Alpine Strawberries stopped growing.

[jbockenfeld]

I have alpine strawberry seedlings that sprouted and seem to be frozen in tiny state. No true leaves or further growth since they popped up.

[applestar]

Give us a bit more detail of what they are (not ) growing in. Is it sterile seed starting mix with no nutrients?

Whats the temperature like?

[jbockenfeld]

I have alpine strawberry seedlings that sprouted and seem to be frozen in tiny state. No true leaves or further growth since they popped up.

[jbockenfeld]

Darn forum and auto correct. Lol. Yes inside in a humidity dome for seeds in seed starting mix from Burpee it's got nutrients but only .06 .03 .03. Temp probably around 70 to 80. You can see in the pic they look to small to transplant.

[rainbowgardener]

Definitely too small to transplant. But they may well need some nutrients to get going. I'd make a dilute solution of some liquid fertilizer and water with that - no more than half the recommended strength.

What kind of light is on them?

How long have they been stuck at that size?

You may need to sacrifice one to look at the root. Often when plants sit there and don't grow, it is because there was some problem with root development and they have little to no root system. You need to know if that is the problem.

[jbockenfeld]

They sprouted about a week ago and the light is a 4 ft grow light from home depot. The under cabinet style but specific for plants.

[applestar]

If it's only been one week since sprouting, then I wouldn't expect more than fully extended seed leaves.

I'm growing Alpine strawberries from seed for the first time, too -- Yellow Wonder and White Soul.

I sowed the seeds two weeks ago and put the seed flat in a veg bag, then out in the cold garage to cold stratefy. (This was based on seed packet instructions from Pinetree Garden Seeds.) The tray just came inside today, so I have to wait for them to sprout still.

I did review my notes and according to Renee's Garden website which usually has good instructions, they want to be at 60-70°F until planting. I would interprete this to mean 70°F until they have sprouted... upper 60's until first set of true leaves, then 60 to mid-60's for sturdy growth.

Here's an excerpt:


http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/st ... es-ahs.pdf

GROWING ALPINE STRAWBERRIES FROM SEED

In early spring, sow seeds one inch apart and an eighth-inch deep in a container of moistened, fine seed-starting mix. Provide a strong light source and maintain a temperature of 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit until seedlings are ready to plant outdoors. Keep the container evenly moist but not soggy. Seeds may take three to four weeks to germinate.

Feed young seedlings every two weeks with half-strength fertil- izer. When they have several sets of leaves, transplant them three inches apart into a deeper container or individual pots so roots have room to develop. When seedlings are three inches tall, gradually ac- climate them to outdoor conditions.

Since the directions stipulate strong light, I would position the 4 ft fluorescent tubes about 4" above the leaves if T-5 (5/8" diameter), 2" above the leaves if T-8 (1" diamer) and 1" above the leaves if T-12 (12/8"=1-1/4" diameter) tubes.

[jbockenfeld]

Awesome info. Thanks. Those sprouts in the pic are white soul.

[rainbowgardener]

That was five days ago. Any update on what you did and whether your baby seedlings have made any progress?

[jbockenfeld]

I have these strawberry seedlings around 70 to 75 Degrees. They are in Burpee seed starting mix with little nutrients. I don't know why the leaves are withered on some and they are not growing as much as most seedlings do. Maybe my t8 light is too close. It's about 2.5 inches above the soil.

[applestar]

It could be just the camera reacting to the bright tube, but your photos look particularly dark and awfully BLUE to me. What kind of light are you using, could it be an aquarium light? Something in the UV range?

Most of my lights are 6500K and they photograph like this -- very white

image.jpg (53.31 KiB) Viewed 650 times

-- the CFL's I think are 5000K... A little yellower

Here is one tube I have that is sold with the tube included to use as under cabinet kitchen light and it is in a warm range (maybe 3000-something K) -- you can see how yellowish the lighting is. I will replace this with a 6500K tube when it burns out.

[jbockenfeld]

I bought it at Menards and it is bluish. It's a 22" grow light though. I'm not sure what the ratings are though.

http://www.menards.com/main/mobile/ligh ... c-7239.htm

[applestar]

It looks like if the model number ends in /GR than its supposed to be a grow light and if it ends in /BL then its a Blacklight -- for fluorescent party light kind of thing.

But I was struck by "440 lumens" -- that's way too dim to grow anything.

So it's a rather dim light to begin with, and it looks like it has a diffuser, which you should always remove when using to grow plants. (but looking at your photos, it looks like you DID remove/didn't out it back on? Good call.)

Two of these side-by-side would barely output 880. But as a temporary fix, you could mount them close side-by-side on a bright white or reflective surface (I use inside of chip bags or Mylar survival blankets. I suppose aluminum foil will work, too). The surface area they would cover will be limited to length of the tubes and probably no more than about 8" width.

I think you need at least 850 lumens which is about all you get from the 100 watt equivalent CFL's -- it's better to have something over 1000 lumens for growing seedlings. Multi tube 48 inch long t8 and t5 fixture will produce in the excess of 2000 lumens at the center of the tubes.

[jbockenfeld]

So what about this? I like its deformability.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/191316674707?nav=SEARCH

[jbockenfeld]

Your plants look great by the way. I knew that light being blue seemed off. What exactly is the purpose of that style of light?

[Gardener_Wes]

I don't think they're getting enough light. Looking at the color it's producing.... I run a 600w hood in the winter to veg my plants for longer. I also use T5 to start them. Look into getting warm bulbs. It really does help a lot.

[jbockenfeld]

I really hate the word specially in the title and I don't know how it keeps getting there. I have a much better light now and was curious as to what time I should remove the dome. I have had it off but now I only have 1 seedling left. I don't know if the dome being off or me adjust the thermostat down to 68 hurt them.

[applestar]

Edited the title to what you used for the last post.

[jbockenfeld]

So how about when to remove the dome. I have seen when they sprout and when there are 4 true leaves. That's a good difference in time frame so if one works I'm sure the other one doesn't.

[applestar]

Mine sprouted so I started a thread to document how they do: Subject: Growing Alpine Strawberries from Seeds

I was using a produce bag as a cover close to the soil (just above -- for condensation and to monitor moisture level) so I removed it as soon as I saw that the seedlings sprouted and raised the container so the seedlings are closer to the light. I mist heavily with a trigger sprayer every morning.

I'm more concerned about the sprouted seedlings damping off under cover than about having them all germinate -- the stragglers will just have to come up in their own time.

[rainbowgardener]

I never use the humidity domes at all [disclosure: I have never started strawberries from seed, but I do a ton of other things]. I think they are just dangerous, fostering too much humidity, leading to damping off, mold/ mildew, fungus gnats, etc. And they clearly aren't necessary, as shown by the fact that I start over 500 plants from seed every year without ever using one.

If you do use them, remove them as soon as the first seed sprouts.

What I do instead is along with bottom watering, I lightly sprinkle the soil surface with water (1-2 times a day) as long as it has seeds waiting to sprout, that have no roots. This keeps the seeds from drying out.