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Dahlia seeds 'almost' fatally attacked
Jenny_Aster
Posts: 945
It's a turning into a fiasco, I'm presently juggling for space.
Dahlia seeds (cactus mixed) were doing so well but they were getting desperate for more light so i put them inside a raised tunnel and tucked them under a fleece. But... there must have been a slug (the slugs I've only seen are less than half inch).
It looks like they've munched away on the seed leaves, leaving one to show you
. The growing tips looks like they've been spared. The seeds have been sown in coir and pearlite only, so there's no nutrition for growing healthy plants on. I don't want to disturb them at this time, so I'm thinking of feeding a week solution of Phostrogen until they get over the shock.
How important are seed leaves, do they hold a 'power pack' or similar?
Presently they're now back (in ICU) on the kitchen windowsill. The only other seedlings attacked were marigolds and I'm afraid their attack was terminal.
BTW there's been no frost since they were put in the tunnel, night time temperatures have been around 8C.
Dahlia seeds (cactus mixed) were doing so well but they were getting desperate for more light so i put them inside a raised tunnel and tucked them under a fleece. But... there must have been a slug (the slugs I've only seen are less than half inch).
It looks like they've munched away on the seed leaves, leaving one to show you
. The growing tips looks like they've been spared. The seeds have been sown in coir and pearlite only, so there's no nutrition for growing healthy plants on. I don't want to disturb them at this time, so I'm thinking of feeding a week solution of Phostrogen until they get over the shock.How important are seed leaves, do they hold a 'power pack' or similar?
Presently they're now back (in ICU) on the kitchen windowsill. The only other seedlings attacked were marigolds and I'm afraid their attack was terminal.
BTW there's been no frost since they were put in the tunnel, night time temperatures have been around 8C.
Trying to be the person my dog thinks I am!
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
0
Posts
If it were me, I would start again, still plenty of time.
They do not need feeding at this stage.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
You can sow in a better medium at this time of year when plants want to grow. Seed composts etc are only of use in autumn, if you use them. Many of us don't bother with it. A mix of any general compost with some grit or Perlite is ideal. I often use last year's old stuff from my sweet peas as a starter for seed.
Each time they're potted on, they'll get enough food from the medium you move them into, and you don't want them growing away far too quickly at the early stages - save that feed for when they're finally outside
The night time temps also wouldn't have been particularly suitable for them to grow on well, so they'd need a better, more consistent temp to really get going.
The small slugs are often the ones which do the most damage.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I thought that, the growing tips haven't been eaten but you can see bite size shapes taken out, leaves nipped off and not eaten. The marigold have gone completely, all that's left of them is the seed husks. Maybe it's not a slug then? Between rain spells I'll be sorting the tunnel today with a magnifying glass
Edited to add: just had a closer inspection, it's the dahlia seed husks that have been left, they're not broken leaves.
ie pic of dahlia seeds from the internet.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.