Outdoor Spinach Seedlings Yellowing

[mboulac]

I am new to gardening. I have read a couple of books and based on the info in there and the seed packets I planted spinach and lettuces out door about 2 weeks ago and I am now starting to get seedlings. They have been up about 2 or 3 days but appear to be yellowing and not getting any larger. I have been watering daily since they came up, is that too much? Also, it has been cool here (got down to 32 the first night after they came up) could that be the problem?

I have not added any fertilizer to the soil except peat moss when I turned the soil. This has been a fallow plot for the last 5 or 6 years till last year when I grew sunflowers and tomatoes with out a problem.

I has a friend suggest Monty's Joy Juice but I don't know anything about it.

Thanks for any advice.

Matt

[smokensqueal]

I'm still learning myself but being that both spinach and lettuce are just a leaf plant and they are turning yellow I'm thinking it may be a shortage of nitrogen in your soil. Best thing to do is to have it tested at your local extension office. But while they are testing you may want to mix a very little blood meal with water and used that to water it. Not to much though because to much nitrogen may "burn" the plants.

And just for you knowledge peat moss doesn't really add any nutritional value to your soil. It's very good at keeping it moist though.

I would like to hear what others say also. This is just what I would try.

[Gary350]

Any time you add organic material to the soil like, peat moss, grass clipping, leaves, the compose process uses up all the nitrogen in the soil.
Spinach need nitrogen so I am guessing if you give the spinach some Ammonium Nitrate of Urea it will help the yellow problem.

[hendi_alex]

Peat moss is very acidic in the pH 4.5 area I think. If I were you, would consider adding some pelletized lime along with a slow release fertilizer plus maybe just a touch of the ammonium nitrate for an initial boost. Spinach likes a pH between 5 and 7 so don't over do it with the lime if you add any.

[elevenplants]

Try a little liquid seaweed, mixed one teaspoon to a gallon of water. Should fix you right up. Good to have on hand for spot fertilizing, it's very good. I use Maxicrop Liquid Seawood and Maxicrop Liquid Fish, wouldn't be without them.

Rebecca