On Fri, 27 May 2011 07:11:00 +0000, freshage
wrote:


Hi Malcom,

We don't overwater, that I know of... I always test the soil using my
finger... If my fingertip is still dry after sticking it in past the
first knuckle then I know I need to water.

The soil was damp last night when I brought it in due to the rain. The
soil was bone dry this morning so I topped it up with a very small
amount of water.

Chris

I dont know a fungal disease or pest infestation that would cause such
a sudden overnight change - have you noticed any "odd markings" on
leaves such as brown spots or downy patches developing over time?

Equally it doesn't look like underwatering (you'd see signs of that
before it got this bad and the leaves don't look underwatered) but it
could be overwatering.

Another real possibility is that as your seedlings have been growing
away strongly for about 2 months (you say) they may be hungry. Most
composts have added plant food enough for about 6 weeks but after that
you need to start feeding the plants. You've mentioned that they've
started to look tired in the last couple of weeks.

So get to your local garden centre or diy place as quickly as you can
and find yourself some liquid plant food. Make up a half strength mix
and water your plants with that. About three days later, give them
another watering with half strength mix and keep doing that until you
plant them out. When planting them out, water them in with a full
strength mix of the plant food.

This treatment won't necessarily rejuvenate plants that have starved
too much but, with luck, most that are just looking a bit tired will
recover.