Re: Starting seedlings
At 08:36 AM 3/9/2000 -0400, you wrote:
>Please allow me, as usual, to enter here with the most nubie question
That doesn't sound like such a nubile question to me. :) Sorry, sometimes
I can't resist.
>possible: how are people keeping their seedlings in trays from DRYING
>OUT? With all the other chores in the garden at this time, I've
>already lost a couple of brassica flats to unexpected drying (2 inch
>high seedlings still waiting for true leaves.
I had this problem last year, mostly because I started my flats weeks later
than I should have (I am a PROcrastinator), and because I left them in the
flats a few weeks longer than I should have. The biggest thing, in my
opinion, is to shade them properly. and reduce exposure to strong
(=dessicating) breezes. A little air exchange is desirable, and a bit of a
breeze will strengthen stems of course, but excessive air flow drys out the
flats quicker. Direct sun is what finally did my plants in. They could
tolerate the sunlight ok, but one day it got particularly hot and the
little bit of soil got bone dry. Young seedlings don't tolerate that level
of dehydration well.
>I'm starting to assume that I need to set the flats in water (I don't
>have covers for them) during the day, but I've heard that this
>waterlogs the roots.
Hammer a couple 2 X 4's together in a big rectangle, line it with a
trash bag, but an inch or two of water (dilute fertilizer if you like) in
this contraption, then set your flat right into this make shift watering
trough. For 50 flats (far more than my 3 or 4 max) you might consider
making 3 of these large enough to hold two flats each. By the time you
drop the second flat into the third watering trough, it should be nearly
time to remove the first two flats from the first trough, and replace them
with unwatered flats. It should ensure fairly thoughough watering in a
reasonably short period of time, with little expense.
I would caution against more than a 30 minute soak, as it doesn't take too
long to damage roots from lack of oxygen.
>How are you handling this situation? (I s.b. germinating 50 flats at
>all times through June. I'd appreciate your help in making this work.
Good luck, and best wishes!
Glider!
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