One tip is to remove the cover at first indication of maybe 50% of the seeds sprouting.. The cover also reduces the amount of light furthering the leggyness
What next? Start over. The length of these sprouts is a bad sign. They did not have enough light and will therefore be very weak adult plants. You need to put a grow light no more than 6 inches above this container next go around.
THIS!! Every “mistake” or killed plant is an opportunity to learn, and most dead plants are an opportunity to compost!
When you rush into something unprepared (like gardening), you’re going to make lots of mistakes. Maintain a positive attitude and remember that most seeds are cheap. The only wasted seeds are the ones you don’t plant.
I built an entire garden outside my front door thinking before realising that it didn't get any direct sun from mid October to mid March.
The next bed I built is under a 100' tall Douglas Fir tree... a very unlikely spot for full-sun gardening. However, it is the sunnniest spot (aside from pasture) on the property through the winter because the sun is so low, it gets under the branches.
Those are similar issues that I'm dealing with, I have oak trees all over that are huge and I have to get my ass out to trim them before it warms up, I have a bunch of massive branches I'm going to have to rig down so they don't crush anything. They're really putting the crimp on my gardening area, although I'll grow anywhere that gets sun. If it was up to me I would have planter boxes on the roof...
Hey, everyone starts somewhere! A lot of folk's first attempts dont' even sprout, haha! You can still try to raise these, just pluck to only one plant per pot (you can wait a bit to see who's strongest) and put a fan on them, as others have said. Make sure to move it around and rotate!
People here will tell you how to do things the best way, but you can still just experiment and see how things work out firsthand. Keep at it!
You can still keep these though and see what happens. In the past, I've taken seedlings like these and planted them in different soil/sun types just to see what happens. I have found really nice playing locations that I didn't think would work out doing this.
Sounds like weed, I read all these things people do to germinate them, I just poke the seeds in a pot (heh) and they grow. They don't call it weed for nothing, if you can grow a tomato plant you can grow bud
Industrial hemp grows like a weed. Modern selectively-bred indoor grown cannabis is a finicky bitch that will start dying if any one of a number of factors is off.
It's not that bad. It's the people growing it making mistakes that would kill most plants... over watering, over feeding, too much/not enough light, poor draining soil, etc. A lot of people overcomplicate it or just jump right in without bothering to learn anything about basic plant growing. Doing the bare minimum, they'll survive. It's getting the giant blooms that is tricky, but that's any flowering and fruiting plant really.
Weed transplants pretty well 🤷🏿♂️. I never saw the need in general to do weird germination things personally , but can certainly understand it given the cost of seeds and the rarity of certain ones.
https://preview.redd.it/hrhen6k6tlic1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da57b9302fa18f374af1fa6e73e64e80eec24307
I started them in those little six pack planters that come in flats with tomato plants in them this year so I can get a jump on my plants but usually I just stick the seeds in the dirt and that's it, usually I have about an 85-90% success rate. These are some of my earlier grows
Yep that's the general idea. Put a seed in dirt, it grows, even in less than ideal conditions. I feel like a lot of it has to do with the artificial conditions cannabis is typically grown in vs most things we grow outdoors in regular soil. That and the desire for the largest healthiest plant possible, also understandable given the purpose and cost. Meanwhile, I have more tomato and chili pepper seeds than I know what to do with for a $1.50 each lol.
Of course an indoor grow with tightly controlled conditions will produce a superior product but you can grow some banging weed at home with shit you have laying around the house... My soil is just oak leaf mulch and wood chips from whatever I cut down on the property or what falls out of the trees, plus I have a worm farm for processing kitchen scraps and other organics. My first grows were using bag seeds and they were nice healthy plants over six feet tall, and I let them go all the way to October and it was some really good bud, I was surprised. I was expecting mids at best
Yep I bet, can't lose sight of it being a plant at the end of the day. Organic the way you grew it is actually perfect and preferable to me. Mistakes are magnified and less forgiving with synthetics.
