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wyattdog_gw

Is this the seedling phosphorus issue?

wyattdog
12 years ago

Do these tomato and pepper seedling have problems with phosphorus?

I have had this problem for several years now. My tomato and pepper seedlings turn a purplish color and just look as if they don't flourish while they are growing. They always perk up when I plant them outside, but I always wonder if this issue has caused developmental delays.

These were planted on March 9. I try to grow my plants organically.

This year, I used Pro-Mix Organic Mix to start the seedlings. I have them on heating cable: cable is tied to hardware wire, and aluminum sheet is placed on top (the cable cycles on and off as needed). I read in previous posts that heat might be a problem which cause them to turn purple so I have kept them on this set up without turning off the cable. I checked the temps this morning and the air temp near the seedlings was about 72 and the soil was about 72.

This year I have kept lights on 24 hours. In previous years I had been turning them off 8 hours at night so I thought I would try something different to see if that helped. Apparently it doesn't help with this problem.

I know it's about time to re-pot the seedlings. What is the best growing medium for this? Would the Pro-Mix work? Usually I use a diluted fish emulsion to fertilize when I transplant. This seems to go along with what others recommend.

I have this dream that someday I will have beautiful green healthy looking seedlings that I grow in my basement. I think I try to do what's recommended in the forums, but somewhere I'm missing the mark. So how does one correct the phosphorus issue?

Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks! (Sorry the pics are large - I'm still learning.)

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