I have planted a number of vegetables from seeds over the past few years with mixed success. This year has been my best for germination having used one of the kits below. The peat pellets stay moist, the water gets draw up from the bottom with a capillary mat, and the plastic top keeps the moisture in. I had more than an 80% germination rate on my tomato seedlings.
Unfortunately, I am now dealing with ‘leggy’ seedlings which I could have addressed earlier. Leggy seedlings happen for the same reason crooked houseplants happen. The plant grows towards the light and, since the light is too far away, the plant tries to accelerate its height to get close enough to the light to survive. Unfortunately, there is only a limited amount of growth a plant can do. What it gains in height, it sacrifices in the width of the stem. As a result, you get long, floppy seedlings.
Other reason for ‘leggy’ seedlings include:
- Not enough light during the day. Recommendations range from 12-18 hours per day.
- Not turning off the heat mat, once the first true leaves are found.
- No keeping the grow lights close enough. They should be 2-3 inches over the top of the plants, so they don’t have to ‘reach’ to get to the light.
- Not transplanting early enough. Once you see the first true leaves, it is time to transplant them.
