6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Link below is to the FAQ here on this issue. Cut back on watering and use a fan on the area solves the problem.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Things growing on my soil FAQ
runswithscissors - it sounds as if winter sowing would be helpful to you. You wouldn't need to worry about stratification at all. You let the winter weather take all the guess work out of it. All the plants in your second paragraph are hardy and could be winter sown.
Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing forum
Give those jiffy pucks a pass after this. I personally hate them. The peat in them must be pretty solid and it will be hard to separate them. Get some 16oz colored disposable drinking glasses-- $3 or $4 for 50 at walmart. They are the best and cheapest pots I have found.
Fill the pots with a good soil less mix--I like pro mix BX and buy it by the bale. It will keep for years if kept completely dry. Now take those pucks with your plants and stick them in warm water and soak the peat until it loosens from the root and you can divide them with very little damage to the root. Make sure your mix is wet through with warm water and full your pots or glasses 2/4 full. Dibble a hole in the center and sink your plants up to the leaves in the soil. Give them better light. On warm days set them outside for a while--an hour or 2 at first and gradually increase the time over a couple of weeks. The stems will get stronger in resistance to the wind
Thank you both! That is great advice. Had not thought of using water to make the process of dividing easier. Makes a lot of sense, I will do that.
I've been using a fan indoor to expose the seedling to wind a couple hours a day and it seem to help they get a bit sturdier. Will start putting them outside as soon as it gets a little warmer.
Also, yes, definitely not going back to the jiffy pucks. Beside they drying quickly and, I don't like the idea of being dependent on a "branded system" where I need to buy silly pucks at 20 cents a pop.
I'm reading Eliot Coleman's "The New Organic Grower" and saw he uses Soil Block makers (link below). They look fantastic for seedlings: not pots (no wasted plastic!), no cost after the initial purchase of the maker, and unlimited use. Have been reading about them a lot and think I'll grab a kit at Lee Valley.
Here is a link that might be useful: Block makers
Have researched mycorrhizae fungus that can be added to the soil to help with root development. I bought a bag and it's a very dust like powder that you can sprinkle or dissolve in water. I mostly forgot about it, but the few plants I did add it to, did not show any difference what-so-ever from their neighbors. Perhaps it's more useful out in the garden where this beneficial fungus is supposidly becoming scarce. Am curious tho, if anyone else has tried it and if they noticed anything.
Hi there. I'm not an expert as I've only been starting tomatoes from seed for 3 years.
My best guess is your plants are too crowded and rootbound. Try giving them their own space in larger containers, water less, and see if it helps. You could possibly be adding too much fertilizer also.
Best of luck and report back with your results :)
Gosh Lesuko, I feel for you, as I had this exact same problem this spring already. I'm not sure if we have the same reasons, but we sure have/had the same results...unfortunately I lost every plant that showed the signs you have. You may have to start over from scratch like I did. For me - problem number 1 was too much heat. I learned on these forums that after the seedling sprouts, they like to grow in a much cooler environment. Also, add air. A little desk fan running 24/7 in the corner made a big difference for me too. The soil was also a problem for me but I can only guess as to the cause based on what happened AFTER I quit using it. I thought I had primo stuff...(I made it myself afterall!)...but as I was taught here, it was just not porous enough, held water, and sort of compacted inside the cell-pots. Also, it had no nutrients in it, which some say is okay for the first few weeks of plant life, but in my mix the combo spelled death. (But it's soooo black, and it has the perfect ingredients, and it looks so ideal, I lamented.) Well, maybe so, but the proof was in the pudding, and I had a high mortality rate. Same as you, I also had a fungus growing on the soil. So, I switched to a pre-mix formulation that my local feed store carries. 2nd batch faired much better. Now the water....I too, felt that DOD didn't seem right since I have hardly any humidity, and I'm still not convinced that it was a factor or that I was overwatering. Until, I dumped the dirt out in my hand after the plant finally croaked. It was moist, but not wet. Crumbly, soft, fluffy, [smelled moldy] which maybe the one indicator of a obvious moisture problem. Indeed, I had to listen to folks on these forums that know better than I, and I made a crucial adjustment. I stopped watering just because the top looked dry or felt dryish to the finger test. Instead, to satisfy my need to see nice black, moist dirt on top, I bought a pump sprayer and misted the tops, leaving the watering alone until it really WAS needed. To that mist I added foliar feeding fertilizer, and man, what a difference. Within two weeks, yellowing stopped and green started to take over. I really can't claim any credit, because before these forums helped me, my poor plantlets looked just like yours!
When you take them outside, do you keep them in the shade and out of the wind? Even an hour at a time will help to stiffen them up. A shady outside location will still be 10 times more light than they are getting under your lights. Al
See the FAQ titled
OK, my seedlings are growing, now what do I do?
