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drpotato

How do i grow my seedlings really big in the seed tray

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Ok, heres the jazz

i live in a really windy region, for all intents and purposes, its impossble to grow anything that isnt matured outside, because of the harsh sun and intense wind.

My problem is that i have seedlings in my seed trays that stop growing after the first week, they never seem to mature beyond their first two seed leaves.
actually, nothing really grows well even in potting mix no matter how i go about it, i tried making special mixes but nothing works, not even compost, now im considering using hydroponics stuff, ill just pretend the soil is sand, even though its yates seed raising mix and potting mix.

while this applies to nearly all my seedlings, the main issue is with chillis, one time i actually managed to germinate a psychotria viridis but it never went beyond the two leaf stage for several months. then died.

So, how do i get soil in which my seeds will germinate and grow into fairly mature plants, which go beyond the initial seedling phase? I need to get them big enough that i can plant them directly into the ground, then they will be fine. unfortunately the soil here is terrible, solid clay, you can make pots out of it its that bad, but, so long as the moisture is regulated, the stuff is amazing for growing with, probably since the land was a cane paddock, then a cow pasture. No matter what i do though, seedlings wont work in it, plants need to be a certain size, i think its because the young roots cant penetrate the clay, or tolerate how the water moves through the soil.

at bunnings, they have some chillis ive tried to grow in the same size pots, mine are 3-5cm tall and look awful, while at bunnings, the plant is 30cm tall and bearing fruit, what the hell!

I always pay close attention, frequently water in small amounts so as to regulate a moist but not wet soil condition, and decent potting mix but nothing seems to work, its as if im growing my seedlings in cotton.

so, what exactly is wrong? How do i fix the issue. the roots never reach the bottom of the tray and there shouldnt be anything wrong with the seed raising mix. Im growing everything in a mini seedling greenhouse with a heated mat for the night cold and to make the chillis sprout better, but the problem was there before i was using the greenhouse.

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You could try growing in pots in a shaded greenhouse to protect from the wind and Sun.

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Hey mate, it sounds like a frustrating situation :BANGHEAD2:.

From the information you have given it seems the seeds are germinating & using all there energy & then failing to get more, this would mean the roots aren't taking up food or are rotting. The other source of energy is light, it sounds like the soil should not be the problem, you have also said that you are careful with your watering so this makes me wonder about the light yours seedlings are getting. Min & max temps are also something that can cause dramas for seedlings. Good luck working this out.

Cheers

Jox

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we have all been there........you'll get it...you got all the ingredients.....tropical...need to experiment a bit with everything......I lost a lot 1st due to all kinds of reasons...potting mix too compact...not free draining...too free draining...its cold here so I use a shoe box propagator...never looked back..but the pots inside were too thin..needed to deepen them & lower the temp a bit...mist water ..sometimes add a bit of liquid potting fertiliser/seaweed mix...play :)

as for wind...build some kind of shelter....wind sheet ...cacti fence.....build up your soil too...

Edited by Dreamwalker.

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My problem here is that in winter its too cold to start them outside in the winter and too hot to start plants outdoors in the summer for the fall season, and im meaning plants such as chilis and tomatoes... and then when growing indoors, there is not enough wind.. so I literally put a fan on them to blow them ridiculously so they will be stronger plants..... and stronger plants can hold more fruits eh

unless you are getting tree bending wind then its more likely what they need to be stronger plants, but if its windy all the time you'll need to water them more often and I wouldn't recommend a soil that dries fast or clay pots ... trust me if they start off with the wind when they are tiny, they can handle it, but the temps are gonna matter with solancae plants.. coir x compost or worm castings is my favorite for starting anything.. particulary tomato plants can be knocked down all the way to the ground and they'll stand back up i've had mixed experience with chilis but its all about how well they start... same for humans, lol... btw I don't recommend knocking them down purposely some might be lost that way but usually they'll stand back up if you don't screw with them .. but a good steady breeze when they are small will change the outcome for sure

so i'd recommend you start an extra tray outside if the temps are right and see if you end up with stronger plants... If growing indoors put a fan on them, start low and make sure it looks a little painful and once that doesn't phase them turn the fan up or move it closer. Here in Dallas we are actually windier than the so called "Windy City" and I wish I could start my maters and chilis outdoors but i can't and it sux lol I suppose I could but I have to watch the temps all the time and bring them in most nights if the temps dip too low eh... just keep in mind that air causes an evaporation factor.. I started using one of those bottom feeder trays that I can just fill up every 2 or 3 days and I love it cause i usually forget to water enough otherwise...

