[beth123]

Evening all.

This is my third year at growing my own and I'm really struggling.

This year I've sown plenty of seeds, mainly salad like toms and peppers, and nearly all of them have died.  The few that are left looked really health.  My toms were about 7cm tall and had lots of leaves.  I've started potting them on today and found that the plants had hardly any roots at all.  I seam to have this problem every year and I don't know where I'm going wrong.  I buy good quality seeds and compost, follow the packet exactly but just cant get it right.

If I buy established plants from the garden center I do just fine with them so it's obviously something I'm doing wrong at the sowing stage.

I know its difficult but does anyone have any ideas where I'm going wrong?       

[peapod]

Over watering?
Damping off?
Under watering?
Are you using a heated propagator?
Are you keeping them covered with a lid/plastic bag even when the seedlings are up?
Could they be susceptible to draughts/extreme changes in temperature?


There could be lots of reasons, but as you are succeeding with plug plants, it does seem to be your technique that could be slightly skewiff! Let us know what you do step by step because you seem to start off very well 

[beth123]

Hi Peapod

I do use a heated propagator.  At first i planted all the seeds in individual pots and placed them in the propagator and left them in there but all the plants when leggy and died.  Second time round I used the propagator again but moved it near a window, left the plants in there until they had two leaves on then moved to the windowsill.  This seamed to be working until today when it come to potting them on.  For example the tomato plant had one single root on it.  I planted it deeper than usual in the hope that more roots would grow.  Although the plants look healthy the stems do appear to be too thin, I don't know if this is an indicator of anything.

With regards watering, I think I'm ok with this part.  I try to keep the soil damp.  Unfortunately I never get as far as damping off. Haha.       

[Yorkie]

It sounds as though you could be leaving them in the propagator too long - is it heated, and are you leaving the lid on after germination?  Are they getting too tall and leggy, too quickly, rather than slower growth which allows the roots to keep pace?

[peapod]

Yorkie has it spot on  Leggy will mean weak plants, rushing to get to the light instead of making a firm root base.  As SOON as the seedlings show, turn off the heat and remove the lid.

[beth123]

I'll have another go at it and make sure I remove the lid and heat sooner.  Thanks for the advice, I hope I'm more successful this time.   

[stompy]

I grow in a heated propagator, but as soon as the first few seedlings begin to show i remove the pot/tray and place them in a foil lined light box on the windowsill.
At this time of year they won't go leggy and you will end up with stocky healthy plants, then pot on,
Once you run out of windowsill space (which you will do) then transfere to a coldframe or minni greenhouse in the garden until ready for planting out.

Works everytime for me, although this year i've had 2 failiures with my tomatoe and chillies seedlings due to bad compost from Morrisons, terrible stuff full of large bits of uncomposted wood and pieces of fibre strands and small stones 
I will be buying good quality branded compost for sowing from now on.