Last month I started some seedlings indoor they’re growing but they are leggy. We are going to talk about how to prevent leggy seedlings. This month we are going to look for things to do and look for in March in your backyard garden. Yes, Spring is on the 20th of March and even if we are in just the first week of March. Spring is just around the corner.
Last month in February we talked about fertilizing your citrus tree. If you have not, do it now. Click Here this link is for the first time of the year to fertilize your citrus. And we are going to see the outcomes of those seedlings.
How to prevent leggy seedlings.
My seedlings are doing really well. However, I have noticed that some of my seedlings are very leggy. Do you know what that means? For those of you that do not know what that meant, it means that your seedlings are growing really tall with little or tiny leaves on top.
And it seems like it’s doing well but now it looked like they are leaning over and dying. What is going on? Some are wondering, “What did I do wrong?” I did everything correctly. I watered them. I bought seed starting soil. To I put them near indirect light. Even had a growing light as well. What could have happened?
I will try to answer all the concerns so bare with me.
Issues or problems with leggy seedlings.
The problem that I have observed is the lighting. If it doesn’t get enough light it would tend to reach for the light. It’s like my six-month-old niece who now is at the age where everything piques her interest and just reached for things even fire that’s her light.
Weather, if the area is too hot or warm for certain seedlings to sprout and grew too fast that causes them to grow really well then as it reaches maturity it bends or wilts. And there’s nothing you can do except wait for the right weather for those kinds seeds.
Making sure you have the right soil for the seeds you are starting, needs, the soil you’re going to buy. So, did that confused you? 🙂 Because some seeds like tomatoes, peppers, collard greens, and mustard greens don’t give a lick of the soil you get. They are grown right off the ground and start running. They do not need to start indoor unless your place of your resident is too cold. That’s the purpose of starting indoor seedlings.
The store will have seed starting soil. You may use that if you are a beginner. If you’re more advanced then you should already know that any soil that can get oxygen to your seedlings is a good buy. As long as it has perlite or vermiculite in the potting soil. Garden soil is for your backyard garden. Potting soil is for seeds starting or potting where you put the soil in a pot.
Watering plays a major part in leggy seedlings or sprouting plants. Inconsistent watering. Too much water can boost or rot your seeds most seeds do not like waterlogged. Too much water makes them grow too fast then end up with root rot and dies. Less water makes it hard for the seeds to find the surrounding nutrients to burst out to join their other sproutlings.
Here are some fixes to the issues.
Check your seeds daily. I recommend you using your mobile smartphone to set a reminder every day to check on your seeds. Schedule a watering time for them as well. Yes, daily. Why? So that you can see if your seeds have enough moisture and are they growing well.
If your seeds had sprouted and are sitting under a grow light or a window rotate them couple times a day. I rotate them nightly at night when I go to bed. I work the following morning and that’s the last thing I want to do is at night. So then you know that your seedlings are being rotated.
Since your seedlings are healthy you may want to put a small fan to mimic wind blowing at them as mother nature would do if she was taking care of them. I would touch mine or rotate mine three times a day if I have the time. That fan comes in handy.
The heating pad is great for those cold nights for keeping your seeds warm. Especially pepper seeds they love heat and will only sprout if it has enough warmth above 75° F or 23° C.
My solution and conclusion
Dying seedlings what can you do? It depends on if you have a lot of seeds or someone gave you a few. If they did, ask them for more if not you can try to baby it only if you caught them on the early stage. If you caught them early you can do what the YouTube video above. I do the same.
If you suspect anything wrong it’s never too late considering the situation.
Examine the sprouts was it not enough off …?
Too much off…?
Can you save it? If not best to start over and keep a reminder.
March is a transplanted month for me. So look for an area you haven’t use to plant the same plant before and plant something new. Rotating vegetable mends your soil and keeps it fertile and mix nutrients for the new growth.
My Thai chili pepper got angry at me for trimming it too much and went to chili pepper heaven. It produced so many for two whole years and it just decided enough was enough.
This area I used it for my Jerusalem artichoke this year I plant my chili pepper plants. They are habanero peppers, serrano peppers, and Asian peppers. Behind them are my spinach and broccoli plants.
Thank you for reading my blog. I really appreciated your time as yours are as valuable as mine. If you have any comments, questions, or like to educate me, please feel free to do so. I love learning new things.
Disclaimer:
This is based on where I reside and my own experiences.
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