Every gardener, having sowed seeds, dreams of getting strong, healthy plants. But sometimes dreams are not destined to become reality: the seedlings do not develop properly. Some people immediately give up, but this does not lead to anything good. Mistakes are repeated time after time, not giving young plants the opportunity to live a full life. There can be many reasons for failure. Why don’t the seedlings grow, what to do about it and how to prevent this from happening again? You will find answers to these questions in our article.
Rare shoots 2. No shedding of the seed coat 3. Yellowness of the leaves 4. Spots on the leaves 5. Stunted growth 6. Lack of nutrition 7. Stretching of the hypocotyledon 8. Damage by diseases and pests
Photo: Many mistakes when growing seedlings can be corrected in the early stages.
Unfriendly and rare seedlings: how to grow seedlings correctly
Sometimes a gardener observes unfriendly and sparse seedlings. There are several reasons why seedlings do not grow.
Poor quality seeds
Old, overdried seeds with low germination energy and germination capacity will not produce quick and friendly shoots.
Deep and uneven seed placement
In order not to make a mistake with the planting depth, you can follow a simple rule - you need to bury the seeds no more than two diameters. Seeds of nightshade crops - to a depth of 1–1.5 cm. It is better to mix small celery seeds with sand (1:1) and scatter them over the surface of the soil, mulching with the same dry substrate in which the planting material was sown, in a layer of no more than 0.5 cm Be sure to maintain uniformity of placement.
Too wet soil combined with high or low temperatures
Mature soil has a temperature of 18–20 °C and crumbles easily when forming grooves for sowing. The seed germination temperature for most seedling crops is 25 °C; after germination, it should be reduced to +16...+18 °C.
Soil contaminated with pathogenic soil microflora
They buy ready-made soil of good quality, or when making a soil mixture, compost and humus, which are added to peat, are sterilized: steamed or frozen. You can spill the soil with biological products.
Heavy and clay soil
It is necessary to take care of a high-quality substrate in advance. The soil mixture should be light, water- and breathable, and contain humus and minerals. For successful germination, it is necessary to water the substrate 2-3 days in advance so that excess water goes into the pan. The soil ready for sowing should not be wet, but moist.
Photo: Soil for young plants must be of high quality.
Crust on the soil
Seedlings have difficulty breaking through the crust on the soil, especially if the soil is heavy and watering is carried out too often. To avoid the need for them, before sowing the soil is evenly and moderately moistened, and after sowing the seeds, glass is placed on the container or film is stretched, then the need for watering is reduced to a minimum.
Lack of drainage holes in seedling containers
The planting containers must have holes for water drainage. After sowing, it is better not to water the soil, but to spray it so that a crust does not form. If the measures taken do not ensure the success of seedlings, then it is better to replant the seeds.
Seedlings do not shed the seed coat
There are two reasons why this happens:
- Sowing with old seeds that have lost germination energy
- Small placement of seeds, less than 1 cm. Regular moistening of the “caps” will help the seedlings to shed it and straighten the cotyledon leaves.
Reason #3. Belated pick
The optimal time for picking seedlings is the phase of 1-2 true leaves. If you transplant seedlings earlier, there is a high probability that the plants will not survive the procedure and will die. If it is later, the plants will be sick for a long time.
To help them cope with the stress of transplanting, protect them from direct sunlight for 2-3 days and avoid watering them.
After the seedlings have taken root (after 7-10 days), to stimulate plant growth, spray them with Epin or Ecosil solution.
- Picking tomato seedlings at home - master class with photos
If you have not yet mastered this process, our step-by-step picking algorithm will help you.
Problem with seedlings due to yellowing cotyledon leaves
The plant gives a signal that it does not have enough light and nutrition. As a rule, at first it stretches out and lies down, and if the gardener does not react in time, it gradually turns yellow. After some time, the lower leaves die off, starting with the cotyledons. Using poor soil, not filled with organic matter, as a substrate, you can get just such plants.
