Planting/Growing Your Own...The Garden Thread

[RetiredAt63]

There are days I think the west coast is yelling - or maybe like Bali Hai from South Pacific, it is the lure of warm (well, relatively speaking) oceans.  If DD ends up in Toronto or Calgary, there is not a lot holding me here.  Time to get serious about a fitness program, I think.

"Old" - I like the saying, "they can make me grow old but they can't make me grow up".

The the verdant shores of the west coast is calling.... :)

[Astatine]

We're been watching a documentary on the lost kingdom of the Olmec in Mexico. There was a brief discussion of crops at the beginning to explain the success of that particular civilisation (fascinating!). The documentary reckons that they grew 3 crops together (and those 3 crops supplied all the nutrients that humans need): Maize, with beans growing up the stalks and squash growing below for weed control. Amazing!

The climate is very different to where I am though. The Olmec were in the wet tropics. I live in a relatively dry inland place and had minimal success the one time I tried to grow corn. 

I had a potato from the shop that went green, so I put it on my windowsill for a while, then planted it behind some of my herbs. That was a while ago (a few months? I forget).

I just googled when I should harvest - after the leaves die back. That could be a while away judging by the healthy looking leaves trying to take over my sage plant. Can I confirm with someone who's grown potatoes before that you harvest when the leaves die back? (I tried last year to grow potatoes but wasn't super successful)

If the ground is loose enough that you can sort of dig around under the plant with your hands, you can just pull off any good-sized potatoes you want and let the plant keep going.  I grew Yukon Golds last year and found some spuds that were pushing the limits of being too big at least a month or two before the plants would have died back.  If you let them grow for a long time, you might end up with some real monsters.

If you harvest potatoes before the leaves die back, sometimes the skins haven't toughened and will slide off the spud during harvesting.  I've been told by the local potato harvester to wait a minimum of 10 days after the leaves have died before harvesting. 

If you are careful, harvesting potatoes from a live plant can be done without wrecking the skin.

If you want them for storage, that's probably the safest bet, but if you want some potatoes to use, and don't want gigantors, it's worth knicking a few as you're ready to use them.  They can also be cured in a dark, dry place after pulling them off the plant if the skins aren't damaged.  We're still eating the Yukon golds I pulled up in August or so, before the plants died back.  They are sprouting already though, and I wonder if maybe they wouldn't sprout as soon if they'd stayed on the plant longer (maybe pulling them from the plant started the clock on their dormancy period?).  Besides, there isn't much better than throwing some whole new potatoes on the grill with just some olive oil and sea salt.

Belatedly responding. I have heavy thick clay soil which I'm gradually improving over time with digging over, mulching heavily and occasionally a bit of gypsum. The soil is not really easy to dig around in without some sort of implement, so I think I'll hold off til the leaves start dying away and then dig up and eat within a week or two. No idea how much we'll get but even a couple of potatoes for free will be nice.

[RetiredAt63]

It seems that tropical America did a lot more agriculture than the Europeans thought - it was so different they didn't recognize it as agriculture.  Mostly permaculture, tree crops.  And soil enriched with charcoal (terra preta).  And of course then the locals mostly died of European diseases, so no-one was around to point out how they grew their crops. Source: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus,  Charles C. Mann

I have heavy clay and use raised beds to improve soil texture and drainage.  I am going to try this in some of them this spring.

We're been watching a documentary on the lost kingdom of the Olmec in Mexico. There was a brief discussion of crops at the beginning to explain the success of that particular civilisation (fascinating!). The documentary reckons that they grew 3 crops together (and those 3 crops supplied all the nutrients that humans need): Maize, with beans growing up the stalks and squash growing below for weed control. Amazing!

The climate is very different to where I am though. The Olmec were in the wet tropics. I live in a relatively dry inland place and had minimal success the one time I tried to grow corn. 

[happy]

@Astatine:

I live in a relatively dry inland place and had minimal success the one time I tried to grow corn. 

My ex- inlaws live in the same city as you, they grow corn very well  in a raised bed, but to do so they water it every day.

[deborah]

I used to grow corn and beans - usually the beans won!

[pancakes]

Does anyone have experience with fruit trees indoors. I'm particularly looking at figs and lemons. Both seem to grow very well in the climate here but I don't have a garden.

I wouldn't expect them to be high yield indoors but a handful of fruit each year would be great in combination with the added greenery in our home.

Is it worth a try?

