First time growing from seed

13 years ago

I am quickly becoming addicted and more than slightly OCD about my little mater sprouts. I was given many wonderful heirloom seeds from a friend and am very nervous about this whole process.

My question is how big should a 2 week old plant be? I am worried about them getting too leggy. I am giving them plenty of natural light as well as using a florescent lamp when natural light isn't the best during day. I am just worried that they are too spindly.

My 2.5 weekers are about 1.5 - 2 inches tall and just getting their first set of true leaves.

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Comments (7)

organicislandfarmer
13 years ago
they are going to grow towards the light and if it is too far away they will be thin and leggy. Keep the grow lights as close as you can with out touching for about 8 hours a day.
marlingardener
13 years ago
Are you using regular florescent tubes, or the grow-light tubes? There is a difference, and for seedlings, you need the grow-light ones. As the previous post stated, keep the lights about 2" above the plants and slowly raise them as the plants grow. Use the grow-lights constantly, not just as a substitute on cloudy days. I usually leave my lights on for 12-14 hours, and don't depend on natural light until the plants have been repotted at about 6-8 weeks, and are being hardened off to go into the garden.
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digdirt2
13 years ago
2 inches tall and just getting their first set of true leaves.

That's tall for one without true leaves. Natural light is very seldom sufficient. Better to use the fluorescent lights. And 12-16 hours a day. Is the norm.

Dave
digdirt2
13 years ago
Are you using regular florescent tubes, or the grow-light tubes? There is a difference, and for seedlings, you need the grow-light ones.

Sorry but no. This claim has come up here before and the "you need" part of it simply isn't correct.

Thousands of growers, professionals included, use nothing but regular, plain, inexpensive 4' fluorescent tubes to grow seedlings quite successfully. There is no need to spend the extra $$$ on special grow bulbs. The goal is green growth only, not the blooming and fruiting that require the grow bulb spectrum.

Now of course you can invest in them if you wish. They certainly aren't going to hurt anything. But there is no NEED to use them.

Dave
taz6122
13 years ago
Grow bulbs don't do any better in blooming and fruiting either. The only difference is they are missing the green and yellow light that cool whites have. Cool whites still have the spikes in red and blue along with yellow and green. I had tomatoes setting fruit inside last year(under 5000k bulbs) because I started the plants too early.
noinwi
13 years ago
I use a (freebie)grow light hood, rigged with sockets by DH, to use 8 compact fluorescent bulbs and they work great for starting. When the bulbs start to dim after repeated use, I just use them in other lamps and add new ones to the hood. In the past, I used a cheap shop light with two regular flo tubes. Your set-up doesn't have to be fancy or expensive for just starting plants.
ubergoober
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for all the replies!

First time growing from seed

Comments (7)

organicislandfarmer

marlingardener

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First time growing from seed

Comments (7)

organicislandfarmer

marlingardener

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digdirt2

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ubergooberOriginal Author

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