leggy seedlings

I have started my seeds on little peat pots about 1+" deep
most of the seeds that are coming up are very long/leggy from the leaves to the pot & falling over. what can I do or what did I do wrong.
Will they still be good to transplant out side.
Thanks
Cheryl

They probably just need more light. Once seeds germinate they need lots of light. If it is still too soon to plant them outside you can try putting them in a real sunny window or under fluorescent lights for as many hours as you can daily. If they do not outgrow the pots (and of course, you can also repot them into larger containers if you need to) they are likely to do fine once you get them into the ground and under the sun. How much sun they need depends of course on what kind of plants you are growing there.........

The added light as suggested should turn things around. To strengthen indoor seedling stems, gently brush across them with your fingers twice a day or put an electric fan nearby--the breeze will help stems grow strong and get them ready for transplanting into the garden.

Heres a pic you can see they are in a window ...
I guess ill get them into bigger pots and try the fan & gently brush across them.
(I have so much to learn)
Thanks
Cheryl

Okay, lookin good actually.

Don't transplant anything til there are two sets of true leaves. See how the first "leaves" from a seed look different than all the ones that come after? Those are actually part of the seed itself and just there to get the plant started. Forgive me if I am telling you something you already know! ;-)

Your tomatoes are almost to where you could sink them in larger containers for a little while. You can go ahead and put them in up to the top leaves as all the leaf nodes beneath the soil surface level will become roots and strengthen the plant.

Your window probably does not get enough sun to avoid the legginess but again, I think they will be fine..... Most veggie seedlings do need some 12 to 16 hours of good light to do their best. Do try the fan and/or the "gentle stem massage" too!

I would start over with grow lights. Fluorescent lights 1-2 inches from the tops of the plants.

Light from a windowsill is like growing in full shade.

Thanks
Will the ceiling fan work or does it need to be more direct.
I did rub the stems a little....
All my windows that face east are covered by a porch this one kind of faces west ...
Maybe I can find my sons old black light and put a grow light in it ...

feldon30,
I guess great minds think alike ...lol


This message was edited Mar 14, 2009 1:27 PM

Grow lights will work best and fastest, if you can afford them and can organize this within your schedule...... you're right, a west facing window is not that great.

I still can say, though, that if proper grow lights are not an option for you right away, a fluorescent light right over the plants is better than nothing, and that once they are out in the sun they will probably recover fine from their leggy start.

I doubt if a ceiling fan is much good, I think you need a little fan directed at them at their level..... but this is a process I have not done myself.

Direct sunlight is 32,000–130,000 lux.
Office lighting is 500 lux.
Overacast day is 100 lux.
The typical family living room is 50 lux.

Your eyes are incredible instruments in that they handle a huge range of light intensities and make it all look about the same. But plants need that bright light. You can approximate it with fluorescent lights that are kept 1-2 inches above the plants. Any further and the light intensity starts to rapidly fall off.

http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/photos/v/memberphotos/morgan/spring2008/IMG_7596-seedlings7.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=2