[Maddy9199]

Well, I keep trying transplanting. The seeds sprout in the trays at a much higher rate than when I lay them outside. But that's where everything goes wrong. The sprouts just grow straight up and get really leggy, really fast. It ends up being two little leaves on the end of a long sprout, which soon falls over and dies.

I would tend to think that I'm leaving them too long, but every time I try to lay them outside sooner, they almost immediately die when I put them in the ground (but not right when they get outside for hardening off). And they just seem too small to go in the ground yet.

*sigh* This black thumb is taking so long to get rid of. It's just one thing after another. Anyone have any advice??

:

 

[Literate]

What happens when you just plant the seeds outside? What kind of plants are you having trouble with? I know many plants just don't want to be moved. At least, that's what they tell me on my native prairie seeds. Must be those super massive roots they grow.

 

[Maddy9199]

When I put them in the ground they do the same thing, droop over immediately. They look alive for about a week, but eventually die.

I'm a sloppy gardener (sloppy everything, really), so the seeds we are talking about are all kinds of types. I think I started parsnips, spinach, and chives in a tray a week ago. I just get new seeds and get excited.

:

But not one of my transplants has made it so far

: which sucks since the transplants sprout at such a better rate than the direct sows do.

 

[Literate]

Oh yeah, there's a name for that. I can't remember it right now. Maybe a real gardener will happen along and answer!

I think it's because the ground is too wet?

 

[LindaCl]

Could it be "damping off"? Do they seem to bruise or shrivel right at ground level and then topple and collapse?

 

[Maddy9199]

Yes! Why do they do that?

I think I just realized that in my house they are not getting enough light (they are by the kitchen sink, in the middle of my house), so I moved the new ones over by the window.

But I want them to do ok when I get them in the ground too. The stupid frost that we got just killed my cute little nasturtiums I had outside

along with the last of my tomatoes cause I wasn't fast enough with covering them

I'm kind of a gardening disaster area

and I just ordered a ton of seeds from the catalog. I don't want to kill them all..

 

[LindaCl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by treereach Yes! Why do they do that?

"Damping off" is a really common, pesky fungus problem. Too much moisture in the air or soil makes it more likely, but you may just have a lot of the stubborn fungus plaguing your particular area.

Once it sets in, the seedlings are goners. And the problem can be pretty tricky to avoid, especially without chemicals. This might have advice which will work for you. http://www.ehow.com/how_9361_prevent...seedlings.html

But if being super careful doesn't help, I'd skip seeds and buy starters from the nursery because though seeds are cheap, if they're constantly failing, they're no longer cheap. They cost money, need too much attention, and when they fail, it's all time wasted.

 

[Maddy9199]

Huh. I wouldn't have even thought fungus would be a problem here. I guess I dismissed it as a possibility. It's really dry here continuously (AZ). Do you think that dampening off could still be what is happening?

What if I grew them bigger in the pots? How long can I leave them inside and have them survive? If they were bigger when I put them out, would dampening off still affect them?

Maybe I'm overwatering...hmm.

 

[LindaCl]

Yeah, it's usually a bigger problem with seedlings started indoors, maybe because of the air circulation, so it's perplexing. It might be though that you're coincidentally putting them out at about the stage the dampening off starts brewing. It can break your heart because just when they start to grow, next thing you know they're dead.

You can try that--keeping them inside longer, see if you see the same problem. What are you planting?

 

[Maddy9199]

Hey! I am overwatering! I just checked my anise basil and all the seedlings are droopy now. I just watered it! I thought it was the other way around. I thought they were drooping because they had too little water. I guess being here in AZ makes you paraniod that things are getting too dry.

The seeds I just planted last week were a couple of spinach, broccoli, banana peppers (for inside), and a couple of parsnips (I know, I'm not supposed to move those).

But I am so excited! I just got the mail and my first order from Baker Creek came. I got Globe artichokes, some crazy brilliant purple eggplants, black tomatoes, a russian black hot pepper, some gourds (a dipper one), yellow and purple carrots, lots of flowers... woo hoo!

Now there's more seeds for me to kill.

:

 

[Maddy9199]

Hey, LindaCl. I see you have alot of fruit trees. What zone are you in? I wonder if I could do a pineapple guava. :hmm

 

[LindaCl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by treereach Hey, LindaCl. I see you have alot of fruit trees. What zone are you in? I wonder if I could do a pineapple guava. :hmm

Not if you grow it from seed....KIDDING! Sorry, dumb joke.

:

I'm in a sorta-kinda zone 9. It's a really easy plant in my experience. And pretty too! When the fruit is ripening, it smells like a giant ball of Juicy Fruit gum. Its more preferred common name is feijoa and this gives some specifics http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/feijoa.html.

Good luck with the new seeds. You say they start so much faster indoors. It might be another symptom of the overwatering that it seems so much more in a rush than the seed starts you tried outdoors. Indoor vs outdoor--it's a trade-off here because I have so many varmits to worry about chewing on the new growth when I start outdoors.

 

[Maddy9199]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LindaCl Not if you grow it from seed....KIDDING! Sorry, dumb joke. :

Hey, I think that's my zone too. Did you start the guava from seed?

: Or where is a good place to get one? And do you need two for fertilization? And what part of the yard is best for a plant like that?

Yeah. Alot of my seed doesn't come up at all outside. Which I'm pretty sure is a symptom of specific deficiencies in the soil. Only certain things want to grow. Like lettuce. I got tons of lettuce.

J/K. I don't mind lettuce. But I can't even make a salad cause none of my cukes came up and my tomatoes all died before I could harvest (and the ripening inside didn't go so well). But I just keep digging in more and more compost and manure and I'll probly get some seaweed and dig in some ash too, and hopefully everything will even out in the end.

Meanwhile I think I'm going to stop drowning my plants.

:

 

[LindaCl]

My pineapple guava was already here when we bought the house so I don't know how it was planted. I don't get baby p.g. growing like I do baby pecans, baby oak trees, etc., the squirrels plant so I'm guessing it doesn't start easily from the seed.

It's easy to find in the nurseries in this area though. I don't know anyone else who gets fruit from theirs though. I think it's because they planted it as a landscape shrub and take the hedge trimmers to it several times a year. It's evergreen and has a beautiful silvery leaf, so it is a very attractive plant for landscaping.

It does sound like you might have soil deficiencies of some kind. You might even look into soil testing to help narrow down exactly what kind of help it needs.

 

[gr8tfulmom]

I've found that putting a small fan, that oscillates (sp), on low with the seedlings as soon as they sprout results in stronger stems/less damping.