On Sat, 24 Feb 2007 14:00:55 GMT, "Grave Yard Guy"
wrote:


Any advice from the experienced seed starters? A friend suggested that I
shouldn't start them in full sun, but this didn't sound logical to me and
he
couldn't remember why you shouldn't do it.

Sounds like not enough light to me...

Might want to try an overhead grow light or three.


That seemed like the obvious to me, however, they were in S/SW windows that
got direct, bright light probably an average of 6 hours a day.


Yahbut, it's really neither bright, direct, or long enough. The glass
filters some of the sunlight out, and this time of year the angle of
the sun means the amount of light is actually less than in summer.
Plus, six hours is a paltry minimum for growing most summer
vegetables.

How much air from the fan is hitting the seedlings? Is it enough to
move the leaves? There is a plant hormone - one of the auxins, I
think- that causes thickening of the stems. My botany professor, lo
those many years ago, used to give a lecture about shaking your tomato
plants. He said we should shake our tomato seedlings at least once a
day to produce stronger, shorter plants, that it simulated the effects
of wind on plants. So, if your fan blows on your seedlings, it could
help to counter the low light levels. Not on high, though, you just
want to lightly ruffle the leaves, not send a gale to flatten them.

You'd still need to increase the light, though. You don't need
anything fancy, just get a cheap shop light and some regular
florescent tubes. No need to get the more expensive plant lights.

About the damping off, if you're using sterile seed starting soil and
the peat pots, you really shouldn't see any. Are you over watering? I
use the compressed peat pots for some of my seed starting, and they're
a little tougher to manage the moisture content. You might want to
avoid those until you get a little more experience at starting seeds.
I'm thinking that if you had fewer starts, you wouldn't need but one
or two shop lights.

Oh, and you do water from the bottom, right?

If you're still having problems with damping off, I would suggest
buying a mild fungicide and lightly spraying the surface of the soil
once the seedlings break though. I've also heard, although I can't
verify it, that sprinkling a bit of baby powder or cinnamon on the
surface of the soil will prevent damping off. Some people swear by
making a tea of chamomile blossoms and spraying the soil with it to
prevent damping off, too.

You might also want to put a thermomoter down with the seedlings to
see how warm they really are. Being too cool will encourage damping
off, too.

hth

Penelope
--
You have proven yourself to be the most malicious,
classless person that I've encountered in years.
- "pointed"