[Thegoblinchief]

Does anyone have experience with fruit trees indoors. I'm particularly looking at figs and lemons. Both seem to grow very well in the climate here but I don't have a garden.

I wouldn't expect them to be high yield indoors but a handful of fruit each year would be great in combination with the added greenery in our home.

Is it worth a try?

Doubt it. You can overwinter trees indoors, but growing them outright would require a solarium/greenhouse to get enough sun. A sunny southern window wouldn't even cut it.

And you'd have to hand pollinate.

[deborah]

An outdoor balcony would be OK. In general, there is more sunlight in Australia than there is in the US (because it's further from the equator), so it might do OK indoors, but there are two other problems - size of the plant (whether it can fit in a house) and size of the root ball (whether it can fit in a pot).

Citruses are often grown in pots, whereas I can't recall figs growing in pots, and figs send roots everywhere. The "Lemonade" lemon was specially developed for pots, and should be available from your garden store. It is also a dwarf variety - developed not to grow too big.

[bmcewan]

For seed companies, I like Seed Savers Exchange at seedsavers.org and for potatoes, Ronninger's Farm at potatogarden.com. There are some great new varieties at Tucker's farm in upstate NY at tuckertaters.com, but you have to order them the old fashioned way (an order form and snail mail!)

If you've never grown tomatoes or potatoes before, you don't know what you're missing. The quality difference between store-bought (bred for transport) and home-grown (bred for taste) is tremendous. German butterball is a favorite. I am going to try the new Adirondack Blue potato this year, which is blue all the way through.

We usually do a quarter-acre garden (getting bigger all the time) and have 8 apple trees and 6 blueberry bushes. We also have a killer spring-fed bass pond. In the summer, we sometimes go four or five weeks between store visits, get everything we need off the property.

[horsepoor]

The description says this fig grows well in containers:  http://www.starkbros.com/products/fruit-trees/fig-trees/celeste-fig

[Astatine]

@Astatine:

I live in a relatively dry inland place and had minimal success the one time I tried to grow corn. 

My ex- inlaws live in the same city as you, they grow corn very well  in a raised bed, but to do so they water it every day.

Hmmm. Probably can't bring myself to do that. Weekly watering yes. Daily, no. Particularly since we've been on permanent water restrictions (fairly minor, but still) since the last big drought and bushfires. But maybe if we get another La Nina and hence lots of rain, might worth trying again with corn then.

I used to grow corn and beans - usually the beans won!

lol! Well, you have the same climate as me, so I suspect I'd have a similar result.

[Cookie78]

Planted my seeds on Sunday. Watching every day to see if they are coming up yet. :p Looking forward to getting back in the greenhouse too. I was in there tidying up this week and it's so warm!

I was pleasantly surprised that I had enough little seed planting pod things (the ones where you add water and they pop up) and most of the seeds I needed from previous years. I only needed to spend $14 on new ones. I just picked them up at the greenhouse down the street. I should probably figure out a cheaper or better quality way to do that.

[Thegoblinchief]

Do any of you bother with soil temperature when planting peas? Last year I got mine in quite late. This year I want to push the envelope a bit early if possible. The ground is no longer saturated with snowmelt, but it's only about 39F in most spots, whereas various articles suggest 45+.

I did plant a round in one bed when we had a super warm spell and the dirt felt quite warm, but now it's back down to highs between 35-55F for the foreseeable future.

[deborah]

Here peas are supposed to be planted in either autumn or spring, so the young plants can stand a lot of frost. I think you need them to germinate so they don't go to mush.

[horsepoor]

Sometimes I put them in a wet paper towel in a sandwich bag until they germinate, and then plant them, but it doesn't seem to accelerate their emergence from the soil.  Throw them in the ground and they will grow when they're good and ready.  I've had even the pre-germinated ones refuse to emerge for a few weeks, and then suddenly they come up when conditions are right.  It's not super wet here, but IME, they don't rot in the ground if the seed is viable.

So far in the ground here I have:  sugar snap peas, chard, cabbage, broccoli, leeks, green onions, lettuce, beets, carrots, kale, spinach, potatoes, collards and radishes.  Will probably do a little more planting this weekend.  The rhubarb and garlic are growing, I've transplanted strawberries and added to the patch to fill my large hugelkulter bed, and am anxiously waiting for signs of life from the asparagus.  Not sure if the two apple trees I put in last year made it.  One one of two made it the year before that, and the survivor looks to be doing well, as are the nectarine and cherry tree, josta berry, goji, rasp and blackberries.  To my surprise the hops have already put on >1' of growth and will be demanding a trellis in the very near future.