last season I had a buttload of plants that went leggy cause we had cooler weather right into spring and many of them didn't toughen up til I let them get beatup by the wind and rain, and my fan wasn't hitting all of them.. Now im almost sure it was this dumb little fan overheating and it would stop blowing for several hours... luckily we had a mild start to summer and I had a shitload of tomatoes and way more chilis than I know what to do with, in spite of many of the plants being toughened late in the season.. Im dredding having to harvest another big bowl soon cause I don't know watta do with them lol I already have several bags of dried chilis! we pretty much have to get them going here before its too hot, especially tomatoes, but chilis and smaller tomato varieties usually produce again after the summer is over for a while

I hope the advice helps... wind is good unless its like a hurricane - laff - I also agree with Jox that lights could be a factor.. chilis like pretty intense red spectrum light, tomatoes aren't so picky but still needs to be bright.. needs to be pretty strong flouros or better and pretty close to the lights unlesst they are hot lamps... I learned with this years fall planting, thinking if the lights were good enough to start cacti then they'd be good enough for tomatoes and well, they weren't and so I have a tray of leggy San Marzanos and Tree Maters.. luckily the Marzonos grow much slower and thus aren't so bad i already put them out into the mildly hot temps ... you definitely want to stick with the soil that makes it ez for the little roots and maybe 1/3 rich compost/worm poo or even more

than that .. peat moss isn't recommended usually for chilis but works great for tomatoes too but I prefer the coir mix

Edited by Spine Collector

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i tried having the tray outside, but when its hot enough that the seeds wont die from cold, but during the day it gets blisteringly hot.

we have very strong constant winds, and a thin atmosphere so it means all year round extreme index UV

thanks for the advice

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Try building a seedling tunnel to grow the seedlings, it will need to have ends that can be opened during the day and also be easy to open up completely if you get a freak unseasonal hot day. You can knock one up for less than 20 bucks

http://doorgarden.com/03/plastic-tunnel-cold-frame-row-cover

If you are on bore water get it tested or at least test it yourself for PH. Bore water in many regions in SE QLD is hard water that is high in calcium and or magnesium ions that will rapidly throw the PH value of the best potting mix out of whack. Potted plants especially the solnaceae you mentioned need a low PH mix when planted in a pot - if the PH of the mix gets up near PH 6.5 the plants will struggle. Short term corrections can be made by acidifying your water with vinegar and more extreme problems will require the addition of sulfur to the potting mix and sometimes also PH adjusted water to keep it within an acceptable range.

In a pot (with a normal commercial potting mix) you really want the PH lower than 6, when planted in soil the PH range for optimal growth can be much higher - in a well conditioned soil the PH for those plants can go up to around PH 7.1 or so before the plants start to suffer. For those plants you mentioned though you should aim for a PH of roughly 6 - 6.5 for the garden bed.

The following information is for fine tuning the working PH of any growing system to optimise yield - when dollars count. It's overkill for most hobby growers.

This is the Dutch standard for PH testing which they adapted from rockwool culture and refined for soilless culture. For hydroponics the same rules apply. To get a true handle on the working PH of your system you need to test three things and then average the results.

The PH of the water/nutrient solution you are using

The PH of the potting mix/ hydroponic medium (mid depth of mix)

The PH of the last few drops of runoff after watering.

When you know all three values add them together and divide by 3 to get a working PH and adjust to suit.

Edited by Sally
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