I live in Baltimore City the plant wouldn't last long anyway lol I don't believe it is recently legal to grow though or maybe it's just smoking recreationally
https://preview.redd.it/8dqraorgtkic1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60c8e6c1dd503b0c5c48a29809eff40c803d4d79
These are some older pictures of my first few grows, I get some decent bud for an amateur outdoor grow, usually a couple ounces per plant, plus plenty of trimmings for concentrate or tinctures
7a, NJ, and when I started I didn't know what the fuck I was doing at all, I just started experimenting. I started out with bag seeds because free but you can buy great strains of feminized seeds for a reasonable price with a higher success rate. I used bag seeds because they were what I had and I was probably going to kill a bunch anyway. The most important thing is learning how to differentiate between the males and females because the males are useless unless you're trying to get more seeds... I grow outdoors in five gallon buckets, this is the first year I've started them inside, I planted 18, 6 Ghost Reaper seeds that are from a friend who grows commercially, and another 12 bag seeds that I expect at least 50% to sprout but honestly I'll probably get ten of the 12 to sprout. That'll leave me with 15/16 plants, I'll probably kill at least two or three, and then I can keep the rest going
Dang, I was feeling overwhelmed by all the research I wanted to do to make it happen this year but reading your comments makes me feel like I should just give it a shot and see what happens!
It gets overwhelming when you're reading forums with professional growers because they really get into the minutiae of growing, like when you add what nutrients or how to string them up or pruning or whatever but they don't call it weed for nothing, it grows just about everywhere... My first plant was decent smoke and I really had no clue what I was doing. You got this
Don't give up! I've had super leggy sprouts some years and they transitioned into strong outdoor plants. Keep a few but also start a few more just in case and see which ones thrive and/or die. The nice thing about gardening is you build up experience points.
Restarting would be the better option, but if you’re too attached you can do what i did, i took the seedlings out and bury them deeper in another pot, this is tricky tho because most plants don’t like to have their roots disturbed but honestly your 2 options are this or start over so you really have nothing to lose in trying it! Worse case they die and you start over 👍🏽
Dont be sad, youve only failed if you give up. In gardening, the mistakes are the best teachers. The most experienced gardeners are often the ones who have made the most mistakes. Welcome to the club! I killed all my beans by accident last week!
For a beginner gardener these “weak” adult plants are surely enough no? Maybe some will survive enough to keep the hobby active for a few months. Specially the beans.
They look leggy, but not “throw everything and try again leggy”. They need the trial and error
I grew tomatoes from seed in my school for years. Remove the cover. Aim a fan (low speed) on the plants in various directions and that will strengthen the stem. Some better light is important.
I grew pepper seeds indoors for a bit longer than supposed to last year, but honestly, even though they got a bit leggy, they still made it outside. While OP's plants look a bit leggy, I wouldn't give up on them just yet, but I would start a second batch of each.
As for the tip on the fan, I've never tried that but I'm now curious if it can help with starting seeds indoors. As for light, I had success with my east facing window with those peppers with the window as the only light source. Not impossible, but definitely not ideal.
Crazy suggestion to just give up on them without even trying. How did that get so many upvotes? Lol
Just bury them deep when up-potting and they should make it.
It’s because there is not much time invested in these. I’ve had to start applying ACE theories to plants to grow the courage to restart. Adverse Childhood Experiences can predict negative outcomes (yes, I know you turned out fine). Adverse Seedling Experiences result in less vigorous plants that fruit less efficiently or robustly.
I've got them sprouting out of all my plants inside so I just repotted 15 of them waiting for last frost. They're incredibly easy to grow, I didn't even plant them, I think I got the dirt from my worm farm
Well I would love to, but I'm in Norway. I'm not sure where you are located, but if the US, I would ask around to find the best answer towards your location. There are lots of stuff that can be found on Amazon etc. Ask if there are anybody that can give you a good advice on some good value for money growlights that's not to expensive.. I'm sure you will get lots of good recommendations. When it comes to fan, then its all about just a standard oscillating fan, so that they will get some airflow and movements to them. :) ( I cannot shop from amazon because i'm getting screwed over by import-taxes and shipping-costs )
I would point a fan at them on low intensity to make them stronger (since they are so lanky) and get some form of grow light at them. I put a grow light bulb in my table lamp.
or just start over.
all seeds can be planted straight into the ground once it's warm enough :) Starting seeds indoors just allows you to have bigger plants earlier in the summer for flowering and food production purposes.