Hoping to get a few yards of composted manure to amend the new garden area that I'm planning to use for corn and winter squash, and top up any raised beds that don't already have things planted in them.  Lots to do over the next few weeks, since we'll be out of the country during prime gardening season in the first half of May.

The plan this year is to focus more on herbs and spices.  The Thai basil pesto I froze from last summer's crop has made for some hit meals this winter, and I also did regular pesto, a chimichurri, and carrot green/garlic scape pesto, along with experimentations in fermented homemade hot sauce and homemade chile powders, so planning to devote more space to herbs of all kinds, and grow many, many peppers while sidelining the tomatoes a bit, as wonderful as they are, with all their alluring varieties. 

[Miamoo]

Goblin, I planted mine last year on 4/1 and they did just fine. 

Lettuce is sprouting here already - how's by you?  We're not that far from each other - pretty much the same weather.

[Thegoblinchief]

Goblin, I planted mine last year on 4/1 and they did just fine. 

Lettuce is sprouting here already - how's by you?  We're not that far from each other - pretty much the same weather.

I didn't get a chance to sow lettuce until 3-14, so no sprouting yet, but should be soon. The only things sprouting in my beds are weeds. (Mainly grass, and some cover crops that didn't winter kill.)

[Miamoo]

"I didn't get a chance to sow lettuce until 3-14, so no sprouting yet, but should be soon. The only things sprouting in my beds are weeds. (Mainly grass, and some cover crops that didn't winter kill.)"

Goblin, the lettuce (at least I hope it's lettuce, looks like lettuce . . .) is from what I let go to seed last year in the "lettuce only" raised bed.  Certainly not in perfect rows!

Weeds and grass here too dammit.  Should have gotten some straw last fall to spread between the raised beds.  We'll be hunting for straw this weekend.

To all . . . the Kevin Lee Jacobs milk carton greenhouses (winter sowing) are working GREAT!  Highly recommend giving this a shot . . .

[RetiredAt63]

Snow again tomorrow.  Sigh.

[tofuchampion]

Hey! I'd like to join you all, if that's okay. I live in an apartment and only have a small patio, so I'm going to grow things in pots. I've tried to do this for the past couple of years, but never had much success, admittedly because I didn't put much effort into it. My approach was basically, "put stuff in pots, water, hope for the best." Generally I got enough veggies to feed the guinea pig with, but that's it. So this year I've actually done research and will be putting a lot more time into it.

I'm planning on:
- cherry tomatoes
- eggplant
- cucumbers
- bell peppers
- carrots
- lettuce
- sunflowers
- poppies
- sweetpeas (flowers, not peas)

I think that's it. Anything that can be direct-sown, I'm starting from seed. Anything that needs to be started indoors, I'm getting plants, because I don't have room inside for seedlings. Also, the cat would probably eat them. I got all my seeds, & ordered plants, from Territorial. Plants are shipping sometime in the first half of April and seeds came last week. I need to get more pots, and soil, and research fertilizers.

[horsepoor]

Hi Tofu - of course you can join!  5 gallon buckets with drainage holes drilled in the bottom make good, cheap pots.  They're the ideal size for your eggplants and peppers.  If your cherry tomato is one of the dwarf varieties, a bucket should work for that, and probably the cucumber, too.  I think that people often have less success growing in containers because they use too-small pots. 

[4alpacas]

I'm starting small this year.  I planted two types of tomatoes, green pepper, and squash.  I'm still trying to manage my ridiculously old, overproducing Meyer lemon tree.

[Thegoblinchief]

Hi Tofu - of course you can join!  5 gallon buckets with drainage holes drilled in the bottom make good, cheap pots.  They're the ideal size for your eggplants and peppers.  If your cherry tomato is one of the dwarf varieties, a bucket should work for that, and probably the cucumber, too.  I think that people often have less success growing in containers because they use too-small pots.

That's actually a genius idea! The main thing that's kept me from adding some containers to gain extra space is the cost of the damn containers.

For cucumbers, there's a variety I'm trying this year that's a bush habit one called Spacemaster 80. Many veggies have container-specific varieties, or a good garden catalog (Johnny's, Fedco, Jung, Territorial, Pinetree to name a few) will have a "container-friendly" icon.

I'm still trying to manage my ridiculously old, overproducing Meyer lemon tree.

