My Mizuna and Chijimisai seedlings are dying, why?
I am starting the seeds indoors in little cups. The seeds germinate very quickly at room temperature into robust seedlings. But then within a few days they start growing backwards. First the cotyledons then any new leaves shrivel and dry (not rot) and eventually the seedling kind of just fades away. I am not able to give a good pictorial representation but the situation is mortifying. I have started over and over trying this and that, it happens every time and I cant solve the problem.
I thought and tried the following:
1) Too strong lighting? The leaves looked like they may be scorching and these are cool weather crops. Raised the lights higher above the seedlings.
2) Too many hours of light? Reduced from 16 to 12 hours.
3) Room too warm? Turned off the heat lamp. My setup is in a spare bathroom.
None of these measures helped at all. Raising the lights seems to make the kale seedlings, which I am growing alongside, more floppy.
Could it be the growing mix? It is a 1:1 mix of coco coir and promix moisture potting mix plus a little perlite. All my other seedlings are thriving in this. I have been using about 1/2 tsp fish emulsion + 1/2 tsp seaweed extract per gallon as my water throughout. Should I be using straight water instead?
What is going wrong??? What am I doing wrong??? Please suggest something so that I am able to grow these greens.
Thanks a million times!
Healthy seedlings:
Then shriveling, drying and dying:
Comments (7)
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HELP my seedlings are dying!
Comments (1)I am sorry you are having trouble, but it is tough starting out, when you haven't seen good (and bad) growth cycles before. Did you remove the cover after seeds popped up? One problem can be too much humidity and too little light. Since I don't have grow lights I try to get them by a window as soon as possible. And with the top of I prefer watering with a mister. This may not help, sorry. Maybe watching some (more) seed starting videos will help. In terms of how much time you have, have you found a garden calendar (online) for your area. I found one for my zone with nice "do this now" and "you are late" instructions. Good luck....See MoreNeed advice! My seedlings are dying! watering issues.
Comments (8)Here is one potential problem that jumps at at me: "it doesn't get that hot in it as it is still cool out. I come home and they are shriveling up and dying." You need a couple of thermometers in there and closer monitoring plus some sort of vents and fans. On average with the sun out it will be 25-35 degrees hotter inside the greenhouse than the air temps is outside. That is why all greenhouse type set ups have to have auto ventilation systems with good, moving air circulation inside. So if it is 60 degrees outside it can easily be 85-90 or more inside and that is lethal for seedlings. Plus it is dry stagnant air. That alone quickly dries mix and shrivels up seedlings. Second thing: "I used a mix of half soilless/seeds starting mix. They germinated inconsistently because once I took them off the mat (as the first couple started germinating), I can never seem to get the balance right with the soil moisture, and things start dying, and the rest don't germinate. I refuse to use the only soil-less mix, as many articles tell you is so perfect for seedlings." The flip side of over-watering is soil mix that doesn't drain well. That is why using a soil-less mix is recommended. Because it DOES drain well. Mix it up with other stuff and it can create a 'cook the roots' situation. But honestly I thin - based on the info so far - the real problem is the environment in your GH. It needs to be modified for better air circulation and cooling if you can't be there to monitor the plants. Post some pictures of your greenhouse and I can help you with specific suggestions. Dave...See MoreWhy are my ice plants dying this time?
Comments (5)Yes, be careful about putting them outside. Sudden full sunlight all day will likely burn them. You have to gradually increase the sunlight and harden them off for being outdoors all day. It might be difficult to keep them watered enough with them planted in cocopeat. I recommended putting them outdoors because they can etiolate very easily. Some of them stay nearly all green no matter how much sun you give them and some of them can turn very purple. IIRC, the underside of the leaves can be quite purple. There is some variability of purplish plants in the seed packet. This is normal. The photos of their foliage online don't show how the leaves sparkle in the sunlight. I grew these one year from seed, kept them in 10 x 20 flats in 2 x 6 cells and sold them at a local farmer's market. I had to give them a lot of attention to keep them looking nice (planted them in tiny homemade plugs, repotted them in to cells, give a lot of sun, prevent them from drying out too much, watch out for hail storms) but they sold well....See MoreWhy are Zinnia seedlings healthy in peat pots but dying in the ground?
Comments (21)Hey ZM I'm hoping that you get this...I'm going on the assumption that you are... OK, I've become what you warned me not to...a Mad Scientist! Balancing the Miracle Grow with the Neptunes Harvest (my community garden is organic so I'm smuggling in the Miracle Grow) with my Physon 20., has become a whirlwind of measurements and applications. I use the teaspoon of Physon 20 with a gallon of water when I do the whole garden but I use A TBL when watering diseased plants. I'm still a little nervous about mixing the P 20 with fertilizer. Im using MG on some and NH on some and am experimenting with ratios. My little munchkins still refuse to grow. They're healthy and some even have buds but they're no taller than 6 or 7 inches. I fertilize them daily but...nothin' That's not entirely true. My Zinnia Envy has grown...not as tall as they should be but I think they will keep growing. Do you think I should keep going with the little guys a or chalk them up to an experiment with indoor seed starting and try to do better next year. Also, you said you used Silicone for plant strength (at east I think that's what you said). My Zinnia stems are bending. Do you think that the Silicone could help them stay upright Anyway...just checking in Thanks ! Dale...See More
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daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)