Photo: Yellowing of the leaves indicates a lack of heat and light.
| Advice. If the seedlings show the slightest signs of yellowing, you need to increase the illumination, spacing out individual containers, and apply any complex fertilizer. |
The seedlings do not sprout
You are confident in your seeds, you collected them with your own hands - and now they have not sprouted. But the fact is that seeds can lose their viability in a matter of months if they are not stored correctly. At FORUMHOUSE, newcomers were repeatedly warned against improperly storing seeds:
Do not store seeds in a warm place, especially in polyethylene bags.
In heat and high humidity, seeds can lose their viability in a matter of months. Ideally, the following conditions should be provided for them:
- temperature up to +10 degrees;
- humidity up to 60%.
We told you how to prepare seeds for sowing seedlings and how to calculate planting dates.
Gray specks and spots on leaves
These are burns. They appear when drops hit the leaf blades in bright sun. Therefore, it is advisable to water the seedlings carefully at the root.
Burns can also occur due to excessive intense and artificial lighting. In this case, the seedlings become toxic with their own photosynthetic products, which do not have time to be evenly distributed throughout the plants. It is necessary to reduce the duration of additional lighting to 12–14 hours a day.
Photo: Leaf spots can be overcome.
The gardener deepened the root collar
The root collar is where the topmost root begins to grow. This place should not be deepened too much, just a couple of centimeters is enough. What happens if it's deeper? The bark of a tree trunk is not accustomed to underground life and will inevitably begin to rot and deteriorate. The flow of sap and the movement of nutrients will be disrupted. The plant won’t be able to grow any more, if only it could survive!
Sometimes such incorrect planting is practiced by inexperienced gardeners, and sometimes it is a consequence of a planting hole not being prepared in advance. If you plant a seedling in a large hole, filling it with the right soil mixture, then this mixture will gradually settle and pull your seedling down. Therefore, prepare planting holes and fill them in advance, at least a month before planting the seedlings.
How to fix? If the seedling is very young, dig it up and replant it correctly. If replanting is difficult, then rake the soil from the trunk to the required depth and do this regularly, once a year.
By the way, sitting too high is also bad. The upper thick main roots, once on the surface, can dry out in the summer and freeze in the winter.
The root collar is where the topmost root begins to grow. © Igor Bilevich
The seedlings have stopped growing
This phenomenon can be caused by two reasons:
- There is obvious stress - cold soil, air, irrigation water, as well as lack of nutrition. It is very important to follow all the rules of agricultural technology for each crop. Timely root feeding with macroelements (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) and foliar feeding with microelements, watering with settled water at a temperature not lower than +24 ° C will help correct the situation.
| By the way. The reason for the stunting of seedling growth may be acidic soil. Water the seedlings with calcium nitrate solution 2 times at the rate of 3 g per 3 liters of water. |
- If there was no decrease in temperature, then most likely there was a natural stop in growth after the picking. Injury to the axial root is a slight stress for the benefit of the future harvest. Seedlings grown without picking, although they enter the fruiting phase earlier, lose in terms of overall yield.
Picked plants stop growing. This is fine. It takes some time to restore the root system. For tomatoes it is 14 days, for peppers and eggplants it is 40 days. During this period, you should avoid feeding and stimulants - they can only aggravate stress. You should be patient, wait until the plant itself survives this difficult period, begins to grow, and then you can already use all the achievements of agrochemistry.
Ground temperature
Cucumbers can be planted in the ground only when the soil warms up to 16 ⁰C. Don’t be lazy to measure the temperature at a depth of about 10 cm. If it is below 10 ⁰C, the cucumbers will not develop and the greens will not gain weight.
For peppers, it is enough for the soil to warm up to 15 ⁰C, and for onions – up to 10 ⁰C. Eggplants can be planted at a soil temperature of 18 ⁰C and an air temperature of at least 20 ⁰C. Only in such conditions do they develop well. It is very important that the temperature does not fall below 15 ⁰C. If you want to plant eggplants earlier, make a greenhouse.
