Happy (almost) Easter everyone!
I feel the need to check in with you all every Spring for your helpful advice on indoor seed-starting.
I think I am getting better (I added a heat mat one year, upgraded to Agrobrite T5 grow lights the next year, tried better seed-starting media another year, etc.), but I still struggle a bit and have moments when I feel like all my fragile seedlings are about to die.
Mastering WATERING is still challenging.
I start mostly pepper and tomato seedlings indoors, with pepper seeds started this year around four weeks ago and the tomato seeds about three weeks ago.
As I have mentioned in past years, my seed-starting setup is located in my unfinished basement, with overnight temperature dipping down into the 50s. Your previous feedback to this reality has been to keep the heat mat on continuously, even after initial sprouting.
My idea this Spring was to try and set up a DIY “greenhouse” to try and keep a more consistent, warm and humid environment.
Trying to both save money and honor calls for social-distancing in this strange time of COVID-19, I re-purposed 2x existing large translucent plastic containers with lids that I had lying around:
That seemed like it worked well for the initial germination. (If anything I was worried that keeping the lids on was making it too humid.)
Once the seedlings emerged, however, I began to worry that the grow lights were too far away from the seedlings. The plastic containers are a good 12+ inches high, and I know most people seem to recommend keeping grow lights only a few inches above the seedlings.
So I wound up rethinking my design and found a larger but shorter plastic container, and now the grow lights are much closer to the seedlings, probably 4 inches or so:
Once again I am struggling with watering, as things seems to go VERY QUICKLY from seeming to be too wet to too dry. The image above shows both the look of the point of dryness I have typically been waiting for before watering, as well as what they look like after I water them.
And here are a photo of a couple of the pepper seedlings looking less-than-perfect, taken two days ago (4/9):
I am still struggling in trying to fine tune heat (should I still keep the heat mat on 24/7?), light and water.
I know that bottom-watering is recommended, but the large plastic bins I am using have no drainage holes themselves so it’s not really convenient to water them from below, as I would have to remove several dozen peat pots with seedlings in them to drain out the excess water from the large container they’re sitting in.
Thanks for any helpful advice anyone has.
Stay safe,
-=RR=-
New Haven, CT
Zone 7a
I feel the need to check in with you all every Spring for your helpful advice on indoor seed-starting.
I think I am getting better (I added a heat mat one year, upgraded to Agrobrite T5 grow lights the next year, tried better seed-starting media another year, etc.), but I still struggle a bit and have moments when I feel like all my fragile seedlings are about to die.
Mastering WATERING is still challenging.
I start mostly pepper and tomato seedlings indoors, with pepper seeds started this year around four weeks ago and the tomato seeds about three weeks ago.
As I have mentioned in past years, my seed-starting setup is located in my unfinished basement, with overnight temperature dipping down into the 50s. Your previous feedback to this reality has been to keep the heat mat on continuously, even after initial sprouting.
My idea this Spring was to try and set up a DIY “greenhouse” to try and keep a more consistent, warm and humid environment.
Trying to both save money and honor calls for social-distancing in this strange time of COVID-19, I re-purposed 2x existing large translucent plastic containers with lids that I had lying around:
That seemed like it worked well for the initial germination. (If anything I was worried that keeping the lids on was making it too humid.)
Once the seedlings emerged, however, I began to worry that the grow lights were too far away from the seedlings. The plastic containers are a good 12+ inches high, and I know most people seem to recommend keeping grow lights only a few inches above the seedlings.
So I wound up rethinking my design and found a larger but shorter plastic container, and now the grow lights are much closer to the seedlings, probably 4 inches or so:
Once again I am struggling with watering, as things seems to go VERY QUICKLY from seeming to be too wet to too dry. The image above shows both the look of the point of dryness I have typically been waiting for before watering, as well as what they look like after I water them.
And here are a photo of a couple of the pepper seedlings looking less-than-perfect, taken two days ago (4/9):
I am still struggling in trying to fine tune heat (should I still keep the heat mat on 24/7?), light and water.
I know that bottom-watering is recommended, but the large plastic bins I am using have no drainage holes themselves so it’s not really convenient to water them from below, as I would have to remove several dozen peat pots with seedlings in them to drain out the excess water from the large container they’re sitting in.
Thanks for any helpful advice anyone has.
Stay safe,
-=RR=-
New Haven, CT
Zone 7a