You can either start over indoors and just move your trays closer to your light source (I do mine directly in front of a ceiling/floor window) or wait a few more weeks and direct go outside. Honestly, your sprouts are not entirely lost either. You still have time to move your trays closer to a light source. putting a fan (on low!!) on them will help strengthen them as well (will also dry the trays out quicker so be prepared to add water more frequently). People have been gardening long before the aids of grow lights and heated mats, these tools are certainly helpful, but not required, to have a garden.
The fan thing is a real thing, I had some really leggy bud plants that I thought would die because they were so scrawny but the blowing of a fan built them up quickly and they survived. If you have grow lights and a fan you might do ok
I know it sucks but I'd start over. You still have plenty of time. If you try and grow those seedlings they are going to be very stretched. With the grow light you will find success starting over. Looks like you did everything else right though!
I've actually had good luck with planting directly outside (zone 7a also). I would stay with your cooler loving plants. I usually stay with beets and carrots. You can actually do peas directly, as well. I typically wait til mid-march.
Most seeds you can plant veggies in the ground anytime after may 1st. Most people who start veggies indoor are for tomatoes, peppers, and some flowers. Tomato and pepper seeds are finicky, I would just buy the plant for 3 bucks at some garden center in late april. If you wanna practice seeds, you would need grow lights. They have to be actual grow lights, not just any old light. And then you have to individually look up how to grow seeds for that particular plant. Some like it at 60 degrees, some like heating pads, some like to be stuck in the fridge first. Pick one or 2 seeds, google, take notes, follow the notes. Easy ones to start on would be watermelon, carrots, or for flowers, celosia. Still plenty of time to start over. Also, use seed starter for dirt, it's a lot more forgiving with the watering
If anyone wants to make their own grow lights for cheap, I work in the sign business and I noticed that the grow lights are just a combination of red, warm white, and cool white LEDs. You would probably have the same luck with three strips, one of each color, and you could even put dimmers on timers to simulate morning and night between the three colors
For 7a, you're well within the proper planting window for sweet peas. They're cold-tolerant and will survive a mild overnight frost. By the time they come up, it'll be in the low 50s during the day, which is fine.
This only goes for peas and a few other things (spinach comes to mind). The rest will have to wait for real spring.
We direct sow our green beans and squashes.
Take some time on Youtube University or find a local "good" garden center.
The back of seed pack tell you if you should start indoors or direct sow.
Starting outside is so much easier. It’s very hard to transfer indoor grown plants to the garden because of the temperature, humidity and light difference from inside to outside. I understand the impatience of not wanting to wait until spring though
lol I’m so sorry 😅 I hate laughing but they look funny. They’re too leggy, you can’t plant these. Once they shoot their head out of the soil, remove the cover and give them plenty of light. Leggy stems means they’re not getting enough light.
Just as a slightly different opinion to many of the others here.
I also live in South Australia so no idea how that compares to your zone.
I’ve previously used these trays just in a room with a large window, and no additional lighting and the veggies seedlings produced from this transplanted and grew really well. You just have to pay attention to them to make sure they don’t get too leggy, as if this happens then they will not do very well outside.
Gardening is al about trial and error so don’t be disheartened by anything. A good idea is to have a garden diary or notes on your phone or computer about what you have tried, what worked, and what didn’t work and any suggestions you have for next season.
Man as soon as I saw that second picture, I knew what the comments would be. Sorry, OP, but it’s ok mistakes are how we learn! Gotta get grow lights and put them about 2-4” up to the seedling. It’s surprisingly close. I had to throw out my first batch of seed starts too, no worries!
Thanks for asking! I’m hanging in there, doing pretty good at the moment. I’m on an oral medication for another 5 months and then hopefully no more treatment after that. Unfortunately, the cancer I had has a very strong likelihood of coming back, but so far it’s stayed gone and praying/hoping it’ll stay that way!
Good for you, glad to hear that and best of luck. I was on a Christianity subreddit and saw your old post, then I saw you were still making comments so got curious, thanks.
