Saturday, April 28, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Causes of Weak, Spindly Seedlings
Temperatures too high-- either day or night or both. During seed starting times, I try to keep the greenhouse temperatures in the 70’s during the day, and in the low to mid 50’s at night.
Not enough light-- Seedlings will stretch toward the light. I keep seedlings under fluorescent lights about 16 hours a day. The lights are just a couple of inches above the plants.
Not enough air movement-- You should have a fan running gently near the plants at all times. This helps them grow stocky and also prevents damping off fungus.
Also, brushing your plant tops gently with your fingers for a couple of minutes a day will help them grow stocky.
Seeds planted too deep or soil surface was too dry- Seeds have a limited amount of energy (in the cotyledons) to push themselves up through the soil.
Not enough food-- Once you see true leaves, you should be giving the plants weak solutions of fertilizer (I use fish & kelp emulsion).
Not enough light-- Seedlings will stretch toward the light. I keep seedlings under fluorescent lights about 16 hours a day. The lights are just a couple of inches above the plants.
Not enough air movement-- You should have a fan running gently near the plants at all times. This helps them grow stocky and also prevents damping off fungus.
Also, brushing your plant tops gently with your fingers for a couple of minutes a day will help them grow stocky.
Seeds planted too deep or soil surface was too dry- Seeds have a limited amount of energy (in the cotyledons) to push themselves up through the soil.
Not enough food-- Once you see true leaves, you should be giving the plants weak solutions of fertilizer (I use fish & kelp emulsion).
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