How many sets of leaves do these seedlings have?...
If only the first real set I'd say a real weak fertilizer higher in Phosphorous, and I stress real weak.

I wouldn't give them anything. They are too small and dont need it. Chances are it will do more harm than help anything.

Damon

I start my seedlings in 72 cell flats and repot up with miracle grow moisture control potting mix into 16 oz cups when they have their second set of leaves coming in. The potting mix has some fertilizer in it and that is all I give them until they go out the their final home.

jj

jj, that's what I'm doing. Last year I started them in the MG potting mix, this year I'm using Jiffy mix and will pot them into a mixture of regular potting mix and "Organic Choice" potting mix, in 16oz cups. They will live in this till they are planted out.

I really wonder if some get carried away with adding fertilizer. I have two 24 inch tomato plants in a tub with nothing but potting mix. flowering great under lights. One has 3 bunches of flowers with 7 tomatoes, the biggest is one and a half inch big. No fertilizer added. Maybe one of these days I will give them a little 18/18/21 miracle-gro that I have.

One of the common recommendations you will see is 1/4 to 1/2 strength liquid fertilizer weekly AFTER the plants develop their first true leaves. Until true leaves develop they don't need any fertilizers and can't tolerate them.

But it also depends on your growing medium and your growing methods. If you used peat pellets or sterile seedling mix with no nutrients to germinate them and don't plan to transplant them to a quality potting mix container then yes, you may need to provide some very dilute nutrients.

But if you plan to transplant them to a container of good growing mix with nutrient in it as most do then feeding them isn't usually necessary.

Just like watering, OVER-fertilizing does more harm to the plants than UNDER-fertilizing does. You don't want your top growth to exceed the root development and excess fertilizer can cause that as well as many other problems to develop.

As with most things in nature, it's a balancing act and the old adage that "if a little is good, more is better" does not hold true with plants, especially young seedlings.

If your 2-5 inch seedlings still have only cotyledons and no true leaves then they don't need feeding yet but they do need more light to keep them from getting even more leggy.

Dave

in 100 gallons of water
8 ounces (1/2 pound) of 4-18-38
4 ounces (1/4 pound) of Calcium Nitrate
4 ounces (1/4 pound) of Epsom salts
Adjust pH to 6.5
Conductivity 1200ppm + source water
( 1.60 mhos + source water)

Hmmmm. So, Timmy, if I mix up two 55-gallon drums of your commercial mix, how long does it hold?

Ok first of all using miracle grow on plants your putting in your body is disgusting. Also an 18/18/21 firtilizer seems a bit harsh. Im a big fan of going all organic. The best thing to feed a seedling is diluted liquid sea kelp. IT is exellent. I also like to add a little unsulfered molasses. These both do wonders to increase the microbiotic activity in the root zone and drastically if not eliminate the chances of burn because organics works in a symbiotic relationship with the roots and bacteria breaking down the organics thus the plant doesnt usually get more than it needs or wants. One sign that a plant is ready to be fed is when the cotyldons or the first set of true leaves begin to yellow. Then you want to add some nitrogen. I use fish emulsion for that usually until i recently upgraded to a nute mix called earth juice.

My first time starting seeds, so please be patient with me.

I'm a bit confused about this fertilization of seedlings. Seems some of you use diluted fert & others don't use any. For those of you that say don't use it, do you mean no fertilizer at all until they are planted out?

I started my seeds in small flats with Jiffy Mix, moved to small cups under lights after they sprouted. My plan was to re-pot 1 more time into the same Jiffy Mix before hardening off and setting out, with no fert. What do you think?

2 questions for you folks with more experience: When I re-pot do I need to use potting mix, and what is the difference between seedling mix & potting mix?

Robeb - Jiffy mix has no nutrients. It and most similar seeding mixes are just sterile peat, vermiculite, and lime and used almost exclusively gor germination only, not growing.

Growing mixes, and there are many many brands, have many additional ingredients that may include compost, time-release fertilizers, bark fines, perlite, etc. (but no soil/dirt. You have to read the ingredients in each brand to know for sure and there are many discussions all over GW about which growing mixes work and which ones don't.

What is discussed above is if you are using or transplanting to one of these growing mixes and it has added nutrients then that may be enough for them - the food that is already in the mix.

But if you plan to transplant but still use Jiffy mix rather than switching to a growing mix, then yes, you will need to feed them something. The diluted recommendation is because young seedlings can't tolerate the same doses as grown plants....kind of like kids. ;)

Now what fertilizer you choose to use is your personal choice. Liquids are easier for the young seedlings to absorb and use I think but there are liquid organic and/or non-organic fertilizers available. Both work just fine as long as you dilute them.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Thanks Dave, that helps a lot.

I'm one of the self watering container people, so I'm familiar with potting mix. I think my next transplant will be into MG potting mix w/fert... thanks to you.

hoosier, about 2 weeks. keep a piece of plywood over the top or something to keep sunlight out.

Divide it out and only mix up 10 gal at a time if you want.

thank you for all the info

xoxoxoox

you are all so experienced and knowing

I DO agree - miracle grow is not for edibles -- for florals etc.

appreciated

I am so excited
my seedlings are flourishing
tomatoes + all the fun daisies etc

we'll just see

whatever happens
the high i get from just seeing them grow is worth it all
it could cure cancer
i get so happy looking at them

if I get one tomato = I'll be excstatic
ummm
exstatic?
exctatic?
xstatic!