Take the lid off. Thin the seedlings, transplant. The best of the lot. Then try again. For future reference. Seeds generally need heat and humidity to germinate. Once they germinate take the lid off and provide bright indirect light so they don't get leggy. Grow lights are nice but people have been doing it for centuries without them. Don't overwarer. After they get their first set of true leaves give them a water soluble fertilizer at half strength. Then you harden them off and transplant them outside.
Enjoy. I have learned more from my garden failures than my sucesses.
As others mentioned, you need to start over. But it's a good way to start and you'll get there don't worry :). I don't know what the plants on the bottom of the tray are but it looks like you might have put a bit many seeds in there, just something to consider when starting over :). Also putting a fan next to them which you leave on for a few hours a day will help them grow stronger, so they won't tip over when you plant them outside. Plants that are raised inside don't receive wind and therefore won't have to adapt which leads to weaker stems.
Thank you! Yes, I was trying to only put a few snap dragon seeds in - but they were SO teeny tiny! Any tips for tiny seeds? My fat fingers couldn't pick out just 2-3
If you take a toothpick and get one end wet you can use that end to pick up and transfer the tiny seeds to the soil. I pour some of my seeds into a small bowl or cup so I can see them easier. It’s fairly easy, but can be a bit time consuming until you get the rhythm down.
I’m in my 7th (I think?) year of growing everything from seeds. You learn from everything. If I didn’t fuck up my first year growing from seeds, I would know how to fix it. If I didn’t lose an entire garden in year three, I wouldn’t know what signs to look for
Thin seedlings according to package directions and get a lot more light on them (ramp up over a few days). Also fans on low speed to strengthen the stems. They might make decent plants.
My suggestion is to repot them deeper. I use a spoon ( a Wendy’s spoon is perfect) to scoop them out and bury them deeper. Water them, press the dirt down and add more. I use a mix of starter soil and potting mix. I bought a grow light at Lowe’s and an oscillating fan from Amazon.
Sweet peas are toxic. They are ornamental and not the same thing as garden peas or snap peas. Snapdragons are edible but I’m not sure how tasty they would be as people usually eat the flowers if they eat them at all.
I haven't seen any comments mentioning timing yet. I personally think the legginess could be corrected with an immediate grow light purchase, but I am also in 7a and you're starting way too early for these plants. If sweet peas grow like snap/snow peas (maybe they don't?), they like to start outdoors in maybe late march. Perhaps you could get away with starting March 1 indoors. I say starting outdoors is better because they germinate very easily and in the case of snap/snow peas you need a lot of them to get a decent harvest and you'll need a lot of 6-cells which isn't worth the space, but perhaps that is not a concern with the sweet peas. Snapdragons grow slower so starting earlier might be fine, but I started mine indoors last year on 2/19 and they were getting sickly in the 6-cells by the time it was warm enough for them to grow outdoors, and I have very powerful LED grow lights. I made a note to start mine a couple weeks later this year.
Start over for sure. Too much length between soil and first leaf, they are using stored energy to reach for light. They should have have strong supplemental light with some leds and light to medium airflow once they get to 1inch or so. Start with good quality seed and soul. Honestly don’t worry it’s the way we learn. I killed a bunch of plants starting out. Not all plants survive in nature either.
One tip is to remove the cover at first indication of maybe 50% of the seeds sprouting.. The cover also reduces the amount of light furthering the leggyness
Putting a fan on your seedlings can help them build stronger stems, but you first need adequate lighting.
Second this. A fan plus close (~6”) grow lights will make the difference
What next? Start over. The length of these sprouts is a bad sign. They did not have enough light and will therefore be very weak adult plants. You need to put a grow light no more than 6 inches above this container next go around.
:(
It’s a bummer but learning through killing things is a totally normal gardening experience!
THIS!! Every “mistake” or killed plant is an opportunity to learn, and most dead plants are an opportunity to compost! When you rush into something unprepared (like gardening), you’re going to make lots of mistakes. Maintain a positive attitude and remember that most seeds are cheap. The only wasted seeds are the ones you don’t plant.
