparticles.rotovatingcanbetempting because at first the soil is loose and friable and easy to plant, but after a hard rain rotovated soil is conducive to crusting and subsurfacecompaction. Beds are 42 inches wide. After primary tillage establish bed locationsbystakingendssixfeetapart. Create a low weed pressure stale bed. Most weeds germinate from the top half&inch of soil. If care is taken to kill weeds as they germinate without bringing up deeper weed seeds, a relatively weed&free bed can be created. Use a basket weeder by cultivating lessthanahalf&inchdeepwhenweedsareinthewhitethreadstage.itisalsopossibletocreatestalebeds with a tine weeder or flame weeder. If possible remove 2&4 weed crops in this way before planting. Cautions.1)Ifatineweederisused,usealighttractortominimizecompaction.2)Keepthetractortires intheaislesandoutofthebeds. Sometimes,despitegoodsoilpractices,drivingraincancauseexcessivesubsurfacecompaction.Itmaybe necessarytobringafielddiggerbackintothefieldandre&digdespitethefactthatitnegatestheeffortto createstalebeds. Weusea140tractorwithaBuddingbasketweederandfertilizerattachmentforstalebedmaking andbedprepatplantingtime.thetiresaresetat48. Thereartinewidthmatchesthetires.
BedPrepatPlantingTime Cultivatewiththebasket& weederathighspeed. Sometimesitisnecessaryto workthebedtwicetocreate alooseevenseedbed.itis alsopossibletopreparebeds byhand.ifsoilisclumpyit canberakedsmoothbefore planting.inthebelowpicture ofpreparedbeds,noticethe differencebetweentheaisle andbedsoiltexture.the clearlydefinedfurrowmade bythereartinesatthebed edgemakesiteasytoseed withoutamarkingwire.it alsocreatesafurrowfor layingtherowcover.
ToolsandMaterialsforPlantingandCovering. Fertilizer(ForseedbedsweuseSustane,adriedandpelletedturkeycompost) StakesandHammer Tapemeasure Seeder(WeusedaninexpensiveEarthwayseederwithaleekseedplate.Manyoptionsexist.) Seeds(Planthreetimestheseedasplantsneeded) Measuringcupsorsmallscale Toolstoadjustrearcultivatortinesandacrescentwrench Rowcover Shovels Recordbookandpencil FertilizerApplication Apply immediatelybeforeplantingto avoidlossduetowindorrain erosion.afinegradeis preferredastheseedbedsare denselyplantedandhavea veryshortgrowingwindow. Usecreepergear.Driveinfirst gear,lowthrottle.pressureair cleanoutalloldfertilizer clumpscausepluggingand unevenapplication SeedCounts Seedsizeisnot uniform. Smaller seeds will plant at a denser rate then larger seed with the EarthWay Seeder. Determining plant populationbasedonfootrowis generally inaccurate. Determine plant population by seed count. There are two ways to determine seed count, with measuring cups and spoons or with a micro&scale. It is best to prepare seed counts inside if possible ratherthaninfieldconditions.mostexactseederscanalsobeuse. 1. Establish total number of seeds based on seed packet seed count. 2. Weigh or measure all the seed to create a formula for seed count. 3. Ex.Apackagecontaining100,000seed=3.5cupsor56TBSP a. 1TBSP=1,785 b. 2TBSP=3,570 4. Followasimilarprocessifyouuseascale. 5. Seedcountmustberecalculatedforeachlotused.Countswill varyevenwithinthesamecultivar. Definitions: Germination:Thepercent ofseedsinalotthat germinateundergood conditions. Seedvigor:Thespeedand uniformityofemergence, especiallyunder less&than&idealconditions.
