what's the best fertilizer for seedlings?

[lynda66]

been having a good look at my little seedling veggie plants today, all doing fine, but on the compost bag it says provides everything a plant needs for 4-5 weeks, well it's now 5 weeks, and they do seem to have slowed down a bit, so should i feed them and if so what with, i'd prefer something organic and cheap if possible, they are gonna be inside for a while yet, so don't want them getting poorly

thanks

Lynda xxx

[Alice]

Good question Lynda - look forward to the answers.
I usually rely on transplanting them into new compost. In the past I've killed seedlings with fertilizer that was too strong so now I use a very weak solution of Miracle gro Organic but will be interested in other answers.

[Capsid]

Yes, like Alice, I've usually transplanted them into fresh compost as soon as they are ready.

[lynda66]

yeah i've been looking in gardening books, but they all assume seedlings will be outside by now, or being transplanted they have mostly just started getting second leaves, though some are a bit bigger, so there doesn't seem to be any specific advice for ones you are keeping inside with scarves and woolly hats on till it gets warmer

i don't want to transplant them yet, mostly they are in fibre pots so would rather leave em in the trays for longer and hopefully just plant them straight out when they are ready

[Capsid]

Ok, well since they aren't growing too much in cooler weather they probably haven't exhausted the nutrients in the compost yet. If they continue to grow rather than turn yellow and stop growing then they are fine, I reckon.

[lynda66]

but they are indoors under growlights, some of the othe seedlings have romped away, it's just the ones that i was looking at seem to have come almost to a standstill, i thought they might need a boost.

[Capsid]

Which ones have come to a standstill?

[lynda66]

tomatoes peppers aubergines, goji berries etc ........ and the onions and leeks haven't done much for a week or so either ........ and none of the roots are poking out yet

courgettes and cucumbers are romping away an about their 4th set of leaves now and the peas and beans are about a foot tall with loads of leaves but they are all in storage boxes now with lots of fresh compost

[Capsid]

Blimey, you have sown some things early. The leeks and onions are relatively slow growers anyway. I think they will all be Ok as long as they don't start withering and the leaves don't turn yellow.

[snuffer]

Have no idea if this will work so if you decide to try it only experiment with a few of the seedlings at first. Phostrogen (and I assume other manufacturers also) make a slow release fertiliser that comes in little cubes a bit like sugar lumps. The cubes appear to be made of lots of little balls. Perhaps it would be possible to break up one of the lumps and put a few of the balls into the compost making sure that none is in contact with the seedlings. As you water the balls will release their nutrients to the compost. If they are slow release they might not over-feed the young plants. If the first few you try are allright you could give the rest a a go.

Only an idea but if you want to avoid potting on it's all I can think of.

[lynda66]

Blimey, you have sown some things early. The leeks and onions are relatively slow growers anyway. I think they will all be Ok as long as they don't start withering and the leaves don't turn yellow.

yeah, got carried away, and had spare trays and was bored lol ..... i haven't grown loads of the tender stuff, i just thought while i was growing some things i may as well try others

nothings yellowing, and everything looks healthy, i was just expecting them to be bigger lol

[lynda66]

Only an idea but if you want to avoid potting on it's all I can think of.

hmmmm they had some of those in the pound shop the other day i may give that a go to see ..... i'd just rather not pot them on till i have to