Seedling trouble

princezoe 4/11/2015, 6:13 pm

The plan of sowing in vermiculite went great
The seedlings grew well, but after i moved them in a new tray with Mel's Mix this is what happened

Seedling trouble Foto_z10

Mel's Mix was made of Vermiculite, Peat moss and my selfmade Compost
Maybe the Compost is the problem ?

**AtlantaMarie** 4/11/2015, 8:01 pm

What plants are these?

quiltbea 4/11/2015, 8:04 pm

New seedlings do NOT need composting and feeding the first few weeks. They get all they need from their first leaves and you don't want to shock them too young. Don't transplant your seedlings until they at least have their 1st true set of leaves (2nd ones after the first ones that sprout) or even their next set. Then its time to pot up to larger pots of potting soil and feed them by watering with a half-strength liquid fertilizer every 10-14 days til you transplant them outdoors.

Elizabeth 4/11/2015, 9:16 pm

OUCH!

You moved them to MM much too young. Leave them in your growing mix until they are ready to be planted in you boxes. 6" - 8" + tall with lots of leaf sets. Pinch off the lower leaves and bury half of your tomato plant in your box.

Better luck next time.

**sanderson** 4/11/2015, 9:31 pm

Prince, I use Mel's Mix for my seeds, so I don't understand what is wrong. To my inexperienced eye it looks like dampening off from being too wet. ??

Next year I will try 1/2 sterile MM and 1/2 medium vermiculite that I have left over. I also want to try more sterile MM instead of active rich stuff. I have already oven steamed the MM from the seedling cups where the seeds didn't sprout or survive. It's drying out now and I will bag and store in the cupboard until next February.

princezoe 4/12/2015, 6:25 am

These were pickles, but it also happened with the tomatoes and peas.
The peas were quite large, thick and had 4 little leaves

I always thought i could use Mels Mix for new seeds, so i was in the opinion that it would also be good for seedlings

Thanks for your replies, but i am a bit confused now about what to do with my other seedlings which are a little long and thin

quiltbea 4/12/2015, 12:13 pm

If your plants are getting long and thin (leggy) they are fighting for sunlight. Under lights you would place the lights about 1" to 2" from the tops of the plants. Keep the lights on about 16-17 hrs a day and off the rest of the day.
If they are in a sunny window, I don't have any answers. I never grow them that way.

CitizenKate 4/13/2015, 1:30 pm

My first year starting my tomato seeds, I put them in a south-facing window on the second floor that got around 10 hours of direct sunlight each day. Even that wasn't enough, they got very leggy, and hardly any foliage. They grew just fine once transplanted outside, though, and produced well. It didn't take me long to decide to build a grow light stand.

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