Seedling Problems - A Guide to Starting Seeds?

[Vance71975]

Hey all, I am having a bit of a problem, I started some tomatoes from seed, they started off great, but now the leaves are curling under and appear to be dying. The weird thing is that the Peppers(two varieties of hot peppers) that are in the same tray are doing just fine, I don't know what I did wrong.

I watered them with a very weak nutrient mix, I don't think it would have been strong enough to burn them, but I don't know. They are in a Grow Tent on an 18 hr on 6 hour off cycle under a mix of 6500k and 2700k CFL lights, I am taking a guess here and saying the total out put would prolly be around 500watts. Any ideas?

Could someone post a sure fire step by step guide to starting seeds?

[TCHarris32]

How old are they? How many sets of leaves do they have? Maybe they are under watered. If I'm not mistaken, peppers require less water so if they are thriving then maybe the maters just aren't getting enough h2o.

[applestar]

This entire seed starting forum is a guide to starting seeds. You'll see that there are many factors involved depending on individual situation -- climate, potting mix, watering technique... And some methods work great for some people while not working at all for others.

Tell us more about your seedlings, post photos (instructions are in the new members forum) -- lets see if we can figure this out and help them recover.

If they are in various stages of growth, it's difficult to supply the correct level of light and water while in the same tray. It's very difficult to provide Care for both peppers and tomatoes in the same tray as they have different requirements.

[rainbowgardener]

Posting pictures of the plants and the set up would help us help you figure out what the problem is. Could be under watering or over watering or too much humidity. I don't love grow tents or domes or other enclosures. The humid / no air circulation environment in there can cause fungal and other problems.

How big are these plants?

Instructions for posting pictures here are in New to Helpful Gardener? under Helpful Tips and Suggestions for New Members.

PS your wish is my command... I just posted my version of a step by step guide to seed starting basics.

[Vance71975]

How old are they? How many sets of leaves do they have? Maybe they are under watered. If I'm not mistaken, peppers require less water so if they are thriving then maybe the maters just aren't getting enough h2o.

They are about 2 weeks old, they had just started to sprout the second set of leaves, so they would have 4 leaves total.

They are in Peat Pellets, and the pellets are moist but not dripping wet.

[Vance71975]

Posting pictures of the plants and the set up would help us help you figure out what the problem is. Could be under watering or over watering or too much humidity. I don't love grow tents or domes or other enclosures. The humid / no air circulation environment in there can cause fungal and other problems.

How big are these plants?

Instructions for posting pictures here are in New to Helpful Gardener? under Helpful Tips and Suggestions for New Members.

PS your wish is my command... I just posted my version of a step by step guide to seed starting basics.

The are about 2 or 3 inches tall for the tomatoes, and about 1.5 to 2 inches for the peppers.

If I had to guess I would err on the side of over watered as appose to under watered.

There are vent wholes in the tent and there are 2 fans that run while I sleep one of which is blowing directly at the grow tent. I understand that they are not perfect, but the only room I have that I can put the tent in is my bedroom, and with an 18 on light cycle I needed something to contain the light. Funny thing is my hydroponic plants that are in the same tent and are thriving even tho I did over fertilize them a tad bit. I have a tomato plant in the hydro unit as well as Thai Basil, both are growing like mad. The tomato in the hydro unit is about 5 days old and is as tall as the ones in the peat plugs but very very healthy looking.

[Vance71975]

This entire seed starting forum is a guide to starting seeds. You'll see that there are many factors involved depending on individual situation -- climate, potting mix, watering technique... And some methods work great for some people while not working at all for others.

Tell us more about your seedlings, post photos (instructions are in the new members forum) -- lets see if we can figure this out and help them recover.

If they are in various stages of growth, it's difficult to supply the correct level of light and water while in the same tray. It's very difficult to provide Care for both peppers and tomatoes in the same tray as they have different requirements.

I will try to post Photos later when my GF gets here, I however do not have a digital camera.

I don't know what more I can say, I may have over watered them, but I don't think so, the tray drains, and the water was below the holes that the peat pellets sit in. If you have any other specific questions please ask, some of these are rather exotic tomato types and I really don't want to lose the plants if it can be helped.

[Vance71975]

Well bad news she couldn't find her digital camera so no photo, but it does look like some are getting new leaf growth, maybe. The stems still look good no drooping or bending.