Used to be you could say "Army convoy green" but they don't use that color any longer. John Deere green isn't quite right either. Grass green? Nope. The darker shade of green on a Mountain Dew can looks about right. ;)

Seriously, if there is a noticeable yellow cast to them then the odds are its too much water.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Picture of healthy green plant

If they have turned yellowish... Will cutting back on the water turn them back or because they are seedlings, they will just turn into mediocre plants?

(I have a few seedlings that are that color - luckily more look okay).

Or, if they are getting yellower and yellower, and not growing, you might have put them in Miracle-Gro potting mix.

dave - Thanks, I think you're right. I crumbled one of the blocks I thought was starting to get dry, and it was wetter inside than I thought. I'm going to try that with a couple that look really dry when I have some, and see what those are like. I have one larger plant that looks like the right color, so I'm comparing the smaller ones to that. And some are slightly faded, but I think they're still ok. I did have some earlier that wilted, and perked up right after watering. So I have to figure out how to tell the difference.

I don't think there is one shade of green to aspire to b'c there are varieties that normally have all different shades of green. Marizol Gold, for instance, has distinct blue/green foliage. The vareity Lutescent normally has yellowish/green awful looking foliage.

But for the majority of varieties I think any shade of green goes and if there is yellowing of seedling foliage then yes, the most common reason is overwatering.

Carolyn

carolyn - I started about 80 varieties, but so far I haven't noticed any significant difference in color between them. There probably was some variation. Just not enough to get my attention, since I wasn't looking for it. But I don't have Marizol Gold or Lutescent. But the fading is noticable, so I'm probably overwatering. And now I have a few that fell over, so I'm worried about damping off. There's always something to worry about:) So I made some chamomile tea, and I'm going to spray them with that when they start looking thirsty again.

gardening, how big are your seedlings now in terms of ones that are falling over?

If it is damping off you should be seeing an area of brown constriction where the stem is at the soil line.

Spraying with chamomile tea is not going to help the plants b'c the three different fungi that can be responsible for damping off are in the mix the seedlings are growing in, not on the plant. Not all three of those fungi are necessary to cause damping off, just one can do it.

And while sprinkling cinnamon on the mix surface or drenching the mix with chamomile tea has been mentioned for many many years as being a deterrent to damping off, there is no good data that says that's true. And indeed many who have done it have said it doesn't work at all.

Using a good artificial mix, not using those plastic domes, and ensuring good air flow are the best things to do to help prevent damping off.

Carolyn

carolyn - I might have a couple things going on. I just looked at a small seedling--it's about an inch tall, and starting to get its first leaves--that fell over yesterday. It seemed pretty wilted, and I thought it was dead for sure. But it's standing up again, so I think it'll be alright. It was probably overwatered. And it's been exposed to cold and windy weather. Sometimes outside in a low tunnel, and sometimes out in the open.

My other issue is with some taller seedlings. I didn't get these out into the sun quick enough after they sprouted, so they got leggy. And they've probably been overwatered too. They're maybe 2 1/2 inches tall, and most don't have their first leaves yet. Some of these have been falling over, and they seem kinda thin and white (not brown) at the soil line. Some of these don't make it, but I think most are recovering. And I propped some of them up by adding some soil mix around the base. I'm not sure if it helps, but at least they look better that way:)

So I think my main problem is overwatering. Then exposure to the weather, since most recover after they've been in the house for a while. But I need to get them back outside, or they won't get enough light. Although it's cloudy and rainy, so I don't know that they're missing out on much right now. Also, they get lots of ventilation, so I don't think that's a problem.