Seedling Portability for Maximum Growth
Dr. Mark Konrad
Sewickley, Pennsylvania

Maximizing seedling growth during the first year often involves a major intellectual exercise. Those who succeed have usually learned how to run a formidable obstacle course. To have a modicum of success, many parameters such as light, humidity, timing, medium, water, nutrients, and temperature have to be just right for continuous growth.

A major source of continuity is lost without a greenhouse, which is highly important during the first year. To compensate for this I have found it necessary to have a flexible program whereby the seedlings sewn in the fall are moved from indoor lighting to the outdoors; and then they are moved back under the lights, all in the same year to get substantial growth during their first year.