Are my broccoli seedlings ok?
Stephanie newish gardener
Posts: 516
I moved my broccoli and curly kale seedlings off the west-facing windowsill as I wasn't sure about them getting hot pm sun then being cold at night. I moved them into the dining room a bit more but then read they might get leggy so they are now nearer the window but not on the windowsill.
In the last few days we've had sleet and snow and I've been away so the heating hasn't been on as long as it might normally and there has been no sun since Sunday.
I noticed earlier that on at least two of the broccoli seedlings, the first seedling leaves are curling up quite dramatically, more than I might expect, and the seedlings generally don't seem to look quite as happy as they were doing.
Also a couple of the kale seedlings have fallen over. They look like they have reached for light but that's not the case as they have gone the opposite way to the light.
I'm now wondering whether they have been too cold, or whether they don't like the change in temp as they are now about level with the radiator.
The pics show a close-up of the two broccoli seedlings I'm concerned about, plus the tray of kale and then an overall pic to show the position of the plants in trays in the room. Any thoughts gratefully received
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I would start hardening them off - outside in a cold frame or a sheltered spot during the day and indoors at night for a week or so then outside full time. Protect from heavy rain and hail, but otherwise they'll be much happier outside. Beware of slug and snails tho.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
So do you think they are too warm? I took some more pics today as the leaves on some of them are turning light at the edges. We're away tomorrow until Monday and I'm expecting to return to wilted seedlings
We're in north Aberdeenshire and I have a greenhouse and a cold frame so can gradually acclimatise them from Monday if any are still with us by then. The forecast next week is improving - better than the sleet and snow we had this week!
You can see on the edges of the leaf on the left that it is turning a lighter colour
This one too seems to be going the same way
But at least someone thinks they look good enough to eat!
Should I move them off the windowsill while we are away this weekend, or perhaps put them on an east facing windowsill where they will get less sun?
I'd leave them where they are. They need as much light as they can get. then get them into the greenhouse ASAP when you get back.
What do others think?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I'm definitely no expert, but it looks to me like it's mostly the seed leaves that have gone a tad crispy and the new true leaves generally look OK. You may lose one or two, but given a little more light and less heat, I suspect most of them will be fine. I'd not move them before leaving them - just in case it's really frosty overnight again while you're away, but as Dove says, get them outside as soon as you can while you're around to bring them in again if trouble looms. I'd gently prop the flopped kale ones on a plant label and when you pot them on, plant them deeper and they'll probably be fine, if a little curly in the stalk at the bottom (and who isn't?).
They are quite tough little plants - they don't need a lot of molly-coddling. I germinate mine in a cold polytunnel as early as February (sprouts) and they are one of the most consistent at coming up even without any great warmth. So next year, I'd start them in the greenhouse so you don't have to manage them through the transition. I realise you are much further north but February here is probably a similar temp to April there and you have a lot more light by then. Maybe try a few inside and few out and see which goes best.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Thanks for the replies. Having looked at them again this morning I think some of the curling leaves are the seed leaves so I might be worrying unnecessarily, I do of course have the rest of the seed packet to go on, and I was intending to do some succession sowing, particularly of the broccoli as we eat a lot of it, so if they do all succumb then I will have spares.
I must admit I find it difficult with some seeds to know whether they might germinate in the (unheated) greenhouse or whether they need to be inside. And if they are inside then there is the problem of hardening off in unpredictable weather. Sometimes the packets aren't that helpful as they don't always give a germination temperature for relative veg-growing newbies like me to use as a guide.
The forecast for the weekend is reasonable so we're going to leave the heating off and hopefully they will get a more even temp, so long as the sun doesn't shine too strongly in the afternoon.
Meanwhile I know I'll be ok whatever the weather since it's the Bandstand Beer Festival in Nairn, which is where we're heading
Enjoy!
This is my favourite.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Have fun
I have found a couple of books about growing veg quite helpful as a guide as to what needs to go where to germinate, and that has been tempered with experience. Roughly - and I'm just talking about germination not growing on - on a sliding scale from warmest to coldest: Cucurbits, tomatoes, beans and peas, salads, beetroot (and family), brassicas and then roots I mostly sow direct outside so uncontrolled and I don't know what triggers them.
But it'll be different where you are - so sow a few in different conditions and at different times and keep notes. You'll see a pattern after 3 or 4 years, most likely.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Well the weekend was lovely and my favourite beers of the festival came from the 8 Sail brewery in Heckington near Sleaford, not far from where I lived before coming to Scotland. They did a ruby beer, a mild and a very nice IPA and I couldn't really choose between them.
On returning home I was pleased to see that the seedlings looked generally ok. They have all been outside in the sun for a few hours this afternoon and after bringing them back in they are all looking pretty sorry for themselves, with wilting leaves going gradually lighter in colour.
I forecast some succession sowing a bit sooner than I might have anticipated....
So the seedlings now all look really sorry for themselves and I'm not convinced that any of the broccoli will survive. Does anyone have any idea what went wrong as I am about to sow some more seeds? The tomatoes look ok and they have been in the same homemade compost mix so I don't think it's a problem with the growing medium.
Should I start the new seeds the same way, ie on the windowsill, or do you think they will be ok in the greenhouse now? During the day the greenhouse gets pretty warm but it obviously cools down quite a bit at night.
I agree, no hope for those. There is a possibility that your homemade compost is a bit acidic which the tomatoes won't mind but the brassicas will hate. I would sow the next batch in a commercial compost, most of which contain a bit of lime. This would also eliminate any possibility of disease affecting the seedlings. When happy, brassica seedlings are strong and fast growers.
Last edited: 06 May 2017 11:03:44