it's called damping off, I think it's a viral problem. It always happened to
me until I discovered Cheshunt Compound
Make up a teeny quantity (directions on tin). Wet the compost as normal, sow
seed, give a light spray with CC. Give another light spray when the
seedlings emerge.
No long legs!


wrote in message
ups.com...
I have planted 16 basil seeds and 16 tumbler tom seeds in a propagator,
I have put this into a warm cupboard following advice on here.
Many of the basil seeds have germinated, and so far one of the tom
seeds. However, they all appear very leggy - they are about 2' tall so
far but are yet to develop any leaves (they still have the tight white
'ball' on the top).
Should they be this leggy ? I have moved them to a sunny position to
try and stimulate leave development - was this the right thing to do,
esp considering most os the toms have not germinated ?? Should I buy
another smaller propagator and seed tray and split them out into
germinated / not germinated - putting the former in a sunny position
and leaving the latter in the cupboard ?

michael adams wrote:
"JB" wrote in message
...

On 28 Mar 2006 00:18:04 -0800, wrote:


I have planted 16 basil seeds and 16 tumbler tom seeds in a propagator,
I have put this into a warm cupboard following advice on here.


You were also advised, by myself at least that once any had
germinated, to move them onto the windowsill during the day
and put them back into the airing cupbooard at night. So as
to avoid any possibility of damping off.


michael adams



yes.. sorry ! But as posted by someone else, it seems to be an art
rather than a science as to when to start doing this when only some have
germinated. I guess its about hitting a middle ground.

Oxymel of Squill wrote:
it's called damping off, I think it's a viral problem. It always happened to
me until I discovered Cheshunt Compound
Make up a teeny quantity (directions on tin). Wet the compost as normal, sow
seed, give a light spray with CC. Give another light spray when the
seedlings emerge.
No long legs!

good tip - I'll keep an eye out for it

writes
hmm.. too much heat and not enough light - that'll be my airing
cupboard then !
Hopefully they'll be OK now I've moved them somewhere a little warm but
much lighter. The ones that germinated first are prob past saving, but
the latest ones that aren't very leggy yet should hopefully be OK.

One question though - they dont have leaves yet, so how do they 'know'
if its light or dark ?! I can understand this if there were leaves - ie
hunting for light, but they are taking all they need from the compost
at the moment...

Stems and roots are also capable of detecting light and responding
accordingly (seen the green sprouts on potatoes kept in the light
compared with the white sprouts on potatoes in the dark?)

Even seeds can detect light - poppies, for example, will not germinate
in the dark - it's a mechanism to allow them to time their germination
to coincide with the land being newly turned over, so the seedlings have
less competition.

But I'm afraid someone else will have to come along with the 'how?'
--
Kay

The message ews.net
from "Oxymel of Squill" contains these words:

it's called damping off, I think it's a viral problem. It always
happened to
me until I discovered Cheshunt Compound
Make up a teeny quantity (directions on tin). Wet the compost as
normal, sow
seed, give a light spray with CC. Give another light spray when the
seedlings emerge.
No long legs!

Are you saying that long legs are damping off? Surely damping off is
when seedlings fairly suddenly keel over. If Cheshunt Compound seems to
have been connected with lack of legginess, I can't imagine it's by
cause and effect.

In general as others have said, I'm sure too much warmth is to blame
(along with lack of light as other posters have also said). Whip them
out of the airing cupboard immediately there's any sign of life. I would
also do away with any cover and any supplementary warmth as quickly as
possible too - except perhaps on really cold nights.
Janet G

wrote in message
ups.com...
I have planted 16 basil seeds and 16 tumbler tom seeds in a propagator,
I have put this into a warm cupboard following advice on here.
Many of the basil seeds have germinated, and so far one of the tom
seeds. However, they all appear very leggy - they are about 2' tall so
far but are yet to develop any leaves (they still have the tight white
'ball' on the top).
Should they be this leggy ? I have moved them to a sunny position to
try and stimulate leave development - was this the right thing to do,
esp considering most os the toms have not germinated ?? Should I buy
another smaller propagator and seed tray and split them out into
germinated / not germinated - putting the former in a sunny position
and leaving the latter in the cupboard ?

