what am I doing wrong???? I started them all off in peat pots... I cut off the weaker ones, then I transplanted most of the strong ones once they grew to a few inches into 3x3 fibre pots... they're pretty much all dying now though.... I water them when the soil seems to be drying out... is it too late to plant some more? I think i'm in zone 5
Seedlings of what?? Most seedlings will benefit from air movement (ie. fan) to keep stems strong and fungus at bay. Depending on what you're growing, extra attention to light and temperature may be required. It's not too late to start again, you won't be planting frost sensitive vegetables outside until mid-May anyway. Simon
A couple differnet types of Tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, a couple different tpes of flowers mostly
Ok....get a fan on them, on low, & oscillating. The tomato and tomatillo need warm to germinate (21ºC), after that, they're not too fussy but cooler temps (15-18º) will keep them stockier and slow growth. High light & air movement will keep the stems strong and prevent lankiness. Eggplant, like peppers, like much warmer temperatures to germinate and grow...somewhere between 21º and 26º and it needs to stay that way until they're planted out. They will also enjoy air movement and high light. I would replant the eggplant now (because it grows slower than tomato) and wait until mid March to retry the tomatos and tomatillos. That should give you good sized plants to put in the garden in May. Simon
They will really want strong light, so if you don't have bright windows or a sunroom you may want to put them under lights (fluorescent is fine for seedlings.)
How are they dying? Do they just wilt at the base and fall over-- if so that is damping off, caused by overwatering and the soil staying wet on top. A fan will help dry the surface as smivies suggested. Skeet
I bought some Damp-Off from Gardenworks. I believe it's a fungicide that kills anything that will cause damping off. It seems to help.
I notice that you mentioned fibre pots. My experience with fibre pots is that they must be used with extreme care. They are great for later transplanting, but they keep moisture from the small seedlings due to wick affect if used alone. My method is to plant the seedlings (tomatoes) in the fibre pot them put the fibre pot into a larger plastic pot and surround with the potting soil completely. This reduces or completely eliminates the wick effect, and I have the advantage of relatively easy transplanting without disturbing the roots excessively. This thread has pictures of my tomato plant seedlings. http://xrl.us/u59y. Ths pictures URL may be down for the next two days, because my domain name expired, and it only came to my attention today 2 Mar 2007, but it will be up in a few days after the bureaucracy gets moving. Durgan.
