Need Help With Transplanting...

[Andiwiddow]

Hiya all

these are my Brussels and lettuce that are in my windowsill

what do i need to do next with transplanting (pots or spread out into trays)

please help guys

thanks andy

[cariann88]

Not quiet yet. You need to wait till there 1st set of leaves start to appear. At the moment they have only got the baby leaves. Just give it a couple of more weeks and let them grow a bit more until the other leaves show.

[Kristen]

They haven't got anything like enough light I'm afraid. So called "leggy" - long white stem below the leaves, and they are leaning towards the light.

Putting a piece of white card (or a sheet of polystyrene, something flat-white like that) behind them will help reflect the light onto them. But they really need some where with better light. As we move into March the light will get stronger, which will help (with anything you sow later).

When you "prick them out" you can bury them right up to the bottom leaves, so that will take care of the extra height, but leggy seedlings are inherently weaker, so its worth trying to avoid / mitigate.

Brussels seedlings don't want any extra heat, so they ought not to be in a centrally heated room, for example. Max 16C I would think?

[Andiwiddow]

what put the white polystyrene up against the window or on the edge of windowsill to bounce the light off ?.

[Scarlet]

You want the seed tray to be as close to the window as possible. Put the polystyrene at the back of the seed tray (sandwiching tray between window and polystyrene).

# they are really leggy though, you need somewhere much cooler than where you are germinating them at the moment.

[cariann88]

Or you could just turn your seed try every day so that both sides are getting all the light it needs. That is what I am doing.

[Andiwiddow]

ive just done that lol turned them around so ill just keep doing that until its warm enough to go and take them down to plot in greenhouse

cheers andy

[Scarlet]

If you put paper/poly at the back of the tray it will reflect the light - should be lighter.

[veggiechicken]

By turning the tray of sprouts around, you've moved them further away from the light!!

[cariann88]

They grow fine for me when I do it this way VC

[Kristen]

You might have more light coming through your window than the O/P?

Turning them is one thing, but they are still only getting light from one side, putting something reflective behind them increases (maybe doubles?) the light that each seedling gets.

[veggiechicken]

They grow fine for me when I do it this way VC

The sprouts have been planted on one side of the tray only, so turning the tray around puts the seedlings further from the window than if they'd be left where they were. They'll be leggy whatever

[Potstubsdustbins]

They are very leggy I would set some back ups. Spread the seed much more thinly, and whip them down to the GH as soon as they germinate, if you have a high level shelf in there put them on that to get maximum light.

As regards to your lettuce set say 10 seeds now and 10 more in a fortnight and so on. If they all mature at once many will go to seed before you can eat them.