- We grow large carrots - consider what grew before the carrots in this area and follow the recommendations
Seedlings grow poorly due to lack of nutrition
Chlorosis, marginal necrosis, and the appearance of pale and small leaves can be corrected by applying macrofertilizers at the root and spraying with microfertilizers.
| Good to know. 1 tsp. contains approximately 7–10 g of fertilizers, table - 23–33 g. Potassium fertilizers are heavier. |
For chlorosis, iron and magnesium are added (spraying); with a lack of potassium (marginal necrosis) - potassium sulfate. With weak growth and small pale leaves, calcium nitrate is added. Its one-time use on tomatoes and peppers during the seedling period, as well as 2 weeks after planting in the ground, gives good results.
The amount of mineral fertilizers can be reduced by 15–20% if applied with humates (1 teaspoon of dry humate per 10 l). If organic fertilizers are applied, the amount of mineral fertilizers is reduced by 1.5–2 times. Vegetables are watered with a 0.05–0.2% solution of monopotassium phosphate: seedlings in the phase of 2–3 leaves, 10–15 days after picking or planting in the ground (for the rapid development of suction roots).
| Advice. To obtain a 1% solution, add 100 g of fertilizer to 10 liters of water, 0.5% - 50 g, 0.2% - 20 g, 0.05% - 5 g. |
Problem 1. Stopping growth after picking
Problems with seedling growth often begin after picking. However, the reasons that provoke the problem may be different.
Natural plant response to pinching
Often, when picking, the main root is pinched, which provides an incentive for the growth of non-main roots. This is a fairly traumatic procedure, after which the plant needs time to recover. During this period, growth practically stops. If after picking the seedlings stop developing, you should leave them alone for 3-4 weeks. After this period ends, the seedlings will begin to grow again.
The roots were not pinched
Sometimes summer residents do not pinch the roots at all during picking. As a result, the plant also stops developing after the procedure. The reason for this state of affairs is often long roots. They bend, intertwine, break, which provokes stunted growth and even death of the plant. In such a situation, it is recommended to remove the seedlings and replant them in a new place (with healthy roots). If you find signs of rotting roots, it is better to throw the plant away altogether, since it will no longer be possible to improve its health.
The optimal temperature of air, soil, and water for irrigation is not ensured
Any crop shows good growth only in a certain temperature range. Even the most cold-resistant seedlings are unable to develop if the air does not warm up to at least 13 °C. The water used for irrigation must have a temperature of 24 °C or higher.
Insufficient plant nutrition
Seedlings often do not take root well after picking due to lack of nutrition. Characteristic signs of the problem: slow growth, unhealthy appearance of seedlings, rotting processes. If the above symptoms are detected, you should feed the plants with a complex fertilizer containing the maximum amount of substances that are necessary for normal development. It is important that the selected product does not contain chlorine. The fertilizer is dissolved in warm water (about 15 grams per bucket), after which it is applied to the soil in 3 doses:
- the first portion is applied at the moment the first true leaves appear (from 2 to 4);
- the second feeding is carried out after 10 days;
- the third portion of fertilizer is applied 12 days after planting the seedlings in open ground or a greenhouse.
The hypocotyledonous knee is stretched
Typically, seedlings stretch out and lie down due to dense plantings, which means insufficient feeding area. If the seeds are of high quality and the seedlings are friendly and dense, the plants begin to compete for light, moisture and nutrition.
This phenomenon is easier to prevent than to correct. You should always sow the specified rate for each crop. Excess is permissible by no more than 5–10%. If, nevertheless, the crops turn out to be thickened, it is necessary to pinch out the excess plants at the soil level. This will provide an influx of fresh air, improve lighting and nutrition for each seedling.
If sowing is carried out in individual containers, you need to sow 2-3 seeds. After germination, weaker plants are removed.
Sometimes you can observe seedlings stretching even with optimal seeding rates. The reasons in this case may be the following: low light (including due to dirty window glass), excessive watering, high temperature. You can prevent seedlings from stretching by growing them on southern windows and using phytolamps with red and blue spectra. A prerequisite is moderate watering (1-2 times a week): when a thin crust of dried soil forms. You need to water along the edge of the container.