Seeding 6rows,7inchesapart,3inchesfrom eachedge,createsa41inchbed. 3 7 7 7 7 7 3 Fieldconditionsarerarelyexactlyaccurate. Allowextrainchesforfieldreality. We use a Seedway push seeder with leek plate. If you use a different seeder adjust accodingly. 1. Use predetermined seed amount. We use three times as many seeds as we needfinishedtransplants. 2. Try to plant 6 rows wide to the same cultivar laterwhenit stimetopullthe plants they will be less confusing to identifywithaccuracy. 3. Use caution while walking to not damage bed edge. Never walk in beds. Notebededgeinphotoafterplanting. 4. Holdseederasuprightaspossible 5. Startfirstrow3inchesfromedge. 6. Depth asshallowaspossible especiallyifcoolandwetout,butwith goodsoilcoverage.ifyouplanttoodeep itmaynotemergeaftergerminating. 7. Ifseedbedisnotevenyoumayhave inconsistentdepthcreatinguneven germination. 8. Usemarkertoestablishnextrow. 9. Plantthreerowsfromeachside. 10. Germinationofbrassicasmaybe reducedbytemperaturesinexcessof 80 F.Temperaturesinexcessof100 F canreduceseedviability.
Iffleabeetlesareaproblem,coverbedswithrowcovers.Ideallyrightafterplantingbutyoucanwait afewdays.coverbeforegermination.rowcoversalsoincreasetemperature,reducesurfacecrusting and preserve soil moisture. Caution in high temperatures, row covers are too warm, can affect germination,andshouldnotbeused. GerminationTimesandTemperaturesforBroccoliandCabbage Soiltemperatureforgermination Minimum Optimum Optimum Maximum Range 40 45&90 85 90 Days required for Brassica seedling (broccoli, cabbage) emergenceatvarioussoiltemperatures Temperature 41 50 59 68 77 86 95 104 Numberofdays &&&& 15 9 6 5 4 &&&& &&&& Generalnumberofdaysfrom seedingtotransplanting. Broccoli:38days GreenCabbage:38days RedCabbage:45days
Removerowcoversatleasttendaysbeforeplantingtohardplantsoff.Theyaregenerallyableto withstandfleabeetlepressureatthissize. Layingrowcoverbyhand:Leanoneendofrollinaisle,walkinotheraisleandunroll.Donotunrollthe tubelayingontopofplantedbed.itwillpushextrasoildownonseedsandburythemtoodeep.have downsideofrolltothewind.tacktheedgeoccasionallywithsoiltoholdinproperlocationbeing cautiousnottocovertheseedswithsoil,thenfillsinthegapswithsoil.forbestresultslaycoversquare. Watering Keepthetop½inchofsoilmoistuntilplantsemerge.Generallyitisbesttowaterlateintheday.Several irrigationsperdayduringhot,dryweather.frequentirrigationsduringhotweathernotonlysupply waterforgrowthbutalsohelplowersoiltemperaturesandcoolyoungplants. Emergence:Expect3&6days.Dependingontemperature,depthandmoisture. Afterseedlingsemerge,irrigatebedsmorethoroughly.Ifpossible,wetthesoiltoadepthof6inches.Be carefulnottoinjureorwashawaysmallplantswithexcessivewaterforceanddonot drown&out transplantsbyallowingwatertopondonthesoil.letthesoilsurfacedrybetweenirrigations.tohelp hardentransplants,reduceirrigationandallowthesoiltodryslightlyduringthefivetosevendays beforepulling. RemoveRowCover 7&14daysbeforeplanting.Youmayhavetoremoveearlierifyouhaveextremehightemperatures. PullingPlants Ifsoilisdry,waterthenightbeforepullingplants. BESTPRACTICE: Pullplantsfirstthinginthemorningwhencoolandstoreincooler. Countwhilepullingsoyouknowhowmanyyouhave. Separaterootsasyoupullthem. Keepplantsintheshade. Transplanting Ifovercastandcoolcanbeplantedanytimeofday. Inhotsunnyweathertransplantoutlaterintheday.Ideallyafter4pm. Ifveryhotirrigatewithinaday. o Wehavehadplantssurvive4&5daysover90 withoutadditionalirrigationbutthatisvery stressfulandnotrecommended. Caution:Oldtransplantsmayhavereachedaphysiologicalageatwhichreproductivegrowthisinitiated ratherthanvegetativegrowthandmayhaveproblemswithbolting.
Sources Soildiagramsandtillageinformation:Building)Soils)for)Better)Crops:FredMagdoffandHaroldVanEs, SustainableAgricultureResearchandEducation(SARE)Program. RelativeEaseofTransplantingBare&RootVegetableSeedlingsChart:Knott's)Handbook)for)Vegetable) Growers,DonaldNMaynardandGeorgeJ.Hochmuth,WileyPublishing