[mike0001]

can some kind soul please answer my questions

what causes leggy seedlings

how to avoid it

and lastly anything that can be done with leggy seedlings

thanks all

[DD.]

Causes - lack of light - too much heat.

Avoid it by reading the seed packet and obeying the sowing & growing instructions. (Did it really say to germinate cauliflowers in a heated propagator?  )

You can try re-potting the seedlings and planting them deeper. Try aluminium foil behind the plants to reflect more light.

[New shoot]

Ditto what DD says.

If they are a plant which has side shoots you can pinch the tips out to reduce the legginess and then impove the light/reduce the warmth and so on.  This will be worth trying on the sweet peas you have posted pictures of on another thread, but won't work on most veg.  Chillies and peppers are OK, but a lot of stuff develops from that main stem, so pinch it out and lose the crop 

If they are really far gone, probably better to bin them and start again.   There's loads of time for seed sowing.  I've only got onions, sweet peas and a few winter lettuce on the go.  Its more about the conditions you have for growing on and tailoring your seed sowing to that, rather than rushing ahead with tons of stuff 

[Kate and her Ducks]

The only thing I tend to start this early is chillies. They can get a bit leggy if there is not enough light but when I pot them on, as DD says, I just plant them deeper and they always too well. Everything else I've tried too early just never seems to do very well. I end up replanting and they soon pass the early ones so now I don't bother.

The chillies are because I'm impatient and need something growing to make me feel like spring is on the way

[casper]

This sounds like me last year, I started seedlings too early, I tried everything from re-potting deeper to cutting plants, placing in water and when new roots appeared re-potted. They were all doomed. They grew large etc but received no crop. So time over again I would definately re-sow leggy plants and definately sow later. 

[Stewpot]

Brassicas can be set opff in a greenhouse  with or without heat but when they get  approx 1" high or show the first signs of becoming leggy, take them out side, or place in a cold frame, bringing them in on cold days/nights.

[savbo]

Causes - lack of light - too much heat.

Avoid it by reading the seed packet and obeying the sowing & growing instructions. (Did it really say to germinate cauliflowers in a heated propagator?  )

You can try re-potting the seedlings and planting them deeper. Try aluminium foil behind the plants to reflect more light.

DD - you must feel like Steve McQueen in The Towering Inferno...when he tells architect Paul Newman they keep building them higher and the firemen keep warning them about the problems...

I havent sown a thing yet! Maybe this weekend

sav

[DD.]

I have my own personal brick wall on which to bang my head!

[snowdrops]

I think every one who is new to growing tends to sow too early/too many,gets confused re correct conditions,after all we were new to it once & made mistakes & still do sometimes. People come on here for advise & because it is supposed to be a friendly forum. If you feel the need to bang your head why reply. I notice we have had a few newbies that have been treated abruptly & not come back,surely that is not what John advocates.

[DD.]

Don't be so serious, snowdrops.

Savbo had obviously picked up on how many times we have to repeat the same advice and posted humourously.

I thought I responded in kind. Evidently someone is lacking a sense of humour. I assume it's me.
 

[Aunt Sally]

I think we need a "Leading Article" about leggy seedlings.  It certainly is a mistake that a lot of new gardeners make. It comes up dozens of times each season here.

My advice:

• Don't sow seeds before the date stated on the packet
• Sow at least a month later than the date stated on the packet if you live north of Watford
• Sow a month later than either of those if you can't ensure they have LOADS of light
• If it doesn't say on the packet that they need heat. Don't sow them indoors unless the room is unheated and very light.
• If you have to sow any seeds indoors make sure you use DD.'s aluminium foil trick.

I'm sure there are more but theses are the things I do.

[Aunt Sally]

I forgot to say that very experienced gardeners can get away with most of those 

[surbie100]

Mike, I used DD's foil tip for my pea shoots (hopefully attached below if I've resized properly!) The planter usually sits on a south-facing windowsill and the shoots were sown 2 weeks previously. Having the foil on has meant that none have grown towards the window, they are all very sturdy seedlings.

Obviously these are never going outside - I'll be eating them from next week! But I will be using this for all of the seeds I plan on growing that need to stay inside for a while. And re-reading advice on here about what could/should be sown indoors and what needs to germinate outside or directly for best results. Last year (my first) I didn't do any of that and I had a wealth of leggy seedlings and the most contorted, transplanted carrots you could imagine.  

[devonbarmygardener]

It's easily done - to sow too early.

If one year you happen to have lost a couple of sets of seedlings, you then find it's getting a bit late to re-sow and have to buy plants which can be quite disenchanting.

Sow you start things a bit earlier the next year, find everything comes up but ends up leggy! I'm sure we've all done it.

Advice as above - lots of light. If my seed trays are inside I turn them daily to adjust them to the light. Once you start getting the true leaves through you might find them to be ok, but if they fall over with just the baby leaves, they tend to have had it.
 

[DD.]

Three years ago, I took the time and trouble to write an article aimed at newcomers to help them avoid some of the pitfalls. You can find it in the Growing FAQ's section.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=49569.0

It's human nature to get a little frustrated when you've made the effort to help a lot of people out, but it gets overlooked. Maybe I should stop trying to help and stop helping in other ways that you don't necessarily see in public view.

On the other hand, I could continue in my own peculiar way and take comfort in the fact that my words of advice have been viewed over 7,000 times and that surely someone must have been helped along their way.