Help Please

[chell25]

Hi,

On Saturday i planted all my seedlings out in to the ground. I have been down there this morning and all of them have flopped over and are lying on the ground looking dead!!!

Would the frost have caused this? Will they pick up? Or should i start sowing some more to replace them?

Many thanks

Chell

[SarzWix]

What sort of seedlings are they Chell?

[chell25]

Broccoli, cauliflower, radish, onions, Leeks

[JimmerG]

Hi Chell,

I often find exactly the same happens - many seedlings struggle for a few day as they get their roots sorted out, and get over the shock of transplantation. Water is lost from the existing leaves, but the roots have not had time to tap into the earth's water reserves. Much of the time they'll recover - having said that it is slightly early for some of these seedlings, and should we get frosts - they will certainly have a hard time.

J

[chell25]

Well thats what i was thinking,
1 - too early and we did get frost yesterday - but i have covered them all up with polytunnels.
2 - Need time to get the roots established after the move. Well i will get a couple of seeds planted just in case they dont take. I'll leave it for just over a week and see if they have picked up or not.

Many thanks for the advice- i'm all very new to this!! Learn form my mistakes i guess

Chell

[Flummery]

Harden them off first - gradually acclimatise them over a period of several days - I mentioned this on your other thread - and also puddle them in - give a good slurp of water to each seedling when planted - then leave them to it for a while.

[chell25]

I did harden them off for about a week, but i guess it wasn't enough.

I will see how they go

Many thanks

Chell

[Two_Sheds]

radish, onions, Leeks

I think you'd have more success if you sowed these direct in the soil.

Then practise sowing in pots with something a bit easier ... French beans, or squash. Something that grows big and fast, so you can learn about how and when to water, how and when to harden off & plant outside.

Like you said, it's a lot to learn when you're beginning

[chell25]

ok well i have spent the morning down there today, and the seedlings i put in the ground i think are dead, i will leave them for another a week if anything happens. I have sown some more today in the green house, so if they dont pick up and have a plan b.

[Eyren]

Don't despair, Chell! It's taken me a while to get the hang of growing leeks and brassicas in modules/pots. Hardy veg don't seem to take so kindly to being mollycoddled, preferring to be in the nice cool soil - but with all the slugs on our lottie I have no choice

Brassica seedlings in particular don't like heat, in my experience, and the temperatures under glass are quite high during the day at the moment. If you have somewhere slug-free and in partial shade you can put them, I would grow them outdoors from the start if I were you.

[chell25]

Hi,

Thanks very much for the advice, it will remove all the dead ones and plant the seeds straight into the soil and see if i get any luck that way. Oh well its all good experiance.
As i have said never grown a thing before so its all learning.

On a positive note, i got a mushroom growing kit a couple of months ago, and yesterday i picked my first couple of mushrooms and had them with my sunday fry up. They taste so much better!!

Thanks