Send some my way! ;) Ask neighbors. Donate to food pantries? Sell some?

For more ideas, see:

http://www.nwedible.com/ways-to-use-lemon-peel/

Food in Jars had a bunch of citrus-themed posts recently as well. She even joked she should rename the site "Citrus in Jars".

[Thegoblinchief]

There's a pretty detailed talk about year round fruit design on Permaculture Voices ep 3 and a lot of it is specifically applicable to SoCal, which I believe is where you're from. I know they talked a fair amount about citrus, which I glossed over, as citrus is not going to happen up here without major micro-climate hacking ;)

[asauer]

Was very happy this weekend to see spinach, lettuce, carrots and even a couple of onions peeking out of the ground!  I hope this means we'll have a good spring harvest.  Next week, we'll begin to harden off our tomatoes, peppers and broccoli that sprouted inside.  I LOVE gardening season.

[horsepoor]

Hi Tofu - of course you can join!  5 gallon buckets with drainage holes drilled in the bottom make good, cheap pots.  They're the ideal size for your eggplants and peppers.  If your cherry tomato is one of the dwarf varieties, a bucket should work for that, and probably the cucumber, too.  I think that people often have less success growing in containers because they use too-small pots.

That's actually a genius idea! The main thing that's kept me from adding some containers to gain extra space is the cost of the damn containers.

Yep, they work well if you don't mind the look, and if you're industrious, can probably get them free from restaurants/fast food joints.

Another thing that's cheap and works pretty well is Rubbermade totes with the top cut out of the lid (keeps the whole thing more rigid than if you just take the lid off).  That makes a big enough pot for growing tomatoes for like $6.

[Thegoblinchief]

There's a California Rare Fruit Growers association that would probably be a great resource. Bay Area is very different from my climate, which is both far colder and far hotter. That's where some of the PacNW folks like Erica's blog at NWEdible might be a good suggestion, but that's really a guess on my part.

She really likes Raintree nursery for plants.

[Cookie78]

I'm in the cold north and there is still snow for another month or two! But my little indoor seeds have started sprouting! I have one butternut squash that is 2 inches tall and the others haven't even showed their faces yet. :D

[CanuckExpat]

I'm in Northern California, so pretty close :)  Thanks for the reference!  I'm always trying to learn more about the area. 

Depending on where you in Northern California, and how much extra fruit you have, you might want to look into this organization: http://www.villageharvest.org/

They take donated fruit and distribute it to food pantries, etc. They also go to residences of people who can't pick the fruit themselves (elderly, etc) and pick fruit to donate. You can volunteer with them as well, if you like picking fruit.

[Rural]

You guys inspired me, and I planted spinach, more cilantro (inside), and marigolds (pest control, will move in and out until temps stabilize).

[GardenFun]

Tomatoes and peppers are started indoors.  Tomatoes germinated beautifully.  I planted two seeds per container square to ensure germination.  Has anyone ever kept both seedlings going, resulting in two plants in one space? 

[happy]

Whenever I have done this I have usually regretted it. They will compete for nutrients and be less vigorous in the longer term. Just get rid of one…try to pick the stronger one to keep.  If you want to try separating them you could do that before they get too big, but beware: sometimes you can damage both and end up with none!

[ria1024]

Tomatoes and peppers are started indoors.  Tomatoes germinated beautifully.  I planted two seeds per container square to ensure germination.  Has anyone ever kept both seedlings going, resulting in two plants in one space?

While they're still very small with a single root, you can pull them out and move them to their own pots.  But growing two in a space meant for one will just crowd both of them, encouraging diseases and limiting their eventual growth and productivity.

[birdie55]

I put two seeds in each cell and if both germinate I separate them and transplant both into four inch pots.  If that give me too many plants for my home garden I easily find homes for them.  We have a food bank garden in my town and they take spare vegetable plants. 

[deborah]

Has anyone ever kept both seedlings going, resulting in two plants in one space? 

Yes, I put two seedlings in the ground together all the time. I have cylinders of wire that I use for supporting tomatoes. I get a roll of strong wire mesh, cut about a yard or more off and join the two ends (as it is rolled up,it is just a matter of unrolling it a little). Place the cylinder upwards on the ground and peg it, and plant a pair of tomato plants in the middle. As the plants grow, I push their branches inside the cylinder, and they grow over the top and downwards.