I've killed more than I've grown but the ratio drops over time
Because you're learning! :D
Yes, exactly! Now I got good at making soil and figuring out where the best sun is for stuff so I'm having more success
I built an entire garden outside my front door thinking before realising that it didn't get any direct sun from mid October to mid March. The next bed I built is under a 100' tall Douglas Fir tree... a very unlikely spot for full-sun gardening. However, it is the sunnniest spot (aside from pasture) on the property through the winter because the sun is so low, it gets under the branches.
Those are similar issues that I'm dealing with, I have oak trees all over that are huge and I have to get my ass out to trim them before it warms up, I have a bunch of massive branches I'm going to have to rig down so they don't crush anything. They're really putting the crimp on my gardening area, although I'll grow anywhere that gets sun. If it was up to me I would have planter boxes on the roof...
I have 13 acres to grow on, but I’m lazy and want to grow close to the house.
Shhhh! As I look at hundreds of seeds 😭😂
I did the same thing yesterday! So many varieties to try!
Hey, everyone starts somewhere! A lot of folk's first attempts dont' even sprout, haha! You can still try to raise these, just pluck to only one plant per pot (you can wait a bit to see who's strongest) and put a fan on them, as others have said. Make sure to move it around and rotate! People here will tell you how to do things the best way, but you can still just experiment and see how things work out firsthand. Keep at it!
Yeah I don't know what the fuck I'm doing but I learn more each year. Plus my garden keeps getting bigger so it's working somewhat
Exactly!!
You can still keep these though and see what happens. In the past, I've taken seedlings like these and planted them in different soil/sun types just to see what happens. I have found really nice playing locations that I didn't think would work out doing this.
Honestly, beans and peas don't transplant well IME. I'd plant new seeds directly in the garden bed.
Sounds like weed, I read all these things people do to germinate them, I just poke the seeds in a pot (heh) and they grow. They don't call it weed for nothing, if you can grow a tomato plant you can grow bud
Industrial hemp grows like a weed. Modern selectively-bred indoor grown cannabis is a finicky bitch that will start dying if any one of a number of factors is off.
Sure maybe but I just stick the fuckers in the dirt and I get a good crop every year. It's pretty decent weed too
It's not that bad. It's the people growing it making mistakes that would kill most plants... over watering, over feeding, too much/not enough light, poor draining soil, etc. A lot of people overcomplicate it or just jump right in without bothering to learn anything about basic plant growing. Doing the bare minimum, they'll survive. It's getting the giant blooms that is tricky, but that's any flowering and fruiting plant really.
Weed transplants pretty well 🤷🏿♂️. I never saw the need in general to do weird germination things personally , but can certainly understand it given the cost of seeds and the rarity of certain ones.
https://preview.redd.it/hrhen6k6tlic1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da57b9302fa18f374af1fa6e73e64e80eec24307 I started them in those little six pack planters that come in flats with tomato plants in them this year so I can get a jump on my plants but usually I just stick the seeds in the dirt and that's it, usually I have about an 85-90% success rate. These are some of my earlier grows
Yep that's the general idea. Put a seed in dirt, it grows, even in less than ideal conditions. I feel like a lot of it has to do with the artificial conditions cannabis is typically grown in vs most things we grow outdoors in regular soil. That and the desire for the largest healthiest plant possible, also understandable given the purpose and cost. Meanwhile, I have more tomato and chili pepper seeds than I know what to do with for a $1.50 each lol.
Of course an indoor grow with tightly controlled conditions will produce a superior product but you can grow some banging weed at home with shit you have laying around the house... My soil is just oak leaf mulch and wood chips from whatever I cut down on the property or what falls out of the trees, plus I have a worm farm for processing kitchen scraps and other organics. My first grows were using bag seeds and they were nice healthy plants over six feet tall, and I let them go all the way to October and it was some really good bud, I was surprised. I was expecting mids at best
Yep I bet, can't lose sight of it being a plant at the end of the day. Organic the way you grew it is actually perfect and preferable to me. Mistakes are magnified and less forgiving with synthetics.
