ballplayer 2
Active member
Hi ladies and gentleman. I know this is one of the most newb questions one could possibly come up with. However, I am having serious issues trying to start seeds.
I am relatively experienced and cannot believe the problems I continue to have simply getting seeds off to a strong start. When I was having good success with starts, I dont remember having to pay special attention with the amount of water I was giving them. I just remember keeping them somewhat moist until transplant to 4 inch containers. I have always used peat based mixes, typically sunshine mix#'s 1 or 4.
I suspect my two main problems have been overwatering and starting seedlings under lights that were too intense. I have been practicing with veggie seeds for quite sometime now, I dont want to waste precious seeds. I currently have a round of tomato seedlings that germinated last week. They are growing more slowly and misshapen than I would like.
When my last round got burned they were very yellow with whitish/black tips on the cotyledon leaves, and red veins, yellow true leaves. Cotyledon leaves were also stunted. ALL leaves displayed purple leaf undersides.
My current seedlings appearance has improved since starting them under much less intense 18" fluorescents. The cotyledon leaves have reached regular size and maintained decent color. The true leaves on my seedlings have also kept a decent color green. However, 2 out 4 seem to have misshapen true leaves. The true leaves are smaller and seriously misshapen. However, even the less misshapen seedlings look on the brink growing slowly, and possibly on the verge of trouble.
My water is clean and the correct pH. My meters are calibrated and have good accuracy. I mix RO water with tap until the ppm reaches 100 (on a 640 ppm scale).
I can only deduce that the problem I have is overwatering. I try to let the containers reach the approximate weight they were when they contained only dry mix. However, I think I may have overwatered on the first watering after germination. I tried to water only a minimum, but ended up watering until most of the mix in the container was saturated (just short of runoff). The problems seem to have been exacerbated since that watering.
2 are in small paper dixie cups with holes punched for drainage. 2 others are in a 6 cell seed starter. I cannot seem to find the sweet spot as far as volume of water appropriate for these size containers. I know I have used far less than a shot of water to water each seedling. However, it seems the mix is still about fully saturated. Guess seedlings dont need much light or much water to get off to a good start.
Should I just basically use a small pour, or dribble around the stem of each seedling every so often until it gets big enough to start needing more water (perhaps 2-3 weeks down the road)? Watering until runoff does not seem to work in my spaces. At least not until the plants get a good rootball established and get going under the HID's.
I am relatively experienced and cannot believe the problems I continue to have simply getting seeds off to a strong start. When I was having good success with starts, I dont remember having to pay special attention with the amount of water I was giving them. I just remember keeping them somewhat moist until transplant to 4 inch containers. I have always used peat based mixes, typically sunshine mix#'s 1 or 4.
I suspect my two main problems have been overwatering and starting seedlings under lights that were too intense. I have been practicing with veggie seeds for quite sometime now, I dont want to waste precious seeds. I currently have a round of tomato seedlings that germinated last week. They are growing more slowly and misshapen than I would like.
When my last round got burned they were very yellow with whitish/black tips on the cotyledon leaves, and red veins, yellow true leaves. Cotyledon leaves were also stunted. ALL leaves displayed purple leaf undersides.
My current seedlings appearance has improved since starting them under much less intense 18" fluorescents. The cotyledon leaves have reached regular size and maintained decent color. The true leaves on my seedlings have also kept a decent color green. However, 2 out 4 seem to have misshapen true leaves. The true leaves are smaller and seriously misshapen. However, even the less misshapen seedlings look on the brink growing slowly, and possibly on the verge of trouble.
My water is clean and the correct pH. My meters are calibrated and have good accuracy. I mix RO water with tap until the ppm reaches 100 (on a 640 ppm scale).
I can only deduce that the problem I have is overwatering. I try to let the containers reach the approximate weight they were when they contained only dry mix. However, I think I may have overwatered on the first watering after germination. I tried to water only a minimum, but ended up watering until most of the mix in the container was saturated (just short of runoff). The problems seem to have been exacerbated since that watering.
2 are in small paper dixie cups with holes punched for drainage. 2 others are in a 6 cell seed starter. I cannot seem to find the sweet spot as far as volume of water appropriate for these size containers. I know I have used far less than a shot of water to water each seedling. However, it seems the mix is still about fully saturated. Guess seedlings dont need much light or much water to get off to a good start.
Should I just basically use a small pour, or dribble around the stem of each seedling every so often until it gets big enough to start needing more water (perhaps 2-3 weeks down the road)? Watering until runoff does not seem to work in my spaces. At least not until the plants get a good rootball established and get going under the HID's.