[Nancy]

Oh man! I feel like I'm starting so late this year (giant snow piles gave the impression that winter was staying for good). Ah well! I just took stock of my seeds from last year. I'm going to start indoors:
 brandywine and cherry tomatoes
Broccoli
Onions

[tofuchampion]

Hi Tofu - of course you can join!  5 gallon buckets with drainage holes drilled in the bottom make good, cheap pots.  They're the ideal size for your eggplants and peppers.  If your cherry tomato is one of the dwarf varieties, a bucket should work for that, and probably the cucumber, too.  I think that people often have less success growing in containers because they use too-small pots.

That's a fantastic idea! I agree that I've probably used too-small pots in the past. My plan this year is to err on the side of big. I have one 5-gal bucket already. I'm going to look at Goodwill for pots (a coworker said she's seen them there, obv very cheap), but if I can't find any big enough, I'll just get buckets.

Oooh, I also have a pretty big Rubbermaid tote sitting out on my patio that's not being used. It's a big rectangle, so maybe not ideal for tomatoes, but I could probably use it for carrots or something.

Now I'm wondering what else I have sitting around that I could plant stuff in...

[GardenFun]

Thanks for the feedback regarding two plants in one space.  This is going to be "experiment year".  For each tomato type, I have two spaces containing one plant, then two space containing two plants.  We'll see how they do in regards to yield, disease, etc.  Also helps that this year's big garden purchase involves new crazy-strong tomato cages.  :-)

[Cookie78]

I've had a composter for a couple years now, but I neglect it. I didn't add water until late last fall and I never mix it. I didn't think it ever actually made soil for me. Last year hornets made it their home and so I thought I'd deal with it this spring before they came back.

And I discovered soil! I know this is not groundbreaking news, but pretty exciting for me. I got two buckets of soil and mixed up the rest of the contents as I put it back. Added water too. Didn't find any hornets or a nest.

[1967mama]

My neighbour just blessed me with a huge clump of green onions, including the white stringy roots.  Does anyone know if I could plant this and have it turn into more green onions? How would I do this? Should I cut off the edible green part and just plant the white stems and roots? Also, should I plant them individually and space them out, or plant the clump all together? *

I plan on getting to know this neighbour much better! She has just become a SAHM after many years of full time work and is a MASTER gardener -- she sends over lovely excess produce all summer long and I send back homemade bread!

*Clearly, I'm a newbie!

[deborah]

You can plant them, and they will grow bigger. They will not double or anything. Depending whether they are straight up and down, or slightly bulbous, they will become real onions, or just become bigger straight up and down onions.

[tofuchampion]

After tonight, I'm off work till Saturday. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous for the next few days (in the 70's and sunny!), so I think it's planting time! For the direct-sow seeds, that is. My live plants will ship out this week or next. :)

Silly question: Do I need to add gravel or pebbles or anything in the bottoms of my pots/buckets, below the soil, for drainage? I have had issues in the past with water not draining well, and I think this might help.

Also: Where do you buy gardening supplies? There is a Home Depot about half a mile from my house, so I was just going to go there - could get the 5gal buckets at the same time. But we also have a few locally-owned garden shops, and their knowledge might be good.

[horsepoor]

Tofu, it depends on what you need.  You might check the Dollar store for seeds, and I've found some pretty good gardening tools at BigLots! if you have one of those near you.  Garden centers are usually pretty pricey and I find their supplies are more geared towards the cutesy/crafty stuff rather than utilitarian, so I mostly just use them for buying actual plants.

Green onions - yes, you can cut the tops off and eat them, and the replant the white part and root, and they will re-sprout.  I'd separate them out a bit so they have room to grow.  If they're in a clump, you might find some runty ones, but if you leave the tops on those and give them their own space, they should catch up.

[Penny Lane]

My ENTIRE garden area is covered in snow.  Still!  The asparagus bed has a 3 foot drift.

So, the basement growing area is just ramping up.  I have a germination heating pad I purchased at Amazon last year which has vastly improved rate of seedling emergence.

For the newbies:  green onions are super easy to grow from onion sets, available at ag/feed stores in bulk.  Plant a little set about 2 inches deep, space 3-4 inches apart.  A pound of yellow onion sets will cost under $2 and produce a ridiculous explosion of green onions, especially fun for kids.  Within 2 months you can start making green onion, cheese and cilantro quesadillas.  I don't grow my onions from these as they assume a flattened shape I don't like; seedlings will produce nice round onions.