Photo: Pulling seedlings is difficult to correct, but possible.
| Recommendation. At the first signs of stretching, provide good lighting - at least 12-14 hours. Install reflective foil screens on the side of the window; watering is carried out only after lightly drying the soil through pallets or using a spray bottle. |
If the “adult” seedlings have become very elongated, they can be transferred to a large container and sprinkled with soil. The time required to grow new roots will slow down active growth. As a last resort, you can cut off and root the tops of tomatoes.
How to calculate the timing of sowing vegetables for seedlings
If in your area the soil warms up on the twentieth of May, and there are no return frosts at this time, that is, you know exactly the date for planting vegetables in the ground, count back the age of the seedlings from this date, and you will get the sowing date.
If you sow seeds in heated soil or keep the crops in a heated thermobox, the seeds will germinate very quickly. For example, in heated soil, peppers will germinate within a week. But if the soil is not warmed up, you will wait 2-3 weeks for seedlings, so when calculating the sowing time, you need to take into account the conditions in which the seedlings will be grown.
They asked me if I use a lunar calendar. No, I don’t use it, but my seedlings are always good. I wouldn’t advise you to bother yourself with these prejudices either. Plant seedlings when it is convenient for you, but taking into account the requirements of the crop, and you will always have a good harvest.
All the best to you.
Diseases and pests
The most common seedling disease is blackleg. Its cause is too wet, cold or contaminated soil and lack of ventilation in the mini-greenhouse. Measures must be taken in a timely manner: remove diseased plants, stop watering and dry the soil, sprinkle the soil with calcined sand mixed with ash.
As for pests, the most dangerous enemies of seedlings are whiteflies, aphids and spider mites. Washing the leaves with water and hanging yellow glue traps (not effective against mites) helps. Prevention and the use of clean, non-contaminated soil, as well as quarantine measures when purchasing flowers and seedlings, are very important. A decoction of tobacco dust is used against aphids and whiteflies: 400 g of tobacco dust per 10 liters of water; leave for 24 hours, boil for 2 hours, strain and add 40 g of soap per 1 liter of broth.
So, we told you why seedlings don’t grow and how to fix it. We hope our tips were useful to you.
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Methods for determining soil pH
Laboratory analysis
There are several ways to determine the acid-base balance of soil, including through laboratory tests. But this is not always convenient: for example, we don’t have a chemical laboratory nearby that could conduct a soil analysis. Besides, it would take too long.
Plant observation
You can determine soil acidity by observing the development of plants that tend to have acidic soil, such as hydrangeas. But this method may not work, since plants have the ability to adapt to not entirely suitable conditions: hydrangea can grow on neutral soil.
- Is it necessary to whiten trees both in autumn and spring - what does this give?
Litmus paper
Therefore, the most convenient way, in my opinion, is to determine pH using litmus paper. It is simple, cheap and accessible to everyone.
Buy a set of litmus papers at a pharmacy or order online. There are a lot of offers, there is even paper in rolls. My set contains 80 strips, and one is enough for analysis. The kit also includes a scale for determining soil acidity or alkalinity.
I prepared an extract from the soil in which we grow flowers and vegetables: poured 1 part of the soil with 1 part of distilled water and let the suspension settle. After five minutes, the earth sank to the bottom, and the peat floated to the surface, and I partially removed it. Tap water or any other water is not suitable for these purposes, because it has its own pH. I tore off one strip of litmus paper and literally put it in the hood for a few seconds.
I then took out the strip and compared it to the colors on the scale. The color of the paper after soaking has hardly changed, and it practically corresponds to 6 units, that is, the acid-base balance of the soil is almost neutral, only slightly shifted to the acidic side.
To check the reliability of the analysis, I dipped another piece of paper into a solution of citric acid, and it almost instantly turned a color that corresponds to 2 units on the scale, as it should be. This means litmus paper is a reliable indicator.
