# Winter Boredom - Seed Fun



## cclaeys (Dec 2, 2017)

Not much to do outside and spring vegetable seeding is a ways off so I decided to test out some new cultivars and mixes. I know the perennial rye will grow, I have some that filled in an area that was toast. I never thought about growing PRG in UT until I saw Connor's video, thanks for the inspiration.

I have Greenview Fairway Blend, Jonathan Green BB Ultra and some midnight seeded in a flat, sown yesterday. I plan on taking a daily picture until I lose interest, probably never. There are multiple directions this can go, the soil is the same in all pods, standard potting mix, peat, compost, vermiculite and some paver sand for weight. I have used ever elixir available and good ole ammonium sulfate has always worked best so we'll see. This is the day 2 photo. I like to germinate my seeds in the oven with the light on, max humidity and gets up to about 90 during the light on cycle. I suspect the rye will germinate within a few days but I did a couple of pods with rye and bluegrass because the rye is supposed to affect the BG, nature is a weird deal.


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

Cool. Take pictures and time lapse it


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## cclaeys (Dec 2, 2017)

Yeah right, given my level of technical fortitude, you would think that would be easy. I have no idea where I would even start. Just taking a picture and transferring it to myself is a task.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

wardconnor said:


> Cool. Take pictures and time lapse it


We all don't make crazy videos all the time. :lol:


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

Grow lights are relatively cheap on craigs list, and depending on where you live cheap to run.

I have a 2 bulb grow light setup i bought on CList for like $20 i grow 2 flats of lettuce in my storage room with.

Then again we have super cheap electricity in Oregon, when i did the math to run it 16 hours a day 7 days a week would be like $5 a month to run.

Works great as a quick way to test seed you buy to make sure it germinates before spending all the time and money spreading/covering/watering it.


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## cclaeys (Dec 2, 2017)

I have plenty of "grow" lights, I have dozens of t8 flourescent 2 bulb 48" fixtures, some t5 double tubers and several led panels. I start the seed in the oven because it is humid, hot and consistent. I germinate tomato seeds in days in there during the winter. With 2 girls and wife that think electricity is free, I don't even sweat a couple kwh. People pay thousands to learn about stuff people have already commonly accept, $10 a month to try something else is a drop in the bucket.

I am just trying to test some things out, particularly how well these grow and more importantly being able to identify what they look like from germination through early development.

Grow lights are kind of pointless unless you are growin bud or lemons or something completely impractical. I just want them to develop as nice stocky seedlings.

I have them for that purpose as well as preserving my herbs, succulents and I have a bay tree. My wife is sick of half of my office being lit up so I got the all clear to create a grow room downstairs in a spare bedroom. I am not really sure she realizes the Kracken she just released.

I could buy the textbook everything and do it the way someone online suggests, but I don't really see any value in that. There haven't been many original concepts that were spawned by doing it the commonly accepted way.

And time costs me 0 except when I can get paid off of it and I already max that out - what is the alternative, TV, football? If I was interested in saving money I wouldn't have fired up my mower and pushed it around the non snow covered parts of my yard today, I am even comtemplating a couple of loads of sand if I can get a good deal in the off season <priceless>


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## fusebox7 (Jul 27, 2017)

Always fun to come up with "lawn" things to do during the winter! Is there a reason you chose to you a potting mix rather than your own soil? That's a large variable in this experiment (if you're trying to see what will work best in your yard, that is).


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## cclaeys (Dec 2, 2017)

The perennial rye is alive, not bad - how many people in UT are germinating grass in 3 days in December, ha. I will post the cultivars if anyone cares. I always do crazy experiments, but this time is the first that I have shared, seems like a safe enough place, lots of times people just sit back and wait to sniper you. I figure if that happens I will just disappear and do my own thing.

At least it generates some conversation.


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## cclaeys (Dec 2, 2017)

fusebox7 said:


> Always fun to come up with "lawn" things to do during the winter! Is there a reason you chose to you a potting mix rather than your own soil? That's a large variable in this experiment (if you're trying to see what will work best in your yard, that is).


hey fuse,

I make this mix myself, I have all the raw ingredients and add very little peat and whatever else is handy, worm casting, etc - it is airy but fairly coarse, I like using a heavier sand for weight. I use straight bark fines, compost and some poultry grit (granite) in my container plants, drains fast and I dont have to worry about killing all my japanese maples.

I am mostly interested in how these fill in and the texture of the grass, how prg does with bluegrass and honestly how the johnathan green stuff works out. I have grown midnight before but the rye is a new deal I learned about from a fellow utah'n. Basically it is cheap fun, I am an engineer, but simple if that is possible so anything to learn more and stimulate that process during the worst 3 months of the year is a win for me and it is cheaper than chasing gals around the bars. Theory vs. practice.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

I started growing some grass under a LED shop light but forgot about it and didn't water it lol. It was doing fine until then.


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## fusebox7 (Jul 27, 2017)

cclaeys said:


> I am mostly interested in how these fill in and the texture of the grass, how prg does with bluegrass and honestly how the johnathan green stuff works out. I have grown midnight before but the rye is a new deal I learned about from a fellow utah'n. Basically it is cheap fun, I am an engineer, but simple if that is possible so anything to learn more and stimulate that process during the worst 3 months of the year is a win for me and it is cheaper than chasing gals around the bars. Theory vs. practice.


Haha. I agree with your last couple statements. Enjoy the process. It's absolutely crazy how fast PRG establishes and matures vs. KBG. This year was the first time I tried KBG and I thought I was doing everything wrong because it took SOOOOO long to look like a lawn. I hear the benefits really start to show through the next year or two. I'd love to do some mini plots in my yard with some different species and sub-species of turfgrass but I don't think I have the wherewithal to go through with it and maintain the journal entries


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

GrassDaddy said:


> I started growing some grass under a LED shop light but forgot about it and didn't water it lol. It was doing fine until then.


Yea soil indoors seems to stay moist a lot longer, if i had to guess its the lack of wind and such?


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Knowing my luck, my wife would turn on the oven with the seeds inside. I'd have to have a separate oven


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