NC wrote:
michael adams wrote:
"JB" wrote in message
...

On 28 Mar 2006 00:18:04 -0800, wrote:


I have planted 16 basil seeds and 16 tumbler tom seeds in a propagator,
I have put this into a warm cupboard following advice on here.


You were also advised, by myself at least that once any had
germinated, to move them onto the windowsill during the day
and put them back into the airing cupbooard at night. So as
to avoid any possibility of damping off.


yes.. sorry ! But as posted by someone else, it seems to be an art
rather than a science as to when to start doing this when only some have
germinated. I guess its about hitting a middle ground.

I think it would be better for you if you sowed different seeds in
different trays, if possible - at least until you're more experienced
and know which will germinate at approximately the same time. It
strikes me that part of your problem at the moment, is that you are
torn between the toms and the basil! If it's of any help or comfort to
you, I sowed a tray of small leaf basil and a tray of Tumbler toms in
exactly the same type of trays and compost and placed both beside each
other in identical conditions. The basil sprouted first and more
consistently, while the Tumblers, rather like yours, were just showing
one or two little seedlings coming through.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

On 28 Mar 2006 01:42:16 -0800, "La Puce" wrote
this (or the missive included this):

I've sowed veges and flowers since I'm big enough to hold a pot and
some seeds. I have never ever placed my seeds in the dark.

Exactly. I like to seeds come through green and sturdy as soon as they
germinate, not white, limp and leggy. My tomato seeds (in an unheated
propagator on a conservatory window sill) are up in about 6 days and
moved on into single pots at 2 weeks.


--
®óñ© © ² * ¹°°³

"La Puce" wrote in message
oups.com...

Broadback wrote:
It is like a lot of instructions, very difficult to follow. Place in
dark until germination, fine except they will not all germinate
simultaneously. So if you leave them in the dark until they all
germinate the earliest are too leggy. The answer is of course, the
difference between myself (instructions must be obeyed at all times) and
a skilled gardener, who knows exactly when to move them into the light,
enter Sacha et al, takes a bow! :-)

I've sowed veges and flowers since I'm big enough to hold a pot and
some seeds. I have never ever placed my seeds in the dark.

I don't plant in the dark either.
I do cover the pots with plastic to keep the moisture in.

A friend of mine puts her pots in the kitchen where she has underfloor heating
:~)

Jenny

JennyC wrote:
I've sowed veges and flowers since I'm big enough to hold a pot and
some seeds. I have never ever placed my seeds in the dark.

I don't plant in the dark either.

Yeah. Tricky that.

I do cover the pots with plastic to keep the moisture in.

So do I. I also have a little collection of plastic propagator lids
which fit most trays.

A friend of mine puts her pots in the kitchen where she has underfloor heating

Now, that's what I call sustainable )

Where have you been?

wrote:
Thanks. I need to pop into B&Q on the way home tonight anyway so will
buy another smaller propagator and start of soem more toms. I'll leave
the others in with the basil as a comparison.

How long have your toms taken to come through ?

If you mean ours, they were showing in about a week, I think. BUT,
you shouldn't take that as a comparison for your own. Ours are on a
heated propagating bench and are regularly misted from an automatic
sprinkler system. My husband always says, when people compliment him
on his success rate at propagating things, that with his years of
experience and the equipment he has, it would be pretty poor if he
*didn't* get it right most of the time! He reckons that most
gardeners, using a greenhouse and without heated propagating benches
might not see propagation for two weeks or longer. You really are
doing fine and you're doing the right thing in starting some more toms.
Are you by any chance going to ask for a greenhouse for your
birthday? ;-))
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

"La Puce" wrote in message
oups.com...

JennyC wrote:
I've sowed veges and flowers since I'm big enough to hold a pot and
some seeds. I have never ever placed my seeds in the dark.

I don't plant in the dark either.

Yeah. Tricky that.

I do cover the pots with plastic to keep the moisture in.

