My seedling fell over in the middle of the stem!

[SteveAustin]

I planted a "Bush Big Boy Hybrid" seed about 3 weeks ago (along with other plants). The seedling emerged about 1 week later. Unfortunately, I didn't have my shop light setup ready to go and the seedling naturally became leggy. About another week later, I was able to get my shop lights set up going and the plant has been under the lamps for about a week now. This morning I woke up, went to turn on the lights and the seedling had fallen over right in the middle of the stem.

Are the shop lights not enough? I'm running the lights about 16-17 hours a day. Can the seedling be saved?

[checkerkitty]

Did it bend or break off? If it just bent the stem, you could try CAREFULLY propping it up with a bamboo skewer and a small clip or even a twist tie to GENTLY hold the plant upright while it heals or putting it in a larger pot and burying the stem and forgoing the skewer/clip altogether. I'm thinking that idea #2 might be best long term but #1 might help a little while you are getting your things together to pot up. I'm sure someone more experienced with seedling triage will chime in. Good luck! I had to use skewers on a couple of my seedlings. They've worked well to give a little support before the plants go in the ground.

Christy

[Doug9345]

Also your shop lights need to be within an inch or so of the plants for them to have enough light. I second what Christy said. If they aren't broken get them buried deeper in the soil. You don't have get the stem straightened out either. As long as the leaves are just above the soil the stem can be S-shaped under the soil.

[FarmerShawn]

Christy's advice is exactly what would have said.

If it appears pinched it is damping off and it is dead.

[Hotwired]

Damping off is where an area of the stem shrinks to the size of a thread. It is usually caused by top watering and lack of air circulation. I water from the bottom, and run a fan to dry up the surface moisture, reducing fungal growth and damping off. Your seedlings got leggy because of not enough light for the room temperature. The warmer the room, the more light is required. I grow a lot of my plants in 50F with only Winter daylight. They grow slow but get very bulky stems.

Hotwired NY 5b
Greenhouse Tips - A JuryRigger's Guide to seed starting

[SteveAustin]

The stem isn't broken into two but it appears "pinched" to me. I'll try and bury it deeper to see if I can save it. I'm working under the assumption that it's gone and I'll need to start another seedling this weekend. The lights are about 6 inches away, which is obviously too far away. I'll adjust that as well and see what happens with the rest of my plants.

This is my second season starting plants from seeds. This year, the tomatoes are giving me fits but my cucumbers and eggplants are doing well. Last year, it was the complete opposite for me.

I'm definitely an amateur at this but I'm learning more and more every season.

[Doug9345]

Post a photo if you can.

[SteveAustin]

Here are a couple of photos. It looks pinched to me. I buried it up to the cotyledons just in case. If it dies off by Saturday, then I'll plant another seed in it's place.

Also, I moved the plants much closer to the light. My cucumbers and eggplants look good but I moved them closer too.

[Doug9345]

It looks to be too high above the soil to be damping off. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I think it suffered some kind of mechanical damage from being leggy. It might surprise me, as I've had worse survive and thrive but I think it's a goner.

[KarenO]

I would say it's not worth trying to salvage this one. good news is there is plenty of time still to re-sow. plant more than one this time and select the best to grow yourself and if there are spares, give them away if you like. i would also suggest perhaps a finer soil mix than what i see in the photo to start seeds in. good luck with your garden
Karen O

[RayR]

That's a goner. Damping off doesn't always cause stem collapse at the soil line. Depends on what pathogen caused it.

[b54red]

It does appear to be some form of damping off. I have had lots of experience with it and the only way of not having much trouble with it is to use DE as a seed starting medium. I use the brand UltraSorb which comes in a 15 lb bag from Auto Zone. Go to the thread http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=22329. There is a lot of information in that thread with some very useful tips. Try it and I think you will be happy with the results.

Bill

[SteveAustin]

Originally Posted by Doug9345

It looks to be too high above the soil to be damping off. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I think it suffered some kind of mechanical damage from being leggy. It might surprise me, as I've had worse survive and thrive but I think it's a goner.

Originally Posted by KarenO

I would say it's not worth trying to salvage this one. good news is there is plenty of time still to re-sow. plant more than one this time and select the best to grow yourself and if there are spares, give them away if you like. i would also suggest perhaps a finer soil mix than what i see in the photo to start seeds in. good luck with your garden
Karen O

Originally Posted by RayR

That's a goner. Damping off doesn't always cause stem collapse at the soil line. Depends on what pathogen caused it.

The poor thing shriveled up and pretty much died off sometime last night. I'll probably plant another couple of seeds in its place tonight.

I'm using a soil-less mix and it appears to be heavier than it is, since I didn't break up the clumps as much as I should've, buried the seedling more and watered it.

Originally Posted by b54red

It does appear to be some form of damping off. I have had lots of experience with it and the only way of not having much trouble with it is to use DE as a seed starting medium. I use the brand UltraSorb which comes in a 15 lb bag from Auto Zone. Go to the thread http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=22329. There is a lot of information in that thread with some very useful tips. Try it and I think you will be happy with the results.

Bill

I'll have to check out the DE. I would've never thought of using that a seed starting medium.

One thing that has probably hurt me is that I was running a fan constantly on them last year. This year I haven't really ran the fan so far. It probably contributed to pathogens/damping off.