Seedling progress (and advice?)

[Salaam]

Hello all,

Another beginner here.

I've got two trays (32 seedlings each) with tomatoes (Black Krim, Costoluto Genovese, Nile, Stupice, Koralik), hot peppers (issus d'Esplette), basil (Genovese), parsley (Italian), marigold, rue (from Ethiopia), basil (from Ethiopia), and carrots (forgot the type).

Tray 1 was planted 13 days ago (March 18), and tray 2 was planted 6 days ago (March 25). I re-planted some in Tray 1, which explains some of the smaller seedlings there.

I used Miracle Gro potting mix.

The trays are 'deep-root seed starters' (http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/p...713,40757&ap=1).

I have a mat under tray 2 now - it was under tray 1 until tray 2 was planted.

I didn't start with grow lights, but now both trays have them.

I'm keeping the temperature quite warm with a portable heater. I'd say at least 25C (77F), but probably warmer.

My questions and observations:

0. Most of the grown seedlings are the tomatoes. Some of the peppers are up, but they took long. The marigolds have done okay. The Italian basil less so. The carrots (tray 2 only, left column) seem okay. The parsley is really struggling.

1. Moisture level: I've a hard time determining whether the mix is moist enough or too moist! The mix has always seemed moist to the touch, but was it too moist? Now I've settled on just keeping about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of water in the tray.

2. The Miracle Gro seems too chunky. It made it difficult to cover seeds with just a slight amount of mix. I'm going to look at other potting mixes for re-potting and for the 'Earthtainer' type container I'll use.

3. Re-potting: I was advised to go from the seedling tray to a yogurt container (about 5 inches high by 4 inches wide at the top). I'm just not sure when to do this - about what height should the seedlings be before I transplant? I hope I can find a tray to hold these!

4. So far no rot, fungus, etc. Thank God!

Finally, I'd just like to say that browsing through the forums here has been a big big help.

[tam91]

1. I'm not familiar with that contraption, but I let mine dry out just slightly and then water. I can tell that the tray weighs less actually. Not sure if that (weight) would work with your setup.

2. I use Sunshine mix (I think it used to be called Metro-mix 200) for seed starting. Potting up, I use Metro-Mix 360. That works great. There is all sorts of information on the correct mix for Earthtainer's on the forum (I haven't done it personally)

3. I pot up into 12 oz. styrofoam cups - worked great for me last year. Dirt cheap of course. I just took a shishkebab skewer and poked 5 holes through the bottom of each (a stack at a time). To hold them, I begged used "carrying trays" from the local nursery. The ones that hold little round pots of flowers, herbs, etc. held the cups perfectly, and the nursery was happy to give them to me as they throw them away.

Your plants look good, happy growing.

[livinonfaith]

Don't worry too much about the different rates of germination. My peppers always take longer than the tomatoes. At planting time, my tomatoes are around 12" to 20" high, and the peppers are only 4"-8" tall. They take off once they get some good hot weather.

Basil can be finicky sometimes. (although this year it popped right up.) Parsley might take a little longer, too.

I have used the Miracle Grow Moisture control potting soil for seeds before. The tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant did fine, but some of the herbs and flowers were only so-so. Since then, I have heard that some seeds, herb seeds especially, don't like to be fertilized early. So I switched to a seed starting mix and my herbs seem to like it much better.

[Salaam]

Hello all,

Just wanted to give you an update...

Last Wednesday and Thursday, 11 and 12 of April, I potted up to yogurt containers and 18oz cups. The yogurt containers for the tomatoes, and the 18oz cups for the rest, and a few tomatoes.

I tried to plant as deep as possible.

Some seedlings originated in the same seedling cup, so I had some root separating to do. The seedlings look okay so far.

There's just one with what I think are dry leaves, but I'm open to your opinions! Only about three of its ten or so leaves are affected. I've posted photos of the leaves.

There are photos of the rest, too.

I'm hoping, as some of you have suggested around the forum, that potting up strengthens the seedlings.

We have approximately a month to go before outside planting, or maybe even three weeks, given they're going into a container.

[zabby17]

Salaam,

Hello from a fellow Ontarian (Prince Edward County, near Belleville). I started growing tomatoes from seed about ten years ago with the help of online forum folk, including some of the ones who are here at Tville now, and was amazed at how easy it was and how helpful my online buddies were!

Your seedlings look beautiful and healthy! I'd say you are doing great.

Don't worry if you lose a few, like your "dry-leaved" one---nature is never about 100%.

If you've got three more weeks before you plant out, those ones you just put in the yogurt container are going to be huge---you may need more room between shelves. The size you've got are about the size mine are when I plant them out.

(I don't think you've done wrong---bigger transplants at plant-out mean you get tomatoes sooner! But you may be surprised how much plant matter you have going on by mid-May, and decide you can start a little later for the bulk of the tomatoes next year. Peppers are always slower. Herbs don't germinate at as high a rate, but they grow fast once they get going.)

Root-separating is no problem for tomatoes and peppers. Supposedly, a bit of shock from transplant is even good for the seedlings, since it makes 'em slow down the upward growth and develop stronger root systems. I plant usually 5 or 6 seeds in each little cell of a "nine pack" plastic seedling pack, and then about the time the biggest one gets its second set of true leaves (the others usually have just one set) I pop out the cell, separate the roots, and pot up the strongest few seedlings into three- or four-inch pots, or twelve-ounce cups.

If I'm planting out late because of weather or work, sometimes I need to pot up the biggest ones into six-inch pots (or yogurt containers like you used).

When I plant out, I put the seedlings deep, just like when potting up---cover several sets of leaves. They grow new roots all along what used to be "stem" and soon get tall again.

Good luck, and congrats on your beautiful little garden-to-be.

