Potting Soil

This is the first year that I have ever had any success with growing plants from seed, but what a learning experience it has been!

One of the challenges I always face is "damping off" , or "root rot", due to over-watering.  This year (aside from my first try at pepper plants) everything has gone really well, thanks to peat pellets. I tried 2 different kinds, peat and soil pellets and like the peat pellets better (I lost a whole flat of marigolds using the Jiffy pellets).

I noticed that the seedlings I transplanted first have done so much better than the seedlings I did in the following weeks.  I think it's because of the potting soil.  The first potting soil I used had a slow-release fertilizer incorporated in it.  Then, when I ran out, I was tempted to buy a really cheap potting soil called Jolly Gardener.  Well, this gardener isn't feeling too jolly!

The second potting soil was damp in the bag, and felt really heavy.  I think the dampness hurt the roots, because the plants have pretty much stopped growing.  I have tried a new potting soil called Fox Farm Ocean Forest (FFOF) which has been touted all over gardening forums.  Still, my seedlings seem dejected.  I think the longer the seedlings sit around in their peat pots, the more they lose energy to grow.

One of the biggest questions I have had is how and when to fertilize the plants.  Again, the first potting soil with the slow-release fertilizer seems to have worked best.

Last week, I started getting extremely concerned because I noticed some of the tomato leaves looking a bit shriveled, and I discovered some tiny bugs floating around.  Someone at the garden center told me that I probably have fungus mites, due to dampness.  Darn that Jolly Gardener! Her recommendation was to bring the plants up out of the basement to get some air and dry off.  So that's what I did.

Any way, here is a photo comparing two tomato seedlings, both sown on April 6th.  What a difference!

In all fairness, the plant on the left was sitting in a peat pellet for at least 2 weeks while I waited for it to develop true leaves.  I'm not sure why some of the plants grew so much quicker than the others.

Pepper Seedlings and Damping Off

April 1, 2013
Well, these peppers have been very challenging.  I have already discovered a couple of mistakes that I have made, but not before I have lost almost a dozen seedlings.

First, I waited too long to uncover the seed flat, turn off the heating pad, and place it under a grow light.  As a result, the seeds that emerged experienced root rot, or "damping off".  I didn't realize that I have to do this when the seedlings first emerge.  I thought I had to wait for most of them to emerge.

Second, I was watering the plants too much.  The problem actually began when I first sowed the seeds, because the planting medium was difficult to water.... the water floated to the top.  In the future, I will moisten the medium before I plant seeds, and then I will water from the bottom.  The first time I watered from the bottom, I filled the flat 1/2 full of water.  This saturated the soil, which is not good! Now, I pour only a little bit of water underneath.

I went to Sixteen Acres Garden Center to purchase a fungicide, because one of my books recommended it; however, I couldn't find anything that is specifically for seedlings.  Someone at the garden center said to put the seedlings in a sunny window to let any fungus dry out.  I did exactly that when I got home.  Thankfully, it was a sunny day, and the little seedlings responded beautifully.  They seem to do better in the sunlight than under the grow light. 

I was very discouraged at one point and almost threw the whole flat out, but this morning I discovered that many new seedlings have emerged.  So, even though some of the seeds germinated in just one week, many of the other seeds required two weeks to emerge.  I'll need to remember this when waiting for any seeds to germinate! 

The other day, when I was feeling discouraged, I picked up a new packet of pepper seeds and a tray with pellets.  I'm not giving up!  I am determined to learn how to grow healthy pepper plants!

April 2
Still discouraged.  The seeds continue to sprout, but the leaves and roots continue to rot.  I picked off 3 more seedlings today out of the flat, and saw fungus on one of them.  The soil looked dry, so I added a little water, but it turned out to be too much water. I still have roughly 30 seedlings/sprouts.  A few look really healthy.  I'll be happy if I can get a half dozen healthy plants.  We'll see....

April 5
I have decided to scrap the whole tray, except for 3 seedlings that seem OK.  The rest all show signs of rot.  Very depressing.  I took the 3 remaining seedlings and stuck them in a jar with some damp paper towels and put them in a sunny windowsill.

April 6
I am going to try to plant each seedling in its own pot and see how they do.  Not expecting much.