[MishMash]

Yard sales for the gardening tools, never paid over a buck for anything I need and routinely get nice terracotta or ceramic pots for 5 bucks or less. 

Does anyone have any luck growing root vegetables...4 years in a row and I've tried beets, carrots, onions, rutabega etc and NOTHING grows, I've done it in ground, raised bed, in a planter and I never get anything but greens.  Any ideas?

[Thegoblinchief]

Put my broccoli, kale, and chard starts outside to begin hardening off. Sowed basil and 4 kinds of tomatoes indoors (sungold, mariana, opalka, and cosmonaut volkov), along with ground cherries (still have NEVER tasted one, hopefully this year is the charm!) and some kohlrabi seed I found.

Two of the trays are in the basement with heat mats. Only have 2 mats, though, so I'm keeping the last tray upstairs until germination occurs.

[horsepoor]

Yard sales for the gardening tools, never paid over a buck for anything I need and routinely get nice terracotta or ceramic pots for 5 bucks or less. 

Does anyone have any luck growing root vegetables...4 years in a row and I've tried beets, carrots, onions, rutabega etc and NOTHING grows, I've done it in ground, raised bed, in a planter and I never get anything but greens.  Any ideas?

Could be too much nitrogen if you're getting tops and not roots.  For the beets, also check your varieties and maybe try some different ones. Some beets and turnips are grown more for the tops than the roots.  Do you have some poorer, but loose and stone-free soil?  Maybe try putting them in plot that was used for a hungry crop like corn or squash, and not fertilized afterwards.  Onions do well from transplants.  You can start a bunch of them in a small pot and then separate them out and transplant them, and they should grow.  Carrots are tricky because they require shallow planting, but consistent moisture for ~2 weeks to get them to germinate.  It can help to put a lightweight board over the seeds to keep them moist, but then the trick is that the soil sticks to the board when you pull it up, which you must to do check for germination, so they don't just sprout and die under the board. 

[MishMash]

Yard sales for the gardening tools, never paid over a buck for anything I need and routinely get nice terracotta or ceramic pots for 5 bucks or less. 

Does anyone have any luck growing root vegetables...4 years in a row and I've tried beets, carrots, onions, rutabega etc and NOTHING grows, I've done it in ground, raised bed, in a planter and I never get anything but greens.  Any ideas?

Could be too much nitrogen if you're getting tops and not roots.  For the beets, also check your varieties and maybe try some different ones. Some beets and turnips are grown more for the tops than the roots.  Do you have some poorer, but loose and stone-free soil?  Maybe try putting them in plot that was used for a hungry crop like corn or squash, and not fertilized afterwards.  Onions do well from transplants.  You can start a bunch of them in a small pot and then separate them out and transplant them, and they should grow.  Carrots are tricky because they require shallow planting, but consistent moisture for ~2 weeks to get them to germinate.  It can help to put a lightweight board over the seeds to keep them moist, but then the trick is that the soil sticks to the board when you pull it up, which you must to do check for germination, so they don't just sprout and die under the board.

Hmm, that is a good idea...I routinely mix in manure with the compost in the raised beds to help the heavy feeders since I don't have enough room to crop rotate (live in a townhome) and last year I accidentally spilled some radish seeds into a pot that had housed a now dead houseplant for years, and they went gangbuster, it was the only time I've had really good success with them.  I'll pull some of the soil out from where I grew the tomatoes before amending this year and give that a try, I've tried multiple varieties of all the seeds and still nothing, so I don't think that's it.  Thanks!

[Thegoblinchief]

Onions are also daylength sensitive. Be sure you are getting something for your specific latitude.

Beets need (IIRC) some boron.

But that's just book knowledge from me. Haven't grown either myself.

[Axecleaver]

If you have two seedlings in a cell, it's easy to pull one out and replant it in a 4" pot or an empty cell. If you don't, at some point the seedlings will compete with each other and both will suffer.

When you go to actually plant tomato seedlings, they need lots of room, don't crowd them or plant them together. Strip off the leaves on the stem (leave the top leaves) and lay the entire stem in the ground. The whole stem will sprout roots and grow strong. You can also put a teaspoon of epsom salt in the hole to help with root growth.

Peppers do much better if you plant them in pairs. They will support each other this way and shade each other's fruit.

Your problem with root vegetables is probably too much nitrogen. If there's too much nitrogen, they'll just send up more and more leaves. With potatoes you have to hill them up every week or so for the first few weeks, to encourage root growth.