whats up with the yellow leaves????

okay! thanks for the tip on the cultivator tool...I actually have one of those.....since I did just feed my SFG with miracle grow yesterday....perhaps I should wait a week or so before adding the top dressing?

That seems like a reasonable plan.

I'm resurrecting this thread, as my indoor seedlings are showing signs of yellowing leaves. Well, only the ones that I have transferred into Mel's Mix (from vermiculite). I have some others that were transferred into a commercial seed starting mix, and they do not show the same yellowing. So, unfortunately I do think that my Mel's Mix is lacking (nitrogen is my guess).

This is my first year doing SFG, so I guess I am not alone in having this happen. And I don't have my own compost ready to go, just started that this year too. My sister recommended the Espoma Plant Tone for this first year. I have started some cold weather plants outside, but I think I will try to gently mix in the Plant Tone out there. And I'm trying to think about how to add it to the indoor plants, they are currently in half toilet paper rolls, sitting in a dish. I don't know if I will be able to add the Plant Tone to the toilet paper rolls, but maybe I can transplant the affected ones again into a larger container, and add the Plant Tone to that. I'll let you know how it goes.

treefrog I'd try bonnie plant food comes in a green bottle ( lowes & Home depot) carries it. One small bottle makes 64 gallons I think it's a 6-4-2 mix one cap full to a gallon of water, where in N. C. Do you call home?? I grow up in west Asheville,is your water spring, well or city??If it's city you may need to let it sit for a day in the sun before using it on your plants , all the stuff they add to it will come out kinda the same reason people do that for a fish tank,city water will turn my plants yellow,if I don't filter it first, filters can get costly,just full your 5 gal bucket and let it set overnite before using

over watering can also cause yellowing

Plant tone is a pretty good product. I have used it with success when my plants were showing similar symptoms.

When you say you transplanted to Mel's mix.... do you mean out put the seedlings in a pot? When did you do that. You may be seeing some temporary symptoms of transplant shock.

Hey Hillbilly Bob - I am on city water, in Raleigh. I didn't think about that whole issue, but thanks for mentioning it. I have a rain barrel set up, so I'll have to remember to use water from there instead of from the tap (even on the inside plants).

TN Gardener, thanks - I'll keep an eye on that as well. The plants in the commercial stuff were done later, so if they start to turn yellow then too much water may be the culprit.

CampRN - I started the seeds in vermiculite, so when I say transplanted, I mean I took the germinated seedlings and put them into MM (in toilet paper tubes, cut in half). They are still indoors.

Yesterday I went ahead and bought some Plant Tone, and added a little bit to the tops of the affected plants, mixing it in gently with my finger, then topped it off with some of the commercial seed starting mix. And gave them a little water. I hope that helps them out.



Okay - left to right - top row: Swiss chard in MM; tomato in MM; lettuce in MM; tomato in seed starter; tomato in seed starter.
middle row: swiss chard in MM; tomato in MM; lettuce in MM; eggplant in seed starter; tomato in seed starter.
bottom row: tomato in MM, tomato in MM, then 3 tomato's in seed starter.

The ones on the left were planted earlier than the ones on the right, which is why they are different stages of growth. Just a difference in germination rates.

Oh, and that picture was taken before I added the Plant Tone.