Allotments 4 All

I bought an electric propagator last week and pur some "Sweet Million" and "Gardener's Delight" in.  They got started really quickly, in lovely moist (not wet!) compost.   Now they seem a bit sad in places and a few are drooping. :'(  I have tried to keep the compost moist by gentle watering  ( a few drops) every couple of days, with some underneath as well so they can soak it up.  The gentle heat  seems to dry out the compost quite quickly but I'm not sure if I'm watering too much or not enough.  The seedlings are getting to about 3" tall with only a couple of tiny seed leaves on so I don't think they are ready to pot on into 3" pots yet.  Anyone got any experiences they would like to share with me please!!

Why do the books make it sound so easy!! ???

At least my cucumber seedlings are doing alright so far! ;D

Andy

How much light are they getting?

And hold back on the watering for a bit. Even if the surface of the compost is looking dry there will be moisture below.

I would also be inclined to back off on the heat once they are germinated and remove the lid of the propogator.

Jerry

I put capillary matting in the bottom of my propagators & water that, watering directly onto the seedlings can cause problems with damping off

Tomatoes really are easy, don't worry

I prick out my tom seedlings into individual 3'' pots as soon as they are big enough to handle whether they have 'true' leaves or not.  I started sowing mine on the 2nd Feb and they were pricked out on the 6th Feb and some have been potted on into larger pots already. Got another 20 to do today! :)

Take heart, its not an exact science (even if things go wrong you learned from the experience)

Plenty of light and not too much heat should stop them bolting for the sky. Also start some more off now, so you have another lot on the go if the first lot don't come good.

I got a propergator this year, but I have only used it to germinate things, sweet peas came out of the propergator right away to get gradually hardened off, and now they are outside in a sheltered corner.

Thats not to say put the tomato plants outside, but if they are not getting lots of hours of sunlight,  you don't want to give them a temperature that is too warm. Maybe its a bit like putting them in speedy conditions, without the basic fuel (daylight) to keep up?

Cheers for the tips everyone ;D.  I've taken the lid off and they seem to have picked up a bit.   I've lost a few it seems :'( but there are still plenty to go round.  I think I'll do some pricking out later as well.

Cheers
Andy

My opinion? Too much, too soon.

Scrap them & start again &, as said, prick them out as soon as you can handle them - by their leaves only. Then full light with no heat.

I started my toms too early I think ...

HOWEVER ...  not to be deterred when they got leggy (some managed 4"!!) ...
I re-potted them into loo rolls. 

Soil right up to the first pair of leaves!!  They ALL now look great and are happy in the porch!  ;)

Mine haven't shown yet - possibly not warm enough in g'house, so
have turned heater up a notch. If that doesn't work will sow more.

Quote from: tim on March 12, 2006, 16:29:42
My opinion? Too much, too soon.

When are you planning on sowing yours? Also when are you doing your aubergines?

I shall restrain my itchy fingers, and wait until then.

after reading the poll about aspirins i should go with that, or another batch. My OH said it was ok to put mine in shed last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   only half have survived after rescuing them, buying a heater and putting them in garden room.

amphi - I may have been a little hard with that, because I have sown as early as the 1st week in March. But it always makes for hassle.

With a propagator, a heated bench for growing on & a cold house 650' up in the Cotswolds - I shall be sowing toms, aubs & cus from the end of the month until mid-April. The later sowings, with better light & warmth, more than make up for the delay. Nothing likes a check in its growth.

Well I have lost some of mine.  :(
Because I don't have a lot of natural light in the house, I have been putting out a tray with 15 tomato seedlings about 2" high during the day in a bright spot (with a plastic cover on the tray), and bringing them in late afternoon.
Well... I forgot to bring them in the other night!
About 7 out of 15 survived, most were near the centre of the tray, but the rest are gonners.
Never mind, at least there is time to sow more. Will teach me to be patient, and wait like Tim says to. ;D

Of course there is time to sow more Jen. I tend to sow a few now more as an activity for idle fingers, and to keep my spirits up while waiting for the better weather, but those sown during the end of March or beginning of April generally catch up with everything else.

there's heaps of time!

they only take 4-5 days to germinate!!  ;)

Wahey! mine have now started to germinate in g'house

:)

what if u got no smaller pots than 3" to start off the seeds...

oops coz that's what i have done...
??? ??? ???

Quote from: cowellen on March 20, 2006, 21:16:54
what if u got no smaller pots than 3" to start off the seeds...

oops coz that's what i have done...
??? ??? ???

i started mine off 3 to a 4 ltr milk bottle bottom, ready to sacrifice two.  it's pretty much worked like that and whilst the strongest aren't making huge strides, they were my experimental ones.  hoping to sow more this week now i can concentrate fully.


;D

aww - am i meant to water them or what ?

well i gave em a thorough soaking, stuck a plastic bag over them and just kept an eye  through the plastic wall of the milk carton.  if it looked a bit on the dry side (which wasn't until well after they'd germinated) then i watered them from the bottom and let it soak up.  i was spraying things frantically at the time as well and that didn't seem to do much harm.

my rule book is non-existant, a bit of suck it and see so i'm probably not the best to take advice from  ;D