I have half my seedlings in peat pellets and half in BB's coir system and the coir is lagging WAY behind and suggestions? These are under the same lights, same water etc..heck on the same shelf but my pellet seedlings all have their second and in some cases third set of leaves where as the coir have zilch...not a happy camper here. Any ideas?
Have a Coir problem...help please
That is a stumper. I just cant get a peat pellet to work for me. I have to stick to the sponges. All of my coir daylily seedlings are way ahead of the others. Makes no sense really. Seems it would be more the water and the nutrients , unless they were in clay or something.
I'm stumped also, they both get watered from the same water, same shelf so same lights, same temps etc..I hate it because it's to late to start others but these are really starting to look stunted. I purchased about 60lbs of the coir and if this is the results I get with it then I'll need to do a bit of adjusting to my plans for fall...
If you find it doesn work for you. dmail me.
Ive gone thru 2 orderes of 10 blocks and its the only thing that has kept the daylilies from rotting, a favorite pastime of theirs. I cant say I have started seeds in it, like I said before, its a bug-a-boo of mine, and so far its those sponges Im sticking with. Once they are out of the styrafoam blocks tho, they go right into one gallon pots with the coir.
Are you fertilizing in any way?
no, the seedlings are to young at this point to fertilize and the jiffy mix pellets have no added fertilizers that I am aware of.
Araness have you spoken with Bob or TPlant? Also maybe Jaywhacker. They seem to be the coir experts. Please approach them and let us know. Linda.
no I haven't I had hoped that one of them would pop up on this thread, I'll dmail and see if I can get some help
I will make a wild guess. I dont have one of Bob's seed starting systems but from pictures I have seen Bobs mesh pots are probably 4 times as big as a peat pellet and are bottom watered. Your newly sprouted seedlings in Bob's system may be concentrating most of their energy into growing a root system compared to the peat pellets which can quickly become root bound and start concentrating on top growth. One of the reasons nurseries like to sell plants iin the smallest pots possible is so the plants sense that they are beginning to get root bound and start putting more energy into top growth Check out the root system of the coir seedlings and see if they look healthy Im guilty of planting seed in 4x4 inch pots to save on transplanting labor. I have noticed that the 4 inch pot plants will take a little longer to put on top growth compared to those planted in a 72 cell tray. But once they get their root system established like they wont it, they will quickly catch up to the others in top growth.
Are your coir seedlings "unhealthy" looking or just smaller than the peat seedlings? The coir should be allowed to dry out a bit between waterings. It dries out from the top down and you can look at the coir and tell if it too wet. It changes color and texture on top as it starts to dry down. With straight coir, I always keep it fairly wet untill the seed sprouts and then once the seedlings has roots that can reach down below the surface, I back off some on the watering to make sure I am not keeping the coir too wet.
Thats my guestimate.......for now............and Im sticking to it.........Probably.:-)
Boy am I stumped too. I personally have had wonderful results. What are you growing? I started feeding my seedlings one week after sprouting with a very weak soluble fertilizer. How long has it been since germination? Did all the seedlings germinate about the same time? Did you take the net pots out of the sleeve that keeps the coir moist and dark and the roots protected? If you did, the coir will dry out much faster and may inhibit growth. Just a starting point for questions.
Bob
all of them are tomato seedlings, all germinated about the same time (within a day of each other) and I've got them in the tray and pots for the seed starting system you sell.
Can you take a picture?
Sure can, I'll post them this afternoon. Thanks everyone for all the advice.
Quoting:
"They want to live!!"
(passionate line from a tomato seed grower saga, not to be confused with line spoken by Susan Hayworth in a famous old movie)...^_^
Araness: I have Boca Bobs seed starting kit also, 2 of them as a matter of fact, and like Jaywhacker says, I agree with him, that they are throwing down massive root systems, so you won't see a lot of growth at first on the top; because they are throwing down these root massive systems, that you will be grateful for later on, as they make for strong root systems. My plants started in Bob's coconut coir seed starting kit, took a little bit longer than the others; but, in the long run wound up being the healthiest plants, which is good cause they fend off diseases and bugs easier.
joy