I paid 30 hryvnia for two kits, and now I can conduct 160 tests. If you find that the acid-base balance of your soil differs significantly from the optimal one, that is, neutral, it is better not to use such soil for growing seedlings. I checked the purchased soil mixture of two companies with an indicator, and did not find a discrepancy with the pH indicated on the package, which indicates the conscientiousness of the manufacturers.
With this simple test you can check the pH of any soil, water and other substances.
- Hyacinth - garden care
All the best.
Wilting leaves
One beautiful day we notice that the leaves of the sprouts have withered and even begun to wither. Most likely, this is connected with the soil, and specifically with its dryness or, on the contrary, it is so wet that it has begun to turn sour.
How can we remove this?
If there is dry soil, pour warm water over it, then after a quarter of an hour, carefully loosen it.
If you have been diligently and systematically watering the seedlings all the time, then we check the root system. To do this, carefully remove the plant with a lump of earth from the container and carefully examine its roots. We must have a densely growing system of snow-white roots. If it has a cream or yellow color, then we will certainly review the watering regime.
- We use the least amount of water, but treat ourselves to aqua treatments (spraying). If the plants are quite large, then it makes sense to transplant them into larger containers with the addition of fresh soil.
Also, a prerequisite for planting material to wither is a difference in the temperature of the soil in the containers, which is lower than the air temperature in the room. This often happens when the containers are on the windowsill, and cool air blows from the window along the windowsill, cooling the roots of the sprouts.
How can this be avoided?
We build a stand 15-20 cm high on the windowsill using various means (boards, huge boxes, containers, etc.). We are already placing containers with seedlings on it. Cool air will now circulate under the constructed structure and will not “cool” our pots.
Yellowing of leaves
Most often this happens after a pick. Everything seemed to go well, the sprouts took root and the leaves began to turn yellow.
Most likely, the plants are experiencing a lack of nutrients. This is a very common occurrence when planting in purchased peat soil. Usually, it does not contain a very large amount of nutrients and, unfortunately, they are not enough for the entire period of seedling growth.
We quickly feed the young sprouts with any fertilizer for seedlings containing microelements and do not forget that when planting seedlings in peat soil, in order to avoid yellowing, we feed the plants more often.
What to do when the plant only stretches upward or wide?
If you notice that the money tree is growing unevenly, take immediate action. Otherwise, the plant may become asymmetrical and fall under the weight of the crown.
How to make Crassula grow evenly:
- Turn the pot in different directions towards the light.
- Periodically pinch out the top and growing side shoots.
- If the growth is severe, trim off excess branches, leaving two pairs of leaves. Use a disinfected knife when working. Sprinkle the cuts with crushed charcoal.
Our seedlings are very stretched
No matter how hard we try to limit the seedlings from stretching, we still fail to do this from time to time. This often happens when at some point the plants become crowded, in other words, the side leaves of nearby bushes begin to overlap each other.
You can resort to the 2nd pick. We take out the plants and free them from the soil. We trim the roots a little, plant again, but more, burying the trunk into the soil. When finished, we hide it in a black space for two days. Next we move it to a bright place.
- You can use another option. We cut off the tops, leaving three full leaves on the stem. You don’t have to throw away the top itself, but try to root it. We plant it in the soil, water it and cover it with a jar (transparent), and send it to a bright room.
Here are some easy things that can help us support the seedlings and improve their health. After all, strong, healthy seedlings are the key to the future harvest.
Video: Main mistakes when growing seedlings.
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Creating criteria for good growth
Ensuring the convenience of seedlings at the initial stage of growth will help to obtain an abundant harvest of tomatoes:
- The soil mixture for planting seeds is prepared from peat, sand and humus.
- When placing containers in a window, allow 12-15 hours of direct sunlight per day.
- The air temperature at night should be between 16-18°C, and in the daytime 20-22°C.
- Watering is carried out only with warm, settled water at the root, avoiding drying out or waterlogging.
When tomatoes do not grow well at the seedling stage, there is no need to worry about the future harvest. It is enough to check whether the feeding conditions are met and whether there are any influences from external causes. After eliminating the prerequisites or applying fertilizing, the growth of tomatoes will be restored.