Zabby

[Salaam]

Okay, so it's now been six weeks since my first seedlings were started.

Some people had warned me of this - they're getting too big. It wouldn't have been a problem, except that the size of the shelves they are on are restricting how high I can raise the lights. Hopefully I'll take them outside within the next two weeks.

Also, I am a bit concerned about some of the leaves turning yellow. It's only a few leaves - but still...

I've attached pictures. Any comments would be of course welcome!

[chancethegardener]

I have limited experience with regards to diseases; however, the second pic looks like nutrient deficiency, and the third and fourth pics look like blight to me.

[RayR]

They grew pretty quickly for only 6 weeks. I'm still potting up plants!, but I'm never in a hurry to rush the season and I definitely don't want to babysit plants that are bigger than that through this month until the danger of frost has past.

It's way too early for Early Blight up north, but those spots do look like Tomato Leaf Mold (Fulvia fulva)

[Aphid]

give them some fish/seaweed ferts.
on the peppers I have best luck germinating them between 80-85f than dropping to 70-75 for the seedlings... also 16hrs light 8 hrs dark for everything.

[Crandrew]

remember to harden them off before they go outside for a full day and night. I would agree with the first pic being nutrient difficiency. Not sure of the 3 & 4th. GL

[Aphid]

pretty simple,nutrient issues open the door for further issues.

feed them, they look hungry for minor and micro nutrients

I've literally brought house-plants back from the dead with fish/seaweed solution

[Tracydr]

Decrease the temperatures, get some air movement with a fan and use a bit of kelp, fish emulsions. Might not hurt to spray with serenade or actinovate, too.

[Mollie's Nana]

Wow.... I am learning so much from this forum... but at times, it makes me a bit dizzy!!

I'm impressed with your seedlings progress. I've never tried to start seeds inside, but I don't really have the room/lighting to do so.

I tilled up my garden this past weekend and by the time I got down to the planting, I was so tired, I didn't care that my rows weren't even close to straight. I planted 4 tomato plants, a packet of cherry tomato seeds, some corn, green beans, Lima beans, watermelon, squash, cucumbers, cantaloupe, carrots, lettuce, broccoli and cabbage. Everything I put out this year except the tomatoes, were seeds, and I've never tried some of the things I planted this year, so we'll see how it goes. But by the time I was planting, I was like, "the heck with it, if it grows, it grows... if it doesn't, it doesn't." I was so tired that I was just sprinkling seeds in the ground and kicking some dirt over them. I told my daughter this will probably be the best garden I've ever planted, since last year I went through the painstaking backbreaking work of making sure my rows were all straight and everything was "perfect"... and the only ones that ended up enjoying the garden were the worms and wildlife! lol

[Salaam]

Hello all,

Well, the tomatoes were put outside three weeks ago Monday, on May 7. 23 tomatoes in nine earthtainer-type containers - five large containers (over 40 gallons) with three plants each, and four smaller ones (30 gallons) with two each. We planted two tomatoes in ground. I've attached some photos.

I put the four hot peppers out in a fabric container and some basil, carrots and parsley in another fabric container - both on my balcony. I put some marigold and basil in two small off-the-shelf self watering pots indoors.

Major observations and lessons learned:

1. Yes, large seedlings/plants are difficult to handle! Mine averaged nearly two feet at the time of transplant. I planted them very deep - probably over six inches deep. I had three problems: my seedling space was too small, I had to transport them from my apartment to the garden where we keep the containers, which was difficult, and the actual planting through plastic mulch is difficult. Next time, I would get a larger space for growing seedlings and grow them close to where they are to be planted so no transportation is involved. I would not just opt for starting later and having smaller seedlings.

2. Planting early (we planted two weeks earlier than the norm for Ottawa) is, as everyone says, risky. We got slight frost about a week after planting and I had to do some pruning.

3. Hardening is important. I just couldn't do it, because of the logistical issues I mentioned above. So we shocked the plants, and two weeks early at that.

4. But tomatoes can be very hardy. Even the two weaklings that we've planted in ground are flowering now!

5. For more logistical reasons, we only managed to put potting mix (Promix) in the 'earthtainers' - no extra perlite and no pine bark. I'm hoping we don't get too much rain, but that hasn't been the case so far! We'll see what happens.

6. But we added some organic fertilizer (Jobes), dolomite lime, and mychorizae (we had bought the Promix without mychorizae) to the containers, more or less according to Ray's instructions/advice. But we're giving them fish emulsion every week or two, as some of you recommended.

7. Large earthtainer-type containers can be very difficult to manage on a balcony, which is why we chose the fabric pots for the balcony plants.

As of last Saturday, the tomato plants were nearing 30 or so inches in average. Most had flowered and there was one three inch diameter tomato! You can see it in one of the images, if you look carefully.

The hot pepper plants have all been flowering for three weeks at least, and we've got two large hot peppers and several on the way.

Thanks all for your advice, and I'll keep you posted of course.

Oh, I forgot... We've got a mix of support methods as you can see - wire cages and weaves. I have a question about weaving - what about the stems that are growing perpendicular to the weave direction? What is the best way to support them? Do they need support.

Salaam

[Atomic Garden]

I would skip the fertilizers this early. Doesn't MG have it in there already? I would look into mycorrhiza that you can water with. I start my seeds outdoors in a coco fiber based media. Then I water with mycorrhiza every couple days with pure water in between. Your tomatoes and peppers sound normal. Like they said above peppers take longer. It also depends on what kind. Some sprout fast and some seem to take their time. I am having issues with my genovese basil so you don't want my advice on those. I don't have space for carrots and I can't say if mycorrhiza is good for carrots. I have a feeling it is but you might end up with a root ball of carrot instead of a stick, not sure.