First time gardener...transplants bolting?

[lovely_star]

Hey fellow gardeners,

I've started my first transplants last Saturday (broccoli, celery, lavender, oregano, parsley, thyme, tomatoes, peppers, rosemary, radicchio, and petunias). Maybe I'm not quite clear on what "bolting" is but I thought its when you plant and the seeds spring up too fast Anyway I'm attaching pictures of my broccoli and thyme transplants. I'm not sure if this means they are "bolting" or not. All of my other transplants are still just dirt so I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, right or am just impatient. I'm new to this and am open to any advice from the transplant veterans. Happy growing season!

Okay not quite sure how to post/upload pics so here's a link to FOTKI album
https://public.fotki.com/junk555/gardening-2012/

[treehopper]

I think what you are describing are sprouts getting "leggy" a condition generally caused by insufficient light-moving your grow light closer and artificially simulating wind on the sprouts (with a fan maybe on a timer ) should inhibit further legginess...good luck!

[Tonio]

bolting would be a plant going to seed - in your list : parsely, celery

T

[lovely_star]

Thanks for the responses. So they are "leggy" can someone explain to me why this is a bad thing? I'm not using any "grower lights" but sitting them inside the house near windows for natural light. How long should I keep the fan on for and what distance from transplants? What is the benefit of fans?

[soil]

think of it like a building, a tall skinny building isnt going to be very stable or strong. compare that to a building with a wide and strong base that is the same size. this just gives an overall stronger seedling.

its mainly caused for them trying to reach for better/stronger light sources.

fans in some cases can be used to mimic wind, this will strengthen the seedlings stem cells as they are worked back and forth like a person trying to build their muscles.

[GardenGnome]

[img]https://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj565/ericmgilson/2012-02-23_08-11-06_290.jpg[/img]

How are my broccoli ?

[GardenGnome]

How long do you turn the fan on for?

[treehopper]

how often does the wind blow in the garden? it's a guessing game, but be aware, moving air is going to wick away your moisture, so stay on top of your watering.

[GardenGnome]

I have them outside right now in partshade and there's a breeze. But I have a small fan for inside. Thanks for the water tip.

[lovely_star]

Hey guys, thanks again for coming to the rescue. I have a ceiling fan in the room where I'm starting my seedlings....is this sufficient if I leave it on for a few hours?

[GardenGnome]

When you turn it on I think the ponit is for your plants to move alittle like they would in abreeze.

[lovely_star]

For those of you that suggested grower lights can I use the grower lights in lieu of natural sunlight? Say if I create my seedling set up in the basement and use all grower lights instead would this be sufficient? Or do the seedlings require both? The reason I'm asking is because there are no rooms in my house where I can set up grower lights near natural lighting.

[rainbowgardener]

My seed starting set up is in the basement with no natural light. And I don't use any fancy grow lights, just regular fluorescent tubes in shop light fixture. But I use lots of lights, on 16 hrs a day and just 2-3" above the seedlings (hung on chains so they can be raised as the plants grow). This works fine for me.

[soil]

when you just plant the seeds and they have not sprouted yet, you need to have that light like and inch away from the soil. keep the seedlings tops at about 2 inches away. your seedlings are still ok though, ive seen much worse. when they start falling over that's when you know you should start over.

you can also see how some of them are leaning to reach for better light, that is also a sign they are not getting enough.

take it as a learning experience we have all had leggy plants. and when you plant them, simply plant them a little deep to hide some of that long stem.

thats my advice

[lovely_star]

Thanks for the advice guys. So DH went with me to the home depot on Saturday and we purchased some lights. I'm happy to report that the plants are doing much better. I'm probably going to start 1-2 more pots each of the ones that were growing in leggy as a back up. So on to the next growing crisis. My next issue is watering. Can you over water your seedlings? How often should I be watering?

[rainbowgardener]

Oh yes! Overwatering is the commonest cause of seedling death. It is a little tricky, because new little seedlings can't be allowed to dry out either.

Hard to say how often to water, depends on the plants, the soil, etc.

I have a lot better success with bottom watering. Put your pots in a tray and just pour a little water into the bottom of the tray, just enough so that the water touches the bottom of the soil. Then the soil can just wick up the water it needs. I do that every morning, IF it has taken up all the water from the day before. If not, then I skip a day. But you do have to be really careful not to put too much water in. You don't want to leave them sitting in water much.

[lovely_star]

Thanks rainbow. One of the sprouts from my leggy broccoli is laying flat on its back. Does this mean its dead? Should I toss this pot and start a new one? Also none of my pepper have germinated and I started 12 pots. Should I consider these duds too and start new ones?

[rainbowgardener]

the seedling lying flat is probably "damped off." It's a fungal condition that little seedlings are very vulnerable too, that has to do with too much moisture and too little air circulation. There's tons written here about it if you type damping off in Search the Forum keyword box. But yes, by the time they are lying flat, they are probably goners and can't be revived.

How long back did you plant the pepper seeds? What kind of peppers? Bell peppers usually sprout pretty quickly, a week or less. Some of the super hot peppers are reputed (I don't grow them) to take considerably longer.

Peppers need warm soil to germinate. If the soil is too cool and moist they will just sit there and rot. You can see what is going on by digging around in one of your pots and trying to find the seeds you planted. If you find a seed and it has a little root sprouted, planted it back and just have patience. They do put down roots before you see anything on the surface. If you find a seed and it has not sprouted, but is solid and swelled up from how it was when you planted it, give it more time. If you can't find any of your seeds, they rotted out. Start over with warmer soil. Browse in this seed starting section for how people provide heat to their seedlings.

How deep do you plant your seeds? I don't really even bury seeds, just press them firmly into contact with the soil and then sprinkle a little bit of potting soil on top to cover them. Burying too deep can slow down their sprouting.