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Re: Help -- what to do about my sprouts?? (long reply)

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html


From: Patricia J. Santhuff <psanthuff@mindspring.com>

> Thanks, Peg -- That's pretty much what I've done so far, except that I
> planted the seeds in what I intended to trrasplant them to the garden from
> (if that makes sense), and haven't gotten to the 2nd set of leaves stage
> yet. I'm pretty sure they've gotten at least 14 hours of light, and even
> closer than the 6 - 9 inches.
>
> Anyone have any other ideas for my spindly-legged sprouts?

I may not get many starts any one year, but I do get good ones.
My lights are controlled by a timer (actually my computer) for the light.
When I tried just one bank of lights parked 2-3 inches over the plants I
got good results.  When I put aluminum foil on cardboard as a "mirror"
on all unused adjacent walls (From a TV show on cops catching people
growing illegal stuff inside, see TV can be educational) I got even
better results.  Finally I went for two light units side by side.  I rotate
the starts around every few days so at least for a few days they seem
to get light from all sides.  Even better lush vegetation, not leggy,
but still spindly.  Some people mention using chains to raise and
lower their lights to adapts to transplants.  I never have enough
transplats of the same size to do this.  My lights tend to stay 18 inches
high over the table and I use boxes (over turned plastic transplant
trays recycled (read scrounged) from the hardware store) to raise
and lower the transplants.  Some people use expensive Gro lights
or mix hot and cool tubes.  I just put in new tubes occasionaly and
rotate the old ones out to places that only need to illuminate humans.

Finally I added a fan.  Again on a timer (still the computer).  Cheap
$10 fan with the oscillating thing turned on.  I have the fan turned on
for 1 hour 3 times a day blowing back and forth across the plants,
the stalks thicken or toughen up this abuse that they would get natrually
outside.  It is important to move the fan (or what I prefer) rotate the
starts a few times a week.  This does not work for starts still under
plastic
(go figure...)  And when I first tried it and just left the fan on
constantly
there was no way to keep up with the watering and some starts
containers dried and the starts while seemingly okay when watered
never produced as well as starts that did not dry.  I have read in numerous
older books about growing transplants that the garderner should touch
the plants by running his hands over them.  Some books said this was c
cause human touch was good for plants (or just plain fun) others
actually said this help encourage thicker stalks.  The fan just does
this automatically.

Here during summer (end of in the north) I "waste" 1-2 square feet in the
bed as my nursery.  (I lay the transplant trays right on the bare soil)
I can have few dozen plants getting full sun and
everything else and they will be healthier then anything I normally
develop inside.  (Have not figured out how to do this in january though)
So my fall broccoli (first time) and other fall crops I am getting ready
to put in the ground.  (lettuce and beans and peas I direct sowed...)

Best of luck.  YMMV.  Sorry for the long reply.  - Ron


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