Experiment Station Reports/Staring Seeds Indoors

County Agent News

Dan Folske

January 31, 2011

Experiment Station Reports

            I have received the 2010 Annual Research Report from the North Central Research & Extension Center in Minot and the Williston Research & Extension Center. They contain the variety trial results for all of the small grains, peas, buckwheat, camelina, canola, chickpeas, corn, crambe, mustard, and other crops. It also contains reports of other research such as durum and barley fungicide response by varieties, broadleaf weed control with Huskie, spring wheat burndown with Sharpen, preharvest weed dessication in lentils and other weed control research.  

Staring Seeds Indoors

Starting seeds indoors can be a fun and rewarding activity.  It does, however take a little planning for the best success. Starting too soon can result in oversize plants which may not survive transplanting or may not out flower or out yield plants started at a later date. Planting too late can result in small transplants which may have little advantage over direct seeded plants. Most vegetables should be started about 6-8 weeks before your expected transplant dates. Some do well with as little as 4 weeks and some need 10-12 weeks for maximum advantage. 

Some plants are easy to start and transplant others are more difficult. Some should be started in degradable containers like peat pots so you can plant pot and all without disturbing the plant roots.