Over watered

pjhootch · March 31, 2018

Well I blew it. Hopefully not irreversable yet. I should know more tomorrow. I had to leave for a week with two week old seedlings in the basement. I thought it would be fine since the lights are on a timer and i had not started a fan yet. Nope. My daughter gave them too much water and they must have been standing in water in the trays for a couple of days. I pulled the cell packs out of the trays and turned a fan on. I turned the furnace up a couple of degrees to try and warm the room a little more. I lost a few leaves on a couple of plants and just pitched those.

loulac · March 31, 2018

With two week old seedlings we are still in a delicate period. If the mix has the right proportion of peat it will absorb water by capillarity, pouring a ¼ inch of water at the bottom of the flat will send water to the roots. Then waiting till the surface of the pot is dry before resuming the operation is usually safe. Later on things will become simpler, plenty of roots will get out of the pot / flat and thrive in a nearly constant bath, the plant will be OK as long as the upper part is reasonably damp and allows air to reach the roots.
I suggest you keep your seedlings in a warm place with plenty of light to have water evaporate quickly. Some roots may die while others can recover. Keep us informed !

greenthumbomaha · March 31, 2018

If you have a cookie cooling rack or similar open grated surface, place the cell packs on top so they can dry from the bottom too.

- Lisa

sjamesNorway · March 31, 2018

Norwegian seed starting mix retains too much water, even with some added Perlite. Last year I bottom watered, then placed the flats on 4 sheet thick paper towels, which suck up the excess. I've since learned to add a lot more Perlite to the mix.

Steve

ps: You can dry the paper towels, and use them again.

mobiledynamics · March 31, 2018

SJ. I always a sprinkle of extra coarse perlite, even when the mixes come with nice perlite in it already.

sjamesNorway · March 31, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobiledynamics

SJ. I always a sprinkle of extra coarse perlite, even when the mixes come with nice perlite in it already.

With the seed starting mix I can get here, there's no Perlite, and I can't sprinkle. I think my final mix is now 20% horticultural Perlite.

Steve

mobiledynamics · March 31, 2018

Heh, when I say sprinkle, it's like cooking, a little bit of this and a bit of that.

I have a mainly a bark mix for my tomatoe containers. Usually get 3-4 years out of them. I tend to add a splash of bark and perlite every year as it settles and break down. Just wish super coarse was a smigen more cheaper where I am .

pjhootch · March 31, 2018

This morning things are looking up. I only have two trays this year so about 140 seedlings. The baking rack idea is great, thank you. My starting mix is okay, the little things were sitting in standing water. My daughter apparently was afraid they would get too dry. It was time for a fan anyway. I lost a few cotyledon leaves much earlier than is normal, but I did not lose any true leaves on tomatoes. The cilantro is unhappy but that is easy to reseed. I think the tomatoes are going to be fine. It is time to pot up out of the cells now too, so once I make sure the plants are not as stressd I will start repotting.

It is still miserably cool here for spring and freezing hard at night. I sure hope I can get these outside on a decent schedule this year.

March 31, 2018	#1
pjhootch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Iowa Posts: 31	Over watered Well I blew it. Hopefully not irreversable yet. I should know more tomorrow. I had to leave for a week with two week old seedlings in the basement. I thought it would be fine since the lights are on a timer and i had not started a fan yet. Nope. My daughter gave them too much water and they must have been standing in water in the trays for a couple of days. I pulled the cell packs out of the trays and turned a fan on. I turned the furnace up a couple of degrees to try and warm the room a little more. I lost a few leaves on a couple of plants and just pitched those.

March 31, 2018	#2
loulac Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: France Posts: 554	With two week old seedlings we are still in a delicate period. If the mix has the right proportion of peat it will absorb water by capillarity, pouring a ¼ inch of water at the bottom of the flat will send water to the roots. Then waiting till the surface of the pot is dry before resuming the operation is usually safe. Later on things will become simpler, plenty of roots will get out of the pot / flat and thrive in a nearly constant bath, the plant will be OK as long as the upper part is reasonably damp and allows air to reach the roots. I suggest you keep your seedlings in a warm place with plenty of light to have water evaporate quickly. Some roots may die while others can recover. Keep us informed !

March 31, 2018	#3
greenthumbomaha Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Omaha Zone 5 Posts: 2,514	If you have a cookie cooling rack or similar open grated surface, place the cell packs on top so they can dry from the bottom too. - Lisa

March 31, 2018	#4
sjamesNorway Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Norway Posts: 1,049	Norwegian seed starting mix retains too much water, even with some added Perlite. Last year I bottom watered, then placed the flats on 4 sheet thick paper towels, which suck up the excess. I've since learned to add a lot more Perlite to the mix. Steve ps: You can dry the paper towels, and use them again.

March 31, 2018	#5
mobiledynamics Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: 7B Posts: 281	SJ. I always a sprinkle of extra coarse perlite, even when the mixes come with nice perlite in it already.