? Starting seeds

I used the plastic trays that protect the apples -- that Costco sells -- to start my seeds. It has a top & bottom that is molded in half circles to protect the apples. I use "Coir Bricks" as my planting medium and reconstituted with water and "Bills Perfect Fertilizer" mixture. [ http://www.gardeners.com/Coir-Bricks/20708,37-561,default,cp.html ] After the seeds sprouted I lifted up the top part of the tray and would just 'mist' occasionally.

My questions are -- why are my seedlings never getting past being "sprouts" ?? The pepper sprouts in this picture are 8wks. I did transplant some into bigger pots but they just died. I feel must be doing something wrong... ?? ....or missing a step in this process...??

How do you get seedlings to be the size of the transplants that are available in the garden stores.

Appreciate any suggestions / links / comments...

Jann

Edited to add: I did poke holes in the bottom of the tray for drainage.



This message was edited Apr 20, 2009 8:16 AM

The container you're using doesn't seem to have any drainage holes.

The sprouts look like they don't have enough light. You have too many of them crowded together. There should only be one pepper in container.

Peppers can be slow to get started, but I don't think these will ever thrive.

jannz2 - In my experience Coir is a great addition to a potting mixture, but does not produce good results when used alone. Some Coir has lots of salt, and must be rinsed several times before using. I prefer what Worms Way calls "classic coir" which is much less "chunky"

http://www.wormsway.com/results.asp?results=all&search=coconut&offset=8

jannz2,

Very good first effort, there. I did some of the same things when I first started out. But, there's hope.

First, I agree with HoneybeeNC that the TYPE of coir you used is different than the coir quite a few of us growers are salivating over. Go to the products tab and type coco coir into the search. BocaBob is selling the coco coir that is of a finer grind than what you show. I do NOT agree, however, that you can't have good success using 100% coir alone, as quite a few of us growers are having tremendous success with it. Go visit the Self-Contained Veggie Gardening forum and read the "Any Coco Grower Questions" thread, parts 1 and 2 (just started a continuation at part 2)

Now. How to save what you have? It's gonna be a crap shoot, but nothing beats a wish but a try:

The objective here is to keep that stand alive, and beef 'em up so we can then spread 'em out into their own individual cells.

I would start by moving the tray to a sunnier or brighter light source. If you're using a fluorescent light, sit that tray up on some books or something so the tops of those seedlings are no more than 1"-2" from that light bulb. If you aren't using flourescent, move them outside to a bright but not overly sunny spot. Too much sun will fry them.

Hold off on any more fertilizer for awhile. They are too little yet, and the fert could do more harm than good to the tender roots.

Make sure the drainage holes are draining. Try these steps and LMK if they are responding positively at all (either no change at all or getting better)

I'll hold your hand and walk with you through this. Bear in mind I'm no expert, but I'll be happy to share what I know with you to see if we can turn things around.

Linda -- who was an Uber-newbie in November 2006 (which isn't all that far removed), but has now has learned enough and gained confidence enough to grow heirloom tomatoes on her own with the best of 'em.

Thanks everyone....I appreciate your thoughtful responses and will investigate the suggestions for the different type of coir -- I really like this stuff....very easy to store and work with. I'll also move the sprouts to a sunnier location. The room I have them in is bright...but perhaps still NOT enough light.

I'm new to this so I'm trying lots of 'experiments'. I transplanted a few of these pepper sprouts to my raised garden and to continue to protect them I cut some soda liter bottles in half and staked them over the 'sprouts'....just to see what would happen. I used this method to protect some tomato transplants that I had planted a few weeks ago...then we were threatened with a [ late for us in N. Texas ] freeze. It worked...so I thought I would try it for the 'pepper sprouts'. I had to punch a hole in the side of half liter bottle to use the stake....otherwise it just blows over.

Appreciate the help...

Best wishes,
Jann

An enterprising and clever girl!