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Seeds keep sprouting then dying, unsure if I’m overwatering or under… | Edible Gardening | Comunidad de Planta

Naomi

Seeds keep sprouting then dying, unsure if I’m overwatering or under watering. Planted with soil specifically for this. Full sun area. I water them every 3-4 days as recommended by the app. The stems sprout, and then dwindle down like this.

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11 comentarios

  1. ABagel

    Those compostable cups are drying them out in full sun.

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    • Naomi

      And here I was thinking I was over watering them. Those cups were recommended for seedlings. Should I be watering them more often then? The soil always seems dry (at least to me) and when I water it, it doesn’t absorb it right away, so it’s just water sitting on top of the soil, this I thought was drowning the stems.

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    • ABagel

      The cups are great when starting out. Seedlings will dry out in full sun in combination with the compost cups. The compost cups are letting out all the water in full sun if you’re not watching it all day. If the water is sitting on the dirt and doesn’t absorb right away you’re letting the seedlings dry out too much before watering again. This is stressing the seedlings and killing them. The soil needs to be moist the whole time but not waterlogged when germinating.

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  2. Snowstorm

    I use those peat cups too (well the square set of 10 ones) do you bottom water? I had better success when I bottom water my seedlings and check the soil before watering, sometimes the app tells me to water before they actually need watering. Last are you keeping them protected from wind? That can break the stems easily. They’re very fragile at this stage, even touching the stem can cause them to die off

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    • Naomi

      I do not bottom water them. Should I do a dip or leave them in the water for some minutes? Do you this on top of regular watering? No wind where I live, thankfully!

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    • Snowstorm

      That’s good there’s no wind. But they should be inside until they’ve got a few sets of true leaves before you bring them outside to start hardening off. Yes I exculsivly bottom water mine. I have a tray that I will put about an inch of water in and then place the seedlings in and let them soak for about 30mins (mine are a bit smaller then yours so yours might need a bit longer) just until the top layer is moist then I put them back under my grow light

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    • Snowstorm

      Here’s my set up. I can usually get 6 seed trays in the big black watering tray if they’re next to next. But I don’t have that many seedlings atm. The green tray is under a grow light next to the window so they get bright light at all times (16-18hrs a day)

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  3. plantgeek

    from other comments, it sounds like you have hydrophobic soil. you want to give all of these seedlings a deep, long soak. at least 10 minutes. pour water over the top and break up the topsoil, then let it sit in the drip-tray for a while. should solve the issue

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    • Naomi

      Silly question, but soaking these won’t deteriorate the disposable cup?

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  4. BeanieWeenie

    I have never had luck with those peat pots. I hat to use plastic starter trays or soil block starters. I don’t know if that is the problem that you’ve been having or not. I just know that I’ve never had any luck with peat pots.

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  5. Lara

    They are definitely wayyyy to dry! As others have said the pot you have it in is soaking up the water out of the soil on top of the sun drying it out and just by the picture it looks very dry... baby plant/seed soil needs to STAY moist... not soaked but you shouldn't let them dry out. I made this mistake a lot starting out. I was worried I would over water (I've killed several full grown plants by over watering) and ended up under watering >_< hopefully once you get the soil damp again it should easily soak in any added water. Bottom watering as someone else mentioned could work too! It's just a different way of watering plants that is a little more gentle but IS more involved and time consuming. Really it's what ever works for you and your plants! Good luck! Don't give up! ☺️ 🌱 🪴

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