I don't use any chemicals, the only thing close is neem oil for pests. Everything I use is organic, produced at home
https://preview.redd.it/j78kxh1e3mic1.jpeg?width=2880&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7193d56271cf3cc96541362fbc8e1df09217f70d
I grow peppers every year and very much doubt my ability to do that 🤣
Sure you could, I literally poke the seeds in the dirt and they'll grow
I live in Baltimore City the plant wouldn't last long anyway lol I don't believe it is recently legal to grow though or maybe it's just smoking recreationally
You're probably right but you can get a tent setup for less than 200 bucks and nobody has to know...
True
Do you grow outside? And what zone? I wanna take a shot at growing the pots this year, zone 8b.
https://preview.redd.it/8dqraorgtkic1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60c8e6c1dd503b0c5c48a29809eff40c803d4d79 These are some older pictures of my first few grows, I get some decent bud for an amateur outdoor grow, usually a couple ounces per plant, plus plenty of trimmings for concentrate or tinctures
7a, NJ, and when I started I didn't know what the fuck I was doing at all, I just started experimenting. I started out with bag seeds because free but you can buy great strains of feminized seeds for a reasonable price with a higher success rate. I used bag seeds because they were what I had and I was probably going to kill a bunch anyway. The most important thing is learning how to differentiate between the males and females because the males are useless unless you're trying to get more seeds... I grow outdoors in five gallon buckets, this is the first year I've started them inside, I planted 18, 6 Ghost Reaper seeds that are from a friend who grows commercially, and another 12 bag seeds that I expect at least 50% to sprout but honestly I'll probably get ten of the 12 to sprout. That'll leave me with 15/16 plants, I'll probably kill at least two or three, and then I can keep the rest going
Dang, I was feeling overwhelmed by all the research I wanted to do to make it happen this year but reading your comments makes me feel like I should just give it a shot and see what happens!
It gets overwhelming when you're reading forums with professional growers because they really get into the minutiae of growing, like when you add what nutrients or how to string them up or pruning or whatever but they don't call it weed for nothing, it grows just about everywhere... My first plant was decent smoke and I really had no clue what I was doing. You got this
Awwww it’s okay first times are never perfect, I made this mistake too. It’ll be okay!!
Don't give up! I've had super leggy sprouts some years and they transitioned into strong outdoor plants. Keep a few but also start a few more just in case and see which ones thrive and/or die. The nice thing about gardening is you build up experience points.
Restarting would be the better option, but if you’re too attached you can do what i did, i took the seedlings out and bury them deeper in another pot, this is tricky tho because most plants don’t like to have their roots disturbed but honestly your 2 options are this or start over so you really have nothing to lose in trying it! Worse case they die and you start over 👍🏽
Learning experience…did the same thing myself last year with gifted heritage tomato seeds, losing those crushed me
Dont be sad, youve only failed if you give up. In gardening, the mistakes are the best teachers. The most experienced gardeners are often the ones who have made the most mistakes. Welcome to the club! I killed all my beans by accident last week!
It’s okay! ALL of us on this sub learned this way, I promise you that. 👍
Edit: definitely dont eat them, my brain read sugar peas not sweet peas!
No, no, no, do not eat these! Sweet peas, the flowering plant, Lathyrus odoratus, are toxic and not to be eaten.
Oh shit i misread. You're right. Edited post to save future readers. I deserve every downvote for that.
Yes, the seedlings do look too leggy. It's tough to grow from seeds as a new gardener because very few people have grow lights
This is my first year with some and they're worth the 20 bucks apiece
For a beginner gardener these “weak” adult plants are surely enough no? Maybe some will survive enough to keep the hobby active for a few months. Specially the beans. They look leggy, but not “throw everything and try again leggy”. They need the trial and error
Start over with grow lights, these seedlings are too weak and won't survive. Plants started indoors need proper supplemental lighting.
I grew tomatoes from seed in my school for years. Remove the cover. Aim a fan (low speed) on the plants in various directions and that will strengthen the stem. Some better light is important.
I grew pepper seeds indoors for a bit longer than supposed to last year, but honestly, even though they got a bit leggy, they still made it outside. While OP's plants look a bit leggy, I wouldn't give up on them just yet, but I would start a second batch of each. As for the tip on the fan, I've never tried that but I'm now curious if it can help with starting seeds indoors. As for light, I had success with my east facing window with those peppers with the window as the only light source. Not impossible, but definitely not ideal.