Ecstatic..the spelling doesn't matter, it's the fact that you got the needed info you required,,
Seems that you had some great advice in the forum..good job guys/ gals..

As far as the organic/inorganic forms...

The nitrogen cycle involves certain processes that change nitrogen into different forms. Organic nitrogen in materials, like seaweed, dead leaves and plants, are changed into inorganic nitrogen by microorganisms in the soil. Plants then take up these available forms of inorganic nitrogen ( NO3- and NH4+ ) so they can grow.

So, if one uses organic nitrogen fertilizer, it must first be broken down into it's inorganic state. Then, it can be absorbed by the plant.

Plant Science 101.

Posted by timmy1 6a ri (My Page) on Wed, Mar 4, 09 at 7:02

As far as the organic/inorganic forms...
The nitrogen cycle involves certain processes that change nitrogen into different forms. Organic nitrogen in materials, like seaweed, dead leaves and plants, are changed into inorganic nitrogen by microorganisms in the soil. Plants then take up these available forms of inorganic nitrogen ( NO3- and NH4+ ) so they can grow.

So, if one uses organic nitrogen fertilizer, it must first be broken down into it's inorganic state. Then, it can be absorbed by the plant.

Plant Science 101.

You'd be better off saving your breath Timmy1. Organic people won't believe you no matter how much scientific research you put up.

Where do you purchase your nutrients for your drip system?

Fertilizing seedlings is one of the reasons I switched to soil blocks. Fertilizer is part of the mix so I only have to water.

My Dad gave me a copy of an article from an old Organic Gardening magazine containing a soil block recipe from Eliot Coleman. Here is his recipe for 400 2" blocks (2 bushels) but I scale it down:

Use a 10 qt. bucket as the measure for the bulk ingredients and a standard cup for the others.
4 buckets premium-quality sphagnum peat moss, screened.
1/2 cup Lime
1 bucket sand or perlite
3 cups base fertilizer (below)
1 bucket fertile garden soil
2 buckets aged compost, screened

Base Fertilizer: 1 cup blood meal, 1 cup colloidal or rock phosphate, 1 cup greensand.

Mix the lime and peat to neutralize the pH, then add sand or perlite. Mix in base fertilizer. Finally, add the soil and compost, then mix all ingredients thoroughly.

As a rule of thumb, figure one part water to 3 parts mix. A note here, I also germinate seeds in my soil blocks on a heat mat. The first time I did that some blocks got fuzzy because my mixture wasnÂt sterile. I have since started using boiling water mixed with 1/8 tsp clove oil and a few drops of dish soap to moisten the mix. This cleared up that issue but IÂve also read using very weak chamomile tea might work. This issue only presents itself if I germinate the seeds in the blocks on a heat pad.

The only fertilizing I've done with my seedlings is watering them with the dirty water from my fish tank when I cleaned it out. They seem to really like fish poo.

Go to a good nursery and look for seaweed/kelp concentrate and follow the instructions on the bottle--it's recommended for seedlings. King Neptune is a brand you will probably see, there may be others but this is the one I've used before and feel it's a reliable and good product.

I have used the seaweed emulsion in the past but I rarely use the stuff anymore because I now only sow in fertilizer enhanced soils--the ferts in them are so mild you don't have to worry about root damage. For me, it's just one less thing to worry about.

jleiwig:

"You'd be better off saving your breath Timmy1. Organic people won't believe you no matter how much scientific research you put up."

I fully understand the nitrogen cycle and the way in which plants assimilate nitrogen. I also fully understand how inorganic nitrates are extracted from the earth and the effect that has on aquatic ecosystems. Please don't insult someone based on whether they choose organic or inorganic. From what I could tell, Timmy was simply saying that if you use organic it will take time before it is able to be incorperated.

I'm sorry if I offended you, although I'm not sure how since this is your first post in this thread.

I just pointed out a fact shown again and again by people on this forum. If you need any more proof of what I said was true, refer to the 10th post in the thread by AZhomegrown that MiracleGrow is "disgusting" for plants that will be eaten. Need I say more?

J
(working to stop the spread of ignorance one post at a time)

Are you serious? This is a gardening forum, not the maury show. Thanks for all of everyone else's info. You have had some very important info I can take to my garden!! Happy Spring!! Its almost here...

I've had great results with both the MG Moisture Control & Organic Choice soils. I do not fertilize with anything else. I'll give the plants some random Epsom salts sprays usually right after transplating, severe weather, etc., but that's about it.

Seedlings don't need fertilizing, I agree with potting it up to something like Miracle Grow is fine. I have done it both ways and burned the babies more often than not. Hate to start the argument and I buy organic whenever I can BUT I agree with timmy1...the plant will not know the difference between organic stuff and 12-12-12(or any mix) or Miracle Grow and there will be nothing lethal in the fruit you are eating. What effects the plant might show is the subtle nutrients present in composted manure or plain ole compost that is not present in commerical mixes. I rarely use Miracle Grow because of the expense, but I might use it for the ease of how it dissolves for a sprayer.