Starting seeds indoors with a rollercoaster results

[Joshua]

I have been trying to get my plants started from seedlings, instead of buying plants. Main reason is I feel more like I’ve done something and its more rewarding, and secondly, the varieties of seeds are so much more than plants. So I plant the seedlings and have them under cover in my house, with grow lights.

So they usually all start to germinate and show great signs of growth. And right when I get excited about the results they either become leggy, or they just keep growing nicely. The ones that grow nicely will then shrivel up when I plant them in the garden. It is making me just want to direct sow the seeds instead of sowing inside first, because they have all been a waste of seed when done inside.

What am I missing? I can’t get from seedlings to successful transplants. Any advice? Am I keeping them inside too long?

Thanks for the help.

[Tristan]

Hi Joshua,
I don’t know what type of grow light you are using but blue spectrum light will produce more compact plants whereas red spectrum increases joint length and induces flowering/fruiting (just think of the difference between spring and autumn sunlight).
Plants grown under artificial light will need to adapt to natural daylight and the leaves will scorch if they aren’t hardened off, by standing them out in a sheltered spot during the day for a week before planting them out.
If they are falling over in the trays it could be damping off, try to improve the airflow, reduce the heat a bit, and water with 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda in a pint of water.

Regards,
Tristan

[Joshua]

Thanks Tristan,
I will have to look and see what kind of light it is. The main issue is that there are no windows in the house that I could put these next to to get actual sunlight, hence the grow light. Is there a way, say with a milk jug or something like that to create what is needed outside? Or would that only be for after they have germinated?

[Tristan]

You can grow them under a light until they are ready to plant out but then you need to ‘harden’ them to the outdoor conditions before putting them in the ground. You will need to do this by standing them outside, still in pots or trays, somewhere where you can give them a bit of shelter from the wind then bring them in at night. Do this for a week and they should be fine. Milk jug cloches work well for marrows, courgettes and squash as the wind can damage the stems when they are transplanted.
Regards,
Tristan

[JD]

I’ve never tried these things but just wondered if they were close enough to the growlights? They do look very leggy.

[Author]

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