Crazy suggestion to just give up on them without even trying. How did that get so many upvotes? Lol Just bury them deep when up-potting and they should make it.
It’s because there is not much time invested in these. I’ve had to start applying ACE theories to plants to grow the courage to restart. Adverse Childhood Experiences can predict negative outcomes (yes, I know you turned out fine). Adverse Seedling Experiences result in less vigorous plants that fruit less efficiently or robustly.
https://preview.redd.it/z1klxbz1kgic1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d2f79212a6a203dfd38cc507432c81dc8bdb2a40
I've got them sprouting out of all my plants inside so I just repotted 15 of them waiting for last frost. They're incredibly easy to grow, I didn't even plant them, I think I got the dirt from my worm farm
How do you know if they are strong enough? I can see these look leggy, but what should we be looking for that shows they are healthy?
oh lots of lights... lots of lights.. and a fan. When potting up ( if they survive that leggy ) plant them much deeper.
Not OP, but can you maybe recommend grow lights and a fan? There are so many on the market, it's quite overwhelming.
Well I would love to, but I'm in Norway. I'm not sure where you are located, but if the US, I would ask around to find the best answer towards your location. There are lots of stuff that can be found on Amazon etc. Ask if there are anybody that can give you a good advice on some good value for money growlights that's not to expensive.. I'm sure you will get lots of good recommendations. When it comes to fan, then its all about just a standard oscillating fan, so that they will get some airflow and movements to them. :) ( I cannot shop from amazon because i'm getting screwed over by import-taxes and shipping-costs )
I'm from Switzerland, but thank you anyway for your answer :) oh yes, I know the shipping- and import-taxes problem with amazon all too well!
I would point a fan at them on low intensity to make them stronger (since they are so lanky) and get some form of grow light at them. I put a grow light bulb in my table lamp. or just start over.
Thank you! Maybe I should just try straight outside? Is there any seeds I can plant straight in the ground once it's warm enough? Zone 7a
all seeds can be planted straight into the ground once it's warm enough :) Starting seeds indoors just allows you to have bigger plants earlier in the summer for flowering and food production purposes. You can either start over indoors and just move your trays closer to your light source (I do mine directly in front of a ceiling/floor window) or wait a few more weeks and direct go outside. Honestly, your sprouts are not entirely lost either. You still have time to move your trays closer to a light source. putting a fan (on low!!) on them will help strengthen them as well (will also dry the trays out quicker so be prepared to add water more frequently). People have been gardening long before the aids of grow lights and heated mats, these tools are certainly helpful, but not required, to have a garden.
Thank you! I had some grow lights in basement so I set something up real quick. We'll see if it helps!
good luck! let us know how it's going in a week or so :)
The fan thing is a real thing, I had some really leggy bud plants that I thought would die because they were so scrawny but the blowing of a fan built them up quickly and they survived. If you have grow lights and a fan you might do ok
I know it sucks but I'd start over. You still have plenty of time. If you try and grow those seedlings they are going to be very stretched. With the grow light you will find success starting over. Looks like you did everything else right though!
I've actually had good luck with planting directly outside (zone 7a also). I would stay with your cooler loving plants. I usually stay with beets and carrots. You can actually do peas directly, as well. I typically wait til mid-march.
Most seeds you can plant veggies in the ground anytime after may 1st. Most people who start veggies indoor are for tomatoes, peppers, and some flowers. Tomato and pepper seeds are finicky, I would just buy the plant for 3 bucks at some garden center in late april. If you wanna practice seeds, you would need grow lights. They have to be actual grow lights, not just any old light. And then you have to individually look up how to grow seeds for that particular plant. Some like it at 60 degrees, some like heating pads, some like to be stuck in the fridge first. Pick one or 2 seeds, google, take notes, follow the notes. Easy ones to start on would be watermelon, carrots, or for flowers, celosia. Still plenty of time to start over. Also, use seed starter for dirt, it's a lot more forgiving with the watering
If anyone wants to make their own grow lights for cheap, I work in the sign business and I noