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My plants are wilting under my lights..any advice?

GoGoJuice
13 years ago

I'm really really new to this.

Tried reading as much as I can.

I have started my seeds. blue fescue grass, frosted curls and dusty millers. The frosted curls didn't come up after the 14 days. Think I may have planted them to deep. Is there any point waiting any longer. They are under the plastic jiffy tray on a heating pad?

The other two have germinated and are about 3 inches tall. I realized I needed some lights since they are in the basement and have puy them under 2xT8's 34 watts. I have lowered the lights to approx 2 cm above the plants. I'm wondering if I have them too close.

Should I have taken off the plastic dome in the tray now that there germinated?

Today I notice that the grass seems to be wilting. I think a couple of the strands may be touching the lights. The lights don't seem to be hot and I don't believe that I have over watered the plants.

Any suggestions?

As a side not.. I notice on the back of the seed packets that it says 7-14 days to germinate. However.. My last frost date is approx may 26, How can I figure out when to plant them so that they are in full bloom and ready to go by that date? I plan to move them to my green house in the middle of April

Comments (7)

  • nutsaboutflowers
    13 years ago

    Hi there. I'm not even close to an expert at this, but I thought I'd put in my two cents worth in case nobody else answers your questions soon enough.

    First of all, are your 3 inch plants still covered with the dome? I'm not certain, as in one part you ask if you should have taken the dome off, but you also say the grass might be touching the lights. If you still have the domes on, take them off immediately. As soon as you get germination, you remove them.

    I think you may have started your plants too soon. On the back of your seed packets, did it say how long before last frost to plant? Most seeds are planted 8-10 weeks before last frost.

    You mentioned wanting them in full bloom and ready to go, but haven't you planted two grasses and also dusty miller that doesn't get blooms?

    Well, that's my two cents worth. Hope some of it helps, and hopefully someone else with more experience can answer the rest of your questions, or correct me if anything I've said isn't entirely correct. =:)

  • GoGoJuice
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks.

    The dome is off.

    I planted the grasses because the garden shop told me that they take longer to grow and the packet says plant early.

    So are you saying that approx 8-10 weeks before the last frost is about the right time to plant them?

    I was planing on putting them in the green house in april to speed things up. Is that not the right move?

    Thanks for the comments

  • nutsaboutflowers
    13 years ago

    Hi again. I've only planted marigolds in the house so far, so I'm probably too much of a noobie to answer your questions.

    What zone are you in? It makes a big difference.

    You may want to transfer your questions to the Growing from Seed forum, as this one is primarily about the light setup people use. You can read that forum until the cows come home if you want =:) I've learned a lot from there.

  • dsb22
    13 years ago

    Newbie here also, but I believe the distance should be 2 inches, rather than 2 cm.

  • taz6122
    13 years ago

    The closer the better as far as lights go and lights have nothing to do with wilting. It's probably a matter of too little or too much water. It could also be the soil you're using not allowing the water to drain or not drawing enough water to sustain the plants.

  • GoGoJuice
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    They sprouted up great. Now they look very tall and thin and then just fall over and break the stem. I have read about damping off, and I don't think this fits the bill.

    I'm using the jiffy pellets. I wonder if it could be because I left them under the dome till they were about 3 inches high.

  • taz6122
    13 years ago

    Not enough light! They are to spindly to support the weight of the leaves.

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