Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
saoodhashim

Seeds starting to germinate - What next?

saoodhashim
10 years ago

I had planted some seeds (of cucumber, tomato and peppers) in 4 inch pots and they have started to germinate. Just wanted to know how to proceed. I have no grow lights though and the outside temperature start off at sunrise from 75F and rise upto 100F by midday and by sunset just reaches around 93F

I am thinking of taking those seedlings out in the morning sun for and hour and a half and bringing them back in for the rest of the day. This I plan to do for approx 3 weeks after which the temperature are expected to go down and I can place them outside in their final containers. Is this the right way to proceed? And what should they be doing when kept inside? In the dark? Under house lights (I dont have any grow lights as of now). I thought house lights, being far away from the seedlings will stretch the seedlings and make dwindling plants. I have a western facing window which receives some sunlight for around an hour / hour and a half. I can keep it there for that time.

I actually am not sure, how to proceed now until the plants get ready to face the real outside environment.

Actually I was not expecting them to germinate so quickly (in 3 days). I though it will take 10 days. But it has happened so quickly that I am taken by surprise and seem to be unprepared for it.

Please help!

Comments (4)

  • ahelaumakani
    10 years ago

    I'm clueless on what the weather is like in Saudi Arabia. When you say the weather will cool down in 3 weeks how cool are we talking? What kind of peppers are you growing? Those should be able to withstand more heat than tomatoes or cucumbers and you might be able to get them out sooner. I would just be concerned that too much heat/not enough light will get the plants off to a bad start. I definitely wouldn't keep the seedlings in the dark. How bright is the room where they would be kept? If the plants are getting 3 hours of sunlight total between being outside and being near the window it's possible that even if they're not getting direct sunlight the rest of the day, a bright room might be enough to sustain them until you can get them outside.

    You might also get an outdoor thermometer to see exactly how hot it's getting in your yard. With microclimates or using some shade cloth you might find it's not as hot in certain areas and you can squeeze in couple more hours of sunlight.

    Check out the links below to read about tomatoes and cucumbers and heat.

    http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/cucumbers

    http://groweat.blogspot.com/2011/07/tomato-patch-how-tomatoes-react-to.html

  • saoodhashim
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the response.
    The weather over here is somewhat like zone 10b. These days the temperatures are frequently touching 100 at around noon tiime and atleast going upto 97F.
    By late october - it is expected to not exceed 95F and by early november not more than 90F. Gradually then falling with the highest in January being 70F and lowest then at around 50F

    Your links certainly helped.

    Just one correction. to my first / original post. I thought I had enough sunlight on my western window as I had estimated that in June/July - but it seems that in September / October it is not more than 30 minutes at best.

    The eastern window is a bright spot with no direct sunlight though. With 2 hours of sunlight in the morning and the rest of the day near eastern window be sufficient until the plants are ready to be transplanted in their final containers outside (by late October)? I have already made arrangement for shade cloth - 50% to filter the sunlight from 11am onwards

    Regards

    Saood

  • ahelaumakani
    10 years ago

    I think it could work. It's worth a try anyway unless you go ahead and just buy some grow lights. If you have lots of seedlings you could experiment with different locations to see what works best. I know what you're going thru. Where I live summer temperatures regularly get up to over 100. My patio is shaded by trees and a fence and the little bit of direct sunlight I get is at the hottest part of the day so I just had to give up on vegetables.

    I hope it works! You should post some pictures of the plants' progress when they get bigger.

  • saoodhashim
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks once again.

    Yesterday I bought 4 table lamps having 20W Daylight CFLs. Now I plan to take the seedlings for an hour early morning outside then use these table lamps by keeping them close to the seedlings for around 12-14 hours. I will also place some aluminum foil around the lamps such that the maximum light is retained near the seedlings. Lets see what happens.

    Yes, InshaAllah (God-Willing), I will post the photos for the benefit of the larger garden web community.

    Regards

    Saood