Sprouted Now what

I looked at all the pictures. I don't see any that "look like they're about to die." They are babies, but look pretty ok so far. The tomatoes are maybe just a shade taller and spindlier than one would hope, but not seriously so far. If you start giving them rest periods, that may help.

When you transplant the tomato seedlings in to pots remember to bury them up to the base of the seed leaves. They will root all along the buried stem and that will help take care of the legginess.

How long has it been since they poked their heads out of the soil? If it's just a few days, they are fine and you just need to be a little more patient.

swoodard · Mon Mar 11, 2013 9:34 am

Both tomatoes and peppers were planted on 2-17.

rainbowgardener · Mon Mar 11, 2013 10:08 am

2/17 was when they were planted. That means the tomatoes actually showed them selves starting around 2/22 ish and the peppers a few days later?

If that is correct and they have actually been above ground for 2 wks, then they are being a bit slow. My tomato seedlings are further advanced than that, with true leaves, and they were planted on 2/22. If they were just slow germinating and have been above ground less time, that is less worrisome.

swoodard · Mon Mar 11, 2013 10:18 am

So should I still be patient and leave them be? I have more on the bottom shelf planted 3-3 but haven't sprouted yet

IndyGerdener · Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:35 pm

Still looks like lights are not close enough. I put lights no more than 3-4" above the leaves. If the tags are up high enough they can touch my lights.

swoodard · Mon Mar 11, 2013 10:20 pm

So this morning. I see pepper leaves curling in pic below. What's up with this?

rainbowgardener · Mon Mar 11, 2013 10:43 pm

Not sure, could still be too much moisture. You should read the seed starting basics Sticky at the top of this section. Unfortunately, I find those peat pots like you are using to be seedling killers. They hold moisture like crazy, keep everything too wet and then if they finally start drying, they suck moisture away from the plant. You can't water from the bottom with them because they will get very wet and moldy, but bottom watering is best for little seedlings....

You are having to find all this out the hard way.

But it is all good learning and the second time around will be a lot easier.

applestar · Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:18 pm

I have trouble judging whether seedlings need to be watered in the peat pots as well.

Two tests --

(1) press your finger onto the surface of the soil -- do you feel moisture and finger comes away damp with bits of soil mix stuck on it? If you finger feels dry, they may need to be watered.

...the trouble with this test is that if you are bottom watering correctly, often the top surface will not be damp and remain dry. The trick I have found is to let the mix get saturated/damp to the top only "every so often" (this is a variable term depends on size of plant, etc) but not all the time. This is a good test if you are watering from the top, however.

(2) does the bottom of the peat pot look damp (dark brown) or wet (black)?

By the time the seedlings are this size, the taproot will be long enough to reach the bottom of the peat pots. If the bottom is dried out, the seedlings will become dehydrated and the root tip will die. (root tip dying is not necessarily a bad thing for tomatoes and peppers, but will be critical for plants sensitive to root disturbance)

AGAIN, I have not been very successful with peat pots so YMMV

ANYONE using these successfully, please post tips.

swoodard · Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:06 am

Yea I will never use them againg either. I guess I will be heading out to buy peeper and tomato plants from the store again this year. I was really looking forward to growing my own

IndyGerdener · Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:08 am

It isn't to late. You can still do it. Do not give up

applestar · Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:58 am

I agree -- don't give up.

I'm tempted to say get some Dixie cups, poke holes in the bottom and transplant one jiffy strip worth in good quality potting soil (I like Dr. Earth or Pro-Mix -- look for them at real Garden Centers not big box stores) and see how they do. You probably used these because you were unsure about transplanting, but it really isn't that difficult.

I'm still sowing more pepper seeds now even though it's almost a month later than normal. I started them 2/16 but these were old seeds and many of them didn't sprout -- these were older seeds (2010 and 2011). Also I may have overcooked them because I was taking temp readings at top of soil level but when I put the thermometer on the top of the plant light where I had them last week while starting some other seeds, I realized it was like 95Ã‚Â° there

There's always something.

It rarely happens that everything goes right.

GardenFresh · Tue Mar 12, 2013 4:45 am

Instead of Dr. Earth or Pro Mix can you use something like FoxFarm ocean forest or will that be to "hot" for new seedlings?

