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Seedlings

LynfromSeaLynfromSea Posts: 133
in Problem solving
Help! Why are my seedlings always so leggy? They are on a south facing large window and the temperature of the room is 20degrees. I spray them a little every day so the soil doesn’t dry out. Is this too much? I just can’t seem to get it right 🥴
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  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Sowing too early, lack of light and too much heat. That's the usual reason. Sow a month later than you're doing.  :)
    It also depends what you're growing. It's not the germinating of seed, it's what you do with them when they need potted on. Many people make that mistake with tender or half hardy plants. 


    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    What are they?
    You've probably sown them a bit too early. If a plant gets leggy, it means it's not getting enough light.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • LynfromSeaLynfromSea Posts: 133
    Fairygirl said:
    Sowing too early, lack of light and too much heat. That's the usual reason. Sow a month later than you're doing.  :)
    It also depends what you're growing. It's not the germinating of seed, it's what you do with them when they need potted on. Many people make that mistake with tender or half hardy plants. 


    I’m trying to grow tomato seeds. I think it might be too much heat as you say. I put a lid over them until they germinated which was probably unnecessary in the house. Thanks for your help.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I don't sow mine till mid March. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LynfromSeaLynfromSea Posts: 133
    good advice. I think I’m too impatient 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Even if you grow in a greenhouse, it has to be warm enough in there for them to grow and thrive.
    I can't really put them out there before mid May because the temps in it are the same as outside unless it's sunny, and you then have large fluctuations in temps between day and night, which is a problem. They need to have reasonably consistent double figure overnight.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I agree, too much warmth for the available light. Even with a greenhouse with overhead/all round glass, the intensity of sunlight is still quite low at this time of year because it doesn't get very high in the sky so it's filtered by a lot of atmosphere (that's before we even think about clouds), and the day length is still relatively short. It's astronomy, we can't do anything about those factors other than using growlights to supplement the sunlight, and/or sowing later when the days are longer and the sun gets higher in the sky.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    When you come to pot on your seedlings you can drop them down about 2” into the new pot,  if you do this every time you pot on, you will get very strong plants as they root all along the stem,  they’ll be strong plants when you come to put them in the final places. 


    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • M33R4M33R4 Posts: 291
    Lyn said:
    When you come to pot on your seedlings you can drop them down about 2” into the new pot,  if you do this every time you pot on, you will get very strong plants as they root all along the stem,  they’ll be strong plants when you come to put them in the final places. 


    Agreed. 

    Also when I sow, I fill the pot half way,  pop the seed(s) in. When they are about 2 - 3 inches long I fill more compost to support them. 
    I wish I could garden all year round!
  • LynfromSeaLynfromSea Posts: 133
    B3 said:
    What are they?
    You've probably sown them a bit too early. If a plant gets leggy, it means it's not getting enough light.
    That’s what I thought but they are on the ledge of a large south facing window! I think the levels of light are too low and from what I’m hearing I think I’ve planted them too early as we’ve not had a lot of sunshine the last week.
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