I've really done it this time. . .damping off murder?

[Ruth_10]

Hasshoes, those little boogers will be fine. They'll be fine with supplements. They'll be fine without supplements (but your pocketbook might not be).

Your basement temp of 63 deg. is just right for sturdy young seedlings. The best thing you can do for them is give them plenty of light. The fluorescent bulbs should be no more than 2" from the leaves. The leaves can even be touching the bulbs.

[vermiit]

I'm close to the same boat as op...after going to a seedling trade with other Tomatovillians, I found out how poor mine were compared to pros like Bruce and Angelique!

I pulled mine too early out from under the lights, colder outside than I thought, etc... and so on contributed to my poor, sad, starts. Will they recover and produce lots of tomatoes or are they 'stunted' and just won't do as well and I should toss them in the compost heap?

Or will some extra time in the ground with some supplements and maybe they'll recover and be just as big as others that had a better start? I'd sure like to transplant some of the ones I started, but I don't want to 'waste' any space in my garden either... thanks!

Diana

[Suze]

Originally Posted by vermiit

I'm close to the same boat as op...after going to a seedling trade with other Tomatovillians, I found out how poor mine were compared to pros like Bruce and Angelique!

I pulled mine too early out from under the lights, colder outside than I thought, etc... and so on contributed to my poor, sad, starts. Will they recover and produce lots of tomatoes or are they 'stunted' and just won't do as well and I should toss them in the compost heap?

Or will some extra time in the ground with some supplements and maybe they'll recover and be just as big as others that had a better start? I'd sure like to transplant some of the ones I started, but I don't want to 'waste' any space in my garden either... thanks!

Diana, hard to say, can you perhaps post pictures?

How big are they, and even though they look poor now, are they at least still growing at a semi-decent rate?

[vermiit]

I'll take a pic tomorrow morning. They are growing, but slowly. Very dark green, and not that 'leafy'.

[Granny]

Verm, some of the best tomatoes that I've ever produced turned up at church one Sunday as a bundle of spindly little things 8" long tied up in a rubber band without the first scrap of dirt between the bunch of them - about 30 once I got them pulled apart. I took them home, put them in a vase of water like I would wilted flowers and the next day I put them out in the garden. And then I went on vacation with the kids. Those poor tomatoes never once got fertilized, never got staked, never got watered except what nature provided, but they produced like crazy. Don't worry so much.

[vermiit]

Granny, you made my day! Thanks. I always hear about 'stunted and they'll never be the same...' so I just wasn't sure. In the ground they go!!

[michael johnson]

The stalks look all purple and blue to me, if you get some strong seaweed liquid mix into them straight away you should see a difference almost over night.

For watering seedlings like that- you cant beat one of those sports drink clear plastic bottles with the pull out top that kids tend to walk along the street swigging as they go, they are absolutely ideal for the job, you can mix up various seaweed mixes in them too-and just dribble the water into each cup.

[Thomas]

Hasshoes, the third picture of the curling cotyledons looks to me like stubborn seed helmets I have had this problem before. Just spray with a fine mist, wait 2 minutes and gently remove with fingertips.

[hasshoes]

This thread is so uplifting! Granny's story let's me know that there truly is hope!:smile:

The curly leaf I think was the seed helmet, but I wonder if I have harmed the plant because I used the "spit method" I read about elsewhere on this board, and ended up ripping off a few leaf ends. . .

I researched this, but there doesn't seem to be an exact-sh answer: If my cells are 1 inch wide and two inches deep and I have one or two seedlings per cell, with a regular shop light on them 18 hrs a day and temps of 65 degrees with an occasional light breeze: how much should I be watering these things? Everyday a teaspoon each? Less, More-- every three days? I'm new to gardening, so "just a little" means, well, very little to me!!!!!

Also, (new disaster alert !) I'm going out of town for ten days, so I'm going to have to do the bottom feeding thing. How many inches of water should I put it the little tray/tub? I'm going out to buy a timer for my lights as we speak. . .

As always. . . Thanks! if I have any maters I promise to share
Heather

[bbjm]

Originally Posted by michael johnson

The stalks look all purple and blue to me, if you get some strong seaweed liquid mix into them straight away you should see a difference almost over night.

I can't figure out where to get this seeweed liquid stuff. I found some Alaska fish stuff at Home Depot, but the smell will gag a cat off a gut wagon. My family made me promise never to open the bottle again. I was afraid I'd have neighbors at my door. The whole yard stunk for two days.

[honu]

I can't figure out where to get this seeweed liquid stuff.

bbjm, I've been using Maxicrop, and very happy w/ it. It has no offensive odors. It comes in dry form, so you add it to water to make a solution. A little goes a long way, so it lasts a long time. Here's a couple of places to order it:
http://www.groworganic.com/item_F136...ExtractLb.html

http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_...item_no=S13190