Seedlings getting stuck...

[Annpan]

I seem to have quite a few seedlings that have got stuck at the 2 leaf stage... I mean really stuck... 2 months some of them

Aubergines, peppers, cucumbers (infact they have all died now) and chillis.


Help me... I want to eat tasty stuff

[CyberPaddy66]

When we had our fish tank in the living room we used to keep our propagator on that, the heat from the lights did wonders for the seedlings growth, maybe they just need a slightly warmer area to grow.

[Annpan]

Right, I'll move them into the kitchen from the un-heated polytunnel. Thanks for the tips guys (I had thought they would be OK once they had actually germinated.)

[SarahJane]

My aubergines are stuck at the "just poked through the soil , 2 leaf stage" They have been like that for a couple of weeks. Never grown them before so not sure what they are MEANT to be doing.

[Annpan]

Well I have moved them all back down to the house and placed them in a unheated propagator. Hope fully the kitchen window sill will give them at least a bit of a boost.

[Millymollymandy]

Good luck Ann - I'm having more of a problem with bad germination (why is sweetcorn so difficult to get to germinate? These are brand new seeds and I'm on my 2nd attempt having only 4 germinated out of the first sowing of about 10). Other things that did come up in the warmth indoors are too leggy so basically I've started again with courgettes straight into the cold frame. Frustrating old business isn't it?

[Rosendula]

I'm struggling with my sweetcorn too, MMM. I sowed 28 seeds and only 4 came through. I then sowed another 28. That time I got 24 through, so not bad. But then I decided to sow 24 in the empty gaps where they'd failed on the first tray. None came through.

I think my problem is over watering. I've drowned a few tomatoes and peppers this year. I'm getting my sprayer out to water with that instead of the watering can.

[Millymollymandy]

It's so irritating isn't it? I don't want too many all ripe at the same time so I try to sow in two batches about a month apart (ideally having 8-10 plants each time), but it never works out like that!

[JulieSherris]

Hey, I got some sweetcorn from the real seed folks.... planted 24 & popped them in the polyhouse - the real seed folk say that they need to be warm to germinate & if they get too cold, the seeds will rot Well, the polyhouse does get very warm when the suns up.....

Once germinated, they then like to be put out immediately, as they don't like to grow in the warm.... fussy huh??

So.... after 3 weeks, I now have 22 sweetcorn in a block, in bed number 5 & all look to be doing very well

Mind, I planted my mini cucmbers at the same time & am still watching for them... so far nada...

[Millymollymandy]

My cucs came up no probs, but get this - two of my runner beans seemed to be doing 'something' just beneath the surface but after a week or so I got bored of waiting for something to happen and had a dig around and the ruddy things had gone and grown upside down! There was about 3 inches of white bean stem curling around deep down in the soil! So I chucked them and sowed a couple more. Never had that before!

[Spuddle]

Aubergines, peppers and cucumbers really hate a change in temperature and if it drops it can really halt them in their tracks. This year has been a problem because of the weather swinging from hot to cold so much. To get round the problem of leggy plants grown indoors I sow mine in pots and start them off in a mini greenhouse (the type with a plastic cover that cost around £12) As soon as the weather warms up, I cover each pot with a cloche made from a plastic drinks bottle with the bottom cut off and move them to the sunniest part of the garden. Plant out when they are strong enough but be prepared to cover again if the weather turns chilly. This seems to work.

[Uller]

My aubergines and cucumbers are going great guns, although I sowed them months ago, so I guess they should be by now.

My chillies were stuck at the 2 leaf stage - until this weekend. I was away for the weekend so soaked everything on Saturday morning. Came back on Monday morning to find tomatoes & courgettes completely wilted after such a hot couple of days (were rescued with another good soaking though). Chillies finally looked like they might actually grow - yippee!

[Peggy Sue]

Just going back to the sweetcorn for a minute, I ahd that problem last year so this year I bought form Realseed, all their stuff seems to have really good germination rates. Every sweetcorn seed has germinated. Same thing with carrots last year and this year (and 2 years ago) the realseed ones ahve had excellent germination while others are complaining about patchy germination all around.

I think you ahve to select seed from good places, cheapest ins't always best.