I planted some seeds inside and they were suppose to take 3 to 8 weeks. That was 5 days ago... They are all coming up... and I don't know what to do... it is 20 degrees outside. should I cover them with foil to keep the light out and keep them from getting leggy? Please help this is very important to me. And my first time... and yea I put a lot into this.
Abby
Help.. seeds sprouted too fast!
Abbyflower,
Putting foil over the seedlings will not stop them from growing. They will expend all their stored energy trying to reach the light. The only course you can take at this point is to provide the light they need artificially — grow lights or a combination of warm and cool fluorescent lights. Obviously, you provided all the right things for those seeds and they rewarded you by growing. Congratulations!
Are you keeping a journal? It would help you keep track of planting and germination times.
BettyDee
Can you tell us what kind of seeds you planted? Maybe they could be potted up or helped in some other way.Someone here might have suggestions if we knew what type of plants are involved. Do you have a "flatlander" friend who could hold them in containers for you until your part of the mountain warms up? (I did that once for a Crestline friend when I lived in S.B.)
Thank you both for your enthusiasm and support.
Betty, what is a cool and warm florescent light.
See my problem is that they were suppose to go down to a much warmer climate once they were big enough... they have slowed their growth a little from that gigantic burst... that had me worried.
Weather here now is very mushy. Rain and more snow and Rain even "Down Below". Yuska you should be familiar with this eh?....
Seeds yes... They are Platycodon (balloon flower), Rehmannia elata (Chinese Fox Glove >going nuts), Wave Petunia (very pricey), Holly hock (Alcea rosea), and a special bush type Sweet Pea (Lathyrus nervosus). there are 50 plants in all in peat pots. Like I said they seem to have simmered down... but I am cautious about how much time I've got between now and when they get leggy.
I am plant knowledgable, but this is a first for seeds and I have a lot riding on this... like a new nursery in town... first year. I would like to see if I can give myself a break with seedlings, if you know what I mean. Plus I gotta landscape the front of a very large yard. So I am trying my hand at the almighty seed. Alas, I have know these plants in every other shape and form except the seed. I have read much and figure I should know this stuff, and yet the little buggers scare me like a new born baby.
Abby
If you cover them they will just get more leggy.
Go to a hardware store and buy a 4 foot long "shoplight" which is a fluorescent light fixture which holds two 48" standard fluorescent light bulbs.
Light bulbs comes in two major types: cool white (regular "office" type fluorescent lights) and the kitchen/bath (warm white, or red) fluorescent light bulbs.
I recommend that you just buy the "regular" (cool white) fluorescent light bulbs and forget the "warm white" (bath/kitchen). Cool whites are better for seedlings. They are also cheaper.
You should be able to buy the fluorescent light fixture (shoplight) with two bulbs for less than $20.
Suspend the fluorescent light fixture so it is 2-3" above the canopy of the bulbs.
consider it done!
Thank you... I just have to get a spot where I can hang them from.
I assume that you keep raising the light so that the distance between the seedling and the light is about 3-4"?
What if some grow taller faster?
You have been so helpful... thank you.
Ab
Abbyflower,
Natural sunlight is a mixture of wave lengths from ultra-violet at one end of the spectrum to infra-red at the other. In between, like the colors of the rainbow, are the colors we can see. Plants grow in this mixture of colors and may vary greatly in their light requirements. Requirements may also vary at different stages of a plant's life. The challenge is to provide the light needed by the seedling. Plants get leggy because the cells in the stem elongate trying to get the leaf crown up to the light.
Light sources vary in the light spectrum they provide. 'Warm' fluorescent bulbs provide more light from the red end of the spectrum while 'cool' bulbs provide more light from the blue end of the spectrum. Mixing 'warm' and 'cool' fluorescent bulbs gives a better balance of the blue and red light needed by plants. 'Cool' bulbs are cheaper, but they don't provide as much of the red light needed for good plant growth. Fluorescent lighting is not ideal, but it is the cheapest.
If you are growing plants for the commercial trade, you may want to consider moving up to the higher output bulbs. They are more expensive.
Another alternative would be to use a greenhouse supplementing with lights if needed. It would be easier to provide the light needed, but then you would have to provide heat as well.
I've included two web sites that might help you decide what types of bulbs you need. The first site is entitled "Lighting Buyers Guide." The second site is entitled "Interiot Lighting of Plants" from the University of Florida.
BettyDee
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1082/is_n6_v37/ai_14768844
http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/gt/intlight/intlight.htm