Kale is getting leggy even under grow lights - what am I doing wrong?
Jordan MacPhee
9 years ago
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gardev
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Leaf symptoms - what am I doing wrong?
Comments (6)milocrab, you have got me all over the globe - Hong Kong, Asia, Australia! About your seedlings; the growing medium appears too heavy for a tiny mustard seed and you may have compounded the problem by your watering program. A seed needs to be in a moist environment to imbibe moisture in its own sweet time. If the medium is too wet the seed will rot. As the seed germinates it uses up its stored energy to produce a root and shoot. These are necessarily small, definitely immature and very sensitive to the environment. Application of fertilizer and exposure to (sun)light must be done carefully and gradually or the seedling can easily die. All of the leaves in the photographs show a nutritional problem; either a shortage of elements or else a problem with uptake if the elements are present. Overwatering can prevent uptake by displacing oxygen at root level The bleached areas on some leaves can be caused by sudden and perhaps extreme exposure to (sun)light; or damage due to the activity of the "blotch" (as opposed to the "serpentine") leafminer. 91ðF "even for one hour" to us can mean "for an entire hour?" to a seedling as it pulls on all of its meagre reserves to cope with this environmental stress. Allow me to reproduce from memory, a poem by Kate Brown from my kindergarten school days. "In the heart of a seed, buried deep, so deep; A dear little plant lay fast asleep. "Wake!" said the sunshine, "and creep to the light". "Wake!" said the voice of the raindrops bright. The little plant heard it And rose to see. What the wonderful Outside world might be." We had to mime as we recited and it is a pleasamt memory....See MoreWhat Am I Doing Wrong with My Caladium?
Comments (5)Mollylou, depending on where you are, Caladiums are perennial. There is one in my yard that was here when I moved in 4 years ago. Most websites will say they are hardy down to zone 9 or 10. If you were wanting a year-round houseplant, look for a syngonium, which is a trailing plant with Caladium-like leaves, although I don't think they come in that beautiful reddish/pink color. Caladiums need some sun and especially like morning sun. If your plant has been inside for months, that's not enough light. Color and variegation commonly fade on plants that are not getting enough light. If you have a place outside where it can get some sun before noon, you can leave the plant there until light frosts cause the leaves to drop. Knowing where you are would make storage (or possibly perennializing) advice easier. As mentioned, it's natural and normal for them to go dormant for the winter. The white fuzz is probably related to decomposing organic matter in the soil and will probably go away if you let the soil dry out more fully before watering. With so little light and such cool temps, the bulbs are probably using very little water....See MoreWhat am I doing wrong?
Comments (9)thanks for the quick responces-- :) Mike- yes, I thought about that too. The sudden change in soils. I have some mix made up.. sorta. It has the bark and some soil plus some Peat moss. It just got all mixed up.I put the perlite in as I repot, so it has none of that. Maybe I will re-soil it this week. My DH thinks I should just let it be for now.. he has a problem with the 5-1-1 mix, "Plants NEED SOIL" is his motto. He doesn't really give me a hard time with it, but he lets me know he doesn't like it.. oh well. Ron- wow, didn't see them till now, maybe they are ok after all?? All my other plants are growing real nice, now that it has cooled off. Didn't realize that Fall was going to give them all a jump in growing. And I realize that some take longer than others, but this is driving me nuts! Ok, I will give it time.. I can wait as long as it can.. I think. At least it isn't dying. Thanks again.. :) Marjie...See MoreWhat am I doing wrong?
Comments (5)it is no uncommon for plants to get to a certain stage and then seem to be doing little for a while, it often means that you just can't see what they are doing because it is going on below ground. The past few weeks were mostly good for root crops (moon phase and all) The timing of planting can have an impact on how plants do. I don't know that this is the case for your seedlings, some plants are just slow through certain stages of growth and require much patients. At this point doing some gentle fertilization when watering (and watering from the bottom by placing the peat pots in container of water) might do the trick. Then again, perhaps the change in moon phase will trigger improved top growth for the next couple weeks. good Luck Here is a link that might be useful: Farmers Almanac...See MoreJordan MacPhee
9 years agogardev
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoJordan MacPhee
9 years agoJordan MacPhee
9 years agoaruzinsky
9 years agorusty_blackhaw
9 years agoaruzinsky
9 years agomorrisk1
8 years ago
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