I have my shelves in an unheated pantry. Granted we don't usually have southern temps this low (high 30's, low 40's) in our part of the country, but for the past several months they have been. As most of my seedlings are started in this unheated pantry, I noticed that the fluorescent lights themselves produce a goodly amount of heat. I raised the temps under those shelves recently to 70 degrees - not because of the seedlings, but because I wanted to heat up some fermenting sauerkraut - which needed that heat to continue to ferment. Anyway - I also use this approach for my seedlings. I enclosed the area around the seedlings with a cloth to further harness the warmth - and noted the thermometer registered near 70 degrees. Certainly warm enugh for broccolli and cole seedlings. You might try putting up some shelves, attaching fluorescent lights underneath, and see what the temp reading is. Bet it would work - unless your temps go way down - but another trick yet - I usually put my sprouted seedlings into yogurt sized cups, about 8 in all, which are then placed in a plastic shoe box (mostly to catch water). These boxes are easily obtained in various variety stores. A 2nd box placed over the top will create a greenhouse effect. I'll bet your little tads will be as cozy as a bug in a rug with this approach - and won't upset things in the OTHER nursery. Just my 2 c's. Bejay

Hmm, that's frustrating. I wonder about overwatering. Do you back off the water after germination? You don't want it to fully dry out, but you don't want it soggy either. For the beets, try soaking for an hour then planting directly. The main seedling stem breaking sounds like damping off. Controlling the moisture should help and watering with weak chamomile tea can help prevent that fungal disease.

Might you have any idea which roses you're growing in the desert? Perhaps they still have the metal tags identifying them? It's possible they are more miniature or smaller floribunda types and aren't ones which produce the larger flower types you might be expecting. Usually, the soil in that area is quite sandy. Are the roses mulched or simply planted in the sandy soil? Are they potted or in the ground? How close are they to a fence, wall, house wall, side walk, driveway? As you are well aware, there is tremendous heat reflection/radiation from masonary surfaces, particulalry in the low desert and that cooks the plants VERY efficiently. Anything which prevents them from maintaining a steady water supply or takes that supply away from them is going to stress the growth and ability to flower. Higher temperatures commonly reduce the flower size. Combine that with any increased heat from a wall or other concrete surface; reduced water retention due to sandy soil; wind; etc. and you may be lucky you have flowers at all. What you might consider trying is don't let them flower for a few months. You're approaching the hot weather there and flowering in that weather isn't great in the first place. Instead of cutting them, removing leaves, pinch off the flower buds as they develop, leaving every leaf on the plants. Force them to produce wood and leaves, saving that energy they are going to push into flowers to make the plants fuller, stronger and potentially more productive. That tremendous heat and intense sun require more shade protection. A huskier, fuller plant is going to naturally provide its wood more shade from increased foliage canopy. Cut back on the Miracle Gro, or any fertilizer and let the excess salts in the soil begin to flush out. It isn't a good idea to use any kind of fertilizer in extreme heat. Fertilizer is salt. Your soil and water are salty. Salt pulls water out of the plant and replaces it with salt. So, keep the leaves and wood, but pinch off the new flower buds to make the plants grow larger until fall (at least), then let them begin flowering in the cooler weather. Stop fertilizing them. Keep the water flowing, the plants growing, but stop the flowering and maintain them with the water to push growth and keep them feeding themselves. Only fertilize during the cooler months when your roses are flowering more normally and naturally. High heat stresses the plants tremendously and any native in your area which doesn't receive irrigation during the intense heat, shuts down, goes summer dormant. Your rose flowers are going to fry in a few hours anyway. Save the resources and don't let them waste them. Wash the salts through the soil and help the plants shed excess salt by keeping them watered as normal. When you prune, prune lightly. You want full, large plants where their leaves shade the wood. The denser foliage will also help to keep the plant cooler, better hydrated by their transipration of water (sweating). More leaves equals more food through photosynthesis. That should translate to larger flowers when heat is lower and they are more able to produce them. In florist research back in the eighties, one 'discovery' was that on average, it took 35 perfect leaves to make one perfect bloom. Contrast that with what you are trying to force your roses to do. They want to grow and are genetically programmed to flower (ovulate) in an effort to reproduce (set seed) to perpetuate the species. The extreme heat stresses the plants, inhibiting their ability to grow at all. The salts from the fertilizer stresses them further. Insufficient foliage cover permits the wood to overheat, inhibiting them from doing their "job" efficiently. Try what I've suggested and see if you don't start having the type of blooms you desire. Good luck! Kim

Sounds like you've run into some bad luck for sure. Peat pellets are great for germination, but, terrible for growing. I always have trouble keeping them wet, but, not waterlogged. I don't see how the drain holes are going to be very effective sitting inside another cup the same size. You need a spacer or something in there. Not sure what to tell you about the fish fertilizer. I guess flush them with lots of water and then let them dry out.