I started cucumber, wetermelon and dill from seeds. They were fine, but right now they are bent over, the stem is wilted, the leaves are curling up. What am I doing wrong?
I planted them the 2nd week of march, and the are in xsmall containers thay I planted them in. Thwy are inside.
What can I do?
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PunkRotten
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rainbowgardener
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It's hard to know exactly what went wrong without knowing more about what you did, what the conditions for your seedlings are. They are vines, they will lean over and sprawl (except the dill), but the wilting and curling does sound like something is wrong.
As a total guess without more information, I would think maybe not enough light and too much water.
Read the seed starting basics thread in the seed starting section.
But I agree with the too early part (again except for the dill). Cucumbers and watermelon can be planted directly in the ground, once the soil temperature has warmed up to 70 degrees. They can be started indoors if you want, but I don't plant mine indoors until my average last frost date, so that by the time they are transplant size and hardened off, the soil has had time to warm up more.
As a total guess without more information, I would think maybe not enough light and too much water.
Read the seed starting basics thread in the seed starting section.
But I agree with the too early part (again except for the dill). Cucumbers and watermelon can be planted directly in the ground, once the soil temperature has warmed up to 70 degrees. They can be started indoors if you want, but I don't plant mine indoors until my average last frost date, so that by the time they are transplant size and hardened off, the soil has had time to warm up more.
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jal_ut
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Hello neighbor.
What area of Utah? I am in Cache Valley.
You may find this paper useful.
We are just now getting dried out enough to get on the ground a bit.
I plant most things directly in the garden. Tomatoes and peppers are the exceptions.
What area of Utah? I am in Cache Valley.
You may find this paper useful.
We are just now getting dried out enough to get on the ground a bit.
I plant most things directly in the garden. Tomatoes and peppers are the exceptions.
Like everyone said, it is hard to tell.
Your pots may already be to small for the cucumber and watermelon.
They could be drying out too fast which will cause them to wilt
They could be getting too much water and that will also cause them to wilt.
Dill can be grown in pots. They don't like cold wet weather. They also have a taproot so are better planted directly in an area that is pretty much neglected as they do not like to have rich soil and want to be nearly dry before watering. Actually, they can live on rain except in extreme weather. I have grown them in pots, it is possible, but you have to be careful with transplanting and watering. Clay pots work best as they breathe and dry quickly.
I plant cucumber seeds directly in the garden or in a 3 gallon pot with a trellis. They will stay there until they are done.
I only plant sugar baby watermelons, because the standard watermelons take up too much room. Sugar baby is direct seeded too.
I can plant anytime, but I have a link to the average planting dates for Utah.
https://extension.usu.edu/davis/htm/hort ... ing-times/
Your pots may already be to small for the cucumber and watermelon.
They could be drying out too fast which will cause them to wilt
They could be getting too much water and that will also cause them to wilt.
Dill can be grown in pots. They don't like cold wet weather. They also have a taproot so are better planted directly in an area that is pretty much neglected as they do not like to have rich soil and want to be nearly dry before watering. Actually, they can live on rain except in extreme weather. I have grown them in pots, it is possible, but you have to be careful with transplanting and watering. Clay pots work best as they breathe and dry quickly.
I plant cucumber seeds directly in the garden or in a 3 gallon pot with a trellis. They will stay there until they are done.
I only plant sugar baby watermelons, because the standard watermelons take up too much room. Sugar baby is direct seeded too.
I can plant anytime, but I have a link to the average planting dates for Utah.
https://extension.usu.edu/davis/htm/hort ... ing-times/
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rainbowgardener
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oh yeah, tiny little cells. If the cuke plant even has true leaves, it definitely needs to be transplanted in to a bigger pot. Needs more room and nutrients than it can get in the little cell. I use 3 1/2 " sq. pots. They can stay in those until transplant size -- which is not very long. It doesn't take cukes long at all from sprouting to get to transplant size, which is why a lot of people just plant them directly in the ground.