So do I. I also have a little collection of plastic propagator lids
which fit most trays.

A friend of mine puts her pots in the kitchen where she has underfloor
heating

Now, that's what I call sustainable )

Where have you been?

Today ??
Breast cancer check up + touch of retail therapy :~))
Jenny

If you mean ours, they were showing in about a week, I think. BUT,
you shouldn't take that as a comparison for your own. Ours are on a
heated propagating bench and are regularly misted from an automatic
sprinkler system. My husband always says, when people compliment him
on his success rate at propagating things, that with his years of
experience and the equipment he has, it would be pretty poor if he
*didn't* get it right most of the time! He reckons that most
gardeners, using a greenhouse and without heated propagating benches
might not see propagation for two weeks or longer. You really are
doing fine and you're doing the right thing in starting some more toms.
Are you by any chance going to ask for a greenhouse for your
birthday? ;-))

I've done well enough to get permission for a shed ! Although I think
I'll have space for a small coldframe..
I've decided not to start more toms. I currently have 16 basil and 16
toms planted. Approx half the basil have gone a little leggy - the early
sprouters are worse. I have about 8 'good' basil now. Only one of the
toms has sprouted to a decent degree - a couple of the others are now
starting to peep through (literally *just* visible as they make their
way through the compost and start to uncurl). I'm now convinced that the
one tom that has gone mad is actually a basil seed...
I have cut the tray in 2 - the toms are covered and in a warm place.
Once they start sprouting properly I will whip them onto a windowsill.
The 16 basil are now on the windowsill and seem to be doing OK. I've
left the leggy ones to grow, but chances are they wont make it to the
next phase.
This evening I have planted some chille seeds into a propagator - they
are now with the toms and will, like the toms, be put straight on the
windowsill when the germinate.

"Sacha" wrote in message
oups.com...

wrote:
Thanks. I need to pop into B&Q on the way home tonight anyway so will
buy another smaller propagator and start of soem more toms. I'll leave
the others in with the basil as a comparison.

How long have your toms taken to come through ?

If you mean ours, they were showing in about a week, I think. BUT,
you shouldn't take that as a comparison for your own. Ours are on a
heated propagating bench and are regularly misted from an automatic
sprinkler system. My husband always says, when people compliment him
on his success rate at propagating things, that with his years of
experience and the equipment he has, it would be pretty poor if he
*didn't* get it right most of the time! He reckons that most
gardeners, using a greenhouse and without heated propagating benches
might not see propagation for two weeks or longer. You really are
doing fine and you're doing the right thing in starting some more toms.

I have only been germinating and growing seeds for a few years but this was
my first useful lesson/insight:
if they fail, just grow more. They can fail because the seeds are old or
the seedlings damp off or get too leggy.
Beginners like me get all flustered if that happens. After a while you just
do it again.


Are you by any chance going to ask for a greenhouse for your
birthday? ;-))
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

snip
The 16 basil are now on the windowsill and seem to be doing OK. I've
left the leggy ones to grow, but chances are they wont make it to the
next phase.
This evening I have planted some chille seeds into a propagator - they
are now with the toms and will, like the toms, be put straight on the
windowsill when the germinate.

It's probably time to pot the basil on into their individual pots. We
use those square 7cm pots which come 24 to a tray, which is a
convenient size and shape. But if you can't find something like that,
you can probably have a row along a windowsill!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

wrote in message
ups.com...

Its all a learning curve I guess... this being my first year, I can be
sure some things will go wrong. Hopefully I wont start annoying people
with all my questions !

Hey, if things don't go wrong, you are not trying hard enough. Seriously
though, for most of us, this is not an exact science. Things will continue
to go wrong from here on. As you go on, a few less things will go wrong, and
a few more will go right. So, relax and enjoy it when it goes right.

And remember, the plants left to God to look after get watered when he feels
like it. They get hot and cold at all sorts of different times. They compete
with each other for whatever food is still in the ground. And yet, the last
time was out in the wild country they were doing OK (this morning!). So,
yes. It is a learning curve, but the questions will go on forever.

Enjoy

Lyndon