I thought you were always supposed to start new seedlings in mix with nothing added?

Sorry to barge in on the thread but my pepper plants (which are potted in the peat pots are not doing well either) actually all my plants are not growing as quickly as you would think considering my light setup.

I am thinking about starting some new peppers (both bell and hot) in foam cups (1. so I can use better soil if possible / 2. so I can bottom water)

Any help would be greatly appreciated...Thanks

rainbowgardener · Tue Mar 12, 2013 5:17 am

Yeah, as we've been saying, the peat pots really don't work very well.

I never use sterile seed starting mix. The seeds don't need nutrients to germinate and get started. But it doesn't hurt them if it is there. And by the time they have true leaves, they will start failing without some kind of nutrient. So why bother having them in the sterile mix, just a different thing to buy.

applestar · Tue Mar 12, 2013 5:29 am

For starting seeds I "dilute" potting mix with sand. This year, I'm also mixing in pumice gravel and coir. Some people use vermiculite, perlite, and peat moss.

Having said I bought pumice gravel and coir, it may sound a but hypocritical, but I don't like buying FoxFarm products (as good as they sound) because that's from West coast somewhere. I actually like Gardener's Gold potting soil (I think it's called -- same mfr as BumperCrop in Maine) but my local garden center isnt taking care of them (kept under tarp out in the yeard) as carefully as Dr. Earth's which are kept in the greenhouse. I'm also looking for Vermont Compost, but so far no local distributer. For amendments, I'm trying to stick with Espoma, actually for more local resource.

Personally, I don't like to use styrofoam because I prefer soil mixes and amendments with biologically active soil microbes, and I believe they can break down styrofoam.

GardenFresh · Tue Mar 12, 2013 5:30 am

RBG-

Thanks for always posting responses (as well as a few other folks..applestar) your help is certainly appreciated.

So, in your opinion....would you risk transplanting all my seedlings over to cups at this point? Thinking about little plastic cups (the kind for the bathroom you use for mouthwash)....

Just wanted to do something because it seems like they are just not doing as well as they should be...I know you should wait for true leaves and everything but at this point I will really be behind the eight ball if they all die!

Also, I just ordered a 9x19 heat mat off amazon so it should be here by Thursday....I plan on doing another set of peppers then and keeping them on the heat mat...especially at night. My basement temps go down to about 55 at night and I think that might be contributing to some of my issues....especially with the peppers!

IndyGerdener · Tue Mar 12, 2013 5:44 am

I am planning on starting fresh pepper seeds this weekend. It isn't to late to start them. And there is no reason to throw the old ones away, might as well try to transplant them. I have started all my seed in baggies, transfered them to bathroom plastic dixi cups and then up potted to red solo cups. Never a problem. Remember holes in the bottoms of the cups and bottom water. I put the cups in a showbox sized rubbermaid container I paid $1 each for at Target.

Find your gardening Zin... It will come together

swoodard · Tue Mar 12, 2013 7:44 am

I'm not going to throw them out but it looks like soon they will all be dead. I just don't understand the curling.

swoodard · Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:03 am

applestar wrote:I agree -- don't give up.

I'm tempted to say get some Dixie cups, poke holes in the bottom and transplant one jiffy strip worth in good quality potting soil (I like Dr. Earth or Pro-Mix -- look for them at real Garden Centers not big box stores) and see how they do. You probably used these because you were unsure about transplanting, but it really isn't that difficult.

I'm still sowing more pepper seeds now even though it's almost a month later than normal. I started them 2/16 but these were old seeds and many of them didn't sprout -- these were older seeds (2010 and 2011). Also I may have overcooked them because I was taking temp readings at top of soil level but when I put the thermometer on the top of the plant light where I had them last week while starting some other seeds, I realized it was like 95Ã‚Â° there

There's always something. It rarely happens that everything goes right.

I found a lot of different pro mix. Can you check out this link and tell me if yours is listed? https://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/Prod ... /-c158.htm

applestar · Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:18 am

OK last time I bought pro-mix was two years ago and it was Pro-mix Ultimate Organic. It was pricey so I mixed it with an equal volume mixture of humus, sand, some under the woodpile topsoil, and my own compost, but/and the plants just loved it.