There is also one on transplanting if needed.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing from Seed FAQs
keep 'em warm, read them stories, and so on
Little more complicated than that but the FAQs here cover all the basics. And please take them out of the rice now.
However you do need to know that they are hybrid varieties so what you get from the seeds, if they grow (many are sterile) will most likely not be the same. Hybrids often revert to parent stock.
So do some research into the differences between hybrids and open-pollinated varieties when it comes to growing from seed and then decide if it is worth spending the time on them.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Saving seeds from hybrids
THatstat,
I am doing the same thing for my mom. She saved the seed from the peppers she bought from walmarts produce department. I had a very high germination rate and they are growing nicely, though a few weeks behind my other peppers. I told her she may not get what she has bargained for, but she is up for the experiment. There is no telling about the parentage of those peppers, so she will have to take what she gets.
Lynn
Transplanted right after germination because they were in way too small pans. They Seem to be doing well but some of them had some trouble with growing due to transplanting or the soil. They were in a U shape coming out of the soil and going back in. The ones I caught early are doing better than the ones that I just found today. I have been giving them full sun as much as possible and even been putting them outside when it is warm enough (36 degrees or more) and they are getting bigger ;) I am going to be starting more in egg cartons to make it easier for me.
You are one zone up from me.
Last fall I read that Butterfly plant seeds don't like being pampered.
So when the plants produced seeds I just tossed them on the ground (where I wanted them) like they would do naturally. I have so many young plants now that I thinned many, many.
Saw a monarch on the parent today.
Bottomline, try to toss seeds on the outside soil in the fall.
I grow eggplants just for fun...since I do not like to eat them. They grow fast...and all sources say they hate to be transplanted....in my humble experience, I don't find that to be so. If your careful, just like when you transplant anything, they recover nicely, and quickly show you how much they like the extra leg room. I think that is what yours need. Is it possible they need a squirt of iron?
Hi,
This isn't exactly what your asking for but I thought I would volunteer this experience i had. Eggplants suffer what is known as blossom drop if the temps at night go below 50F. They will try and make new blossoms if this happens. However if you live in a cold environment you could possible be seeing as many as 70 % less eggplants at harvest time. I live in cold country and it wasn't worth it. The few eggplants that did come in were normal fruit though.
If you have an unusual summer with warm nights then you will be a big winner.
My dad the plant genetecist said this:
"Probably a hybrid variety? Ask them. Hybrid varieties do this every time. That is the plan for you to buy new seed every year
At very least there was some heterozygosity in the original seed which caused the segregation and recombination; the result is two colors.
Seed companies look for ways to have you Return and buy seed every year. The American way. Smiling."
Interesting, Amanda. Sandhill preservation center is a small family farm in Iowa known for their hard to come by heirloom seeds, and poultry. They are the only source I have been able to find for my favorite variety of okra, the Texas longhorn. They have all grown true except this one red plant. Possible the plant was accidentally cross-pollinated with one of their burgandy varieties? Anyway I will transplant these, the resulting pods should tell the tale.
SOIL temperature for germination 70-75F taking 14 days. growing on temp (after germination)60-62F & takes 3-6 weeks from germination to transplant & in a 4" pot, 10-12 weeks to transplant outside. This plant will not tollerate cold ... & growth regulators helps at transplantIdeal pH 5.8-6.0 (Acid soil)
good light either natural or grow lights helpful.
I'm having the same problem with my tomato seedlings. I've grown tomatoes from seed for years and never had this happen before. I'm growning 2 varieties. One is
Cupid grape tomato which I've grown before. The other is Margherita, a saladette variety that I'm trying for the first time. I have never seen seedlings look like this before. Both varieties have the purple stem and underleaf and they are growing slowly and seem to be deformed. I've grown these tomatoes as I always have. The ONE common denominator we have is Jiffy mix seed starter. I just transplanted the seedlings into Metromix potting soil in the hope that they will do better. I'm thinking it's the Jiffy mix that is the problem.
Eaine, I have not had this problem at all this year. Several things are different:
- I have used two different seed starting mixes neither one of which is from Jiiffy. One is from Foxfarm and I can't recall the other but it has some organic fertiizer added to it.
- I have a couple carniverous plants and these have kept away the fungus gnats.
- I started adding Foliage Pro liquid fertilizer to the water very soon after emergence.
My seed starts are the best they have ever looked. By the way last year my plants did slowly snap out of it. I'm not sure if it was the mosquito dunks or the transitioning to the outdoors or the addition of fertilizer. I used a solid fertilizer (formulated for tomatoes) last year.
Steve