Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Tips to keep your indoor seedlings thriving
If you planted seeds indoors, you’re seeing sprouts now. I’ve got okra coming big time!
Tomatoes, peppers and more.
Now is the time to give them some extra attention. The University of Minnesota Extension says one of the most common problems affecting seedlings is damping off. I had to remove the covers early, I was starting to see issues!
This problem is caused by a number of pathogens that I can’t pronounce, but results in seedlings collapsing at the base of the stem, and you can often see fungus growing where the stem meets the soil. If your seedlings get disease, in all likelihood they’ll die.
To prevent Damping Off, I’m going to assume you started with clean materials and you have also culled your seedlings. Leaving just one to three (depending on your container size) per container.
One of the first things to check now is that they’re receiving enough light. Seedlings will grow toward it. If that light is coming sideways through a window you should hang artificial light above them and about 4 inches from the top of the seedlings.
Consistent watering is also very important. Watering from the bottom (adding water to the bottom of the tray vs. pouring water over the top) is a great way to reduce the time you spend watering and to ensure more even watering. It can also help to prevent disease by keeping the foliage of your seedlings dry.
I have separated and moved some of my containers so that they have more air circulation around them. Overwatering is a problem too.
If you have seedlings that are tipping over from the top, they may have a condition known as epinasty. When your soil is water-logged, it becomes hypoxic, or oxygen-deprived.
