[Shallot]

Hello All

Unfortunately my seedlings have died off. I have been growing them indoors on the windowsill and popping them on the turtle tank hood to keep warmish at night

I'm not sure where I went wrong, perhaps I over watered them from below

I am now debating whether or not to start some new seeds off in my unheated greenhouse at the allotment but I'm not sure if it will be warm enough yet

Could someone help me decide if I should start off at home again, start off in the greenhouse or should I think blow it and buy plants instead?

I have been growing cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes and plan to stick with these next time

All the best

Mark

[Lardman]

It's really too cold at night still any any measures you take to keep them warm will result in them being cooked during the day.

It's getting late for peppers, but it's still early for Toms and cukes. Why not spend some money on a small heated propagator for home rather than buying plug plants. I have an 8w Sankey one I've used for a couple of years, it just keeps things stable for the seeds.

[DD.]

How warm do they get on the turtle tank? Unless you house is very cold you don't need to take extra measures at night. You may have cooked them.

Did they get weak and leggy before they died? Did you use aluminium foil to give the extra light? So many questions, I know!

[Steveharford]

I will second that lardman. My propogator is invaluable. It gets things off to a great start and is so useful for bringing on things like chillies and tomatoes, I bought a second one. I potted my peppers and chillies on into six inch pots at the weekend and they had got to about 8" high and looking very healthy. One of my best purchases. I would definitely recommend it.

[Shallot]

How warm do they get on the turtle tank? Unless you house is very cold you don't need to take extra measures at night. You may have cooked them.

Did they get weak and leggy before they died? Did you use aluminium foil to give the extra light? So many questions, I know!

They seemed fine up until a couple of days ago, I popped them in the old fish tank under a flourescent light and they seemed to thrive under it

The turtle tank hood gets lukewarm which helped get them started. I put foil around the fish tank to reflect the light from the lamp

I had the pots stood in water and all seemed fine until Friday when the leaves started curling, I took them out of the tank and popped them back on the windowsill thinking they weren't getting enough light

I'm thinking of setting some more seeds off in the fish tank contraption tomorrow in the hope that conditions will be better. I don't think I will use the lamp this time and just rely on the sun

The tomatoes did seem a bit on the thin side but as I haven't grown much from seed in the past I had nothing to compare them too. Should they have been similar in apearance to the cucumbers?

The peppers look like they could be salvaged, I'm debating keeping them going in the fish tank set up

[mumofstig]

perhaps if the pots were stood in water they were too wet.

Seedlings only need the compost to be a little on the damp side, rather than sodden.

[3759allen]

i just put mine in a warm room, with good morning sun.

i've got some cardboard covered with foil to try and reflect the light.

i leave my seedlings sitting in a little water most of the time, in case i can't get to check them and they dry out. been ok for me so far.

i would start them on the tank and when they break surface, put them on a well lit window sill with foil half way round them.

just keep changing one thing at a time til you find whats best for you.

[DD.]

If it's a standard fluorescent lamp, the spectrum of light given off by is is not suitable for growing.

I have never in my 50 years or so of growing had to use a propagator. I start the seeds off in a polythene bag, whip them out as soon as they germinate then get them onto a window sill with as much light as possible with aluminium foil behind them.

[8doubles]

I tend to err on the dry side for indoor seedlings , they let you know if they are desperate for a drink !
If there is water left in the tray half an hour after watering then you have overdone it and need to get rid of the excess.

I also grow my seedlings on an upstairs window sill as it tends to stay that little bit warmer overnight with the heat rising from downstairs.