Yellowing Calabrese Leaves

[Jenegade]

My Calabrese seedlings have been sown outside and are now 2 inches high. Most have one or two true leaves. However, since I've removed the bottle cloches that were protecting them the seed leaves have become yellow to dark purple. Is this normal, should I be worried?

Hessayson's book says that yellowing of true leaves is a magnesium deficiency, do you think this applies to seed leaves? The true ones look ok...

Thanks for your help!

[ken smith]

If it is just the seed leaves don't worry. They die off in any case. It is probably just the cold .

[snohare]

Dark purple sounds healthy enough for a brassica. It may just be the first phytochemicals that appear in the leaves before other compounds appear to give the final colour to the leaves. Like with trees, when the green compounds disappear in autumn, leaving other compounds that are different colours - but in reverse.
I should say though, I have grown few of these from seed, and cannot actually remember !