Have you been antsy to get growing? If you have started some plants from seed, then you probably have an abundance of growing seedlings on your hands! You got the seeds to germinate, and that can sometimes be tough. Now you also have to care for them until they go into the ground. Seedlings need tough love if they are going to survive out in the wilderness (garden) in a few weeks.
Your hardy annuals are primed in their DNA to like the cool weather. Make sure you are giving them cool enough temps to grow and thrive. We do this by putting them into our greenhouse during the day and making sure there is ample air flowing in from the outside. The cool wind will make their stems stronger and help them acclimate when they are out in the elements. In addition, begin watering overhead with a hose to strengthen their stems and get them used to rainfall. Seedlings are like children; they need to experience adverse situations so they can learn from them and later thrive.
More Tips On Caring For Seedlings
- Water once or twice a week. Don’t drown them and let them dry out before watering again.
- Continue to bottom water seedlings until they have their first true leaves. Then you can water them from the top.
- If you’re starting them indoors under lights, continue to move the lights higher as the seeds grow. You don’t want them to touch the light, but instead keep them 2 inches below the lights so they don’t get leggy.
- Fertilize once per week with Organic Fish Emulsion. We are also substituting in our “worm tea” to fertilize, when we can.
- Keep a fan on them so they get good airflow and to help stop any mold or algae from forming.
- If there are multiple seedlings per tray cell, thin them out so that there is only one growing per cell.
- If your seedlings start to outgrow their trays, and it’s not warm enough to transplant them outside, transplant them into a larger pot to continue growing.
- About a week before it’s time to plant them outside, start to harden them off. You’ll start off by placing your seedlings outside under a covered space for a couple hours per day and then bump up the time they spend outside each day. Work towards being a full day and night outside. If you don’t harden them off, they will most likely die from transplant shock because they are not used to the outside elements.
Happy Growing!
Joan
P.S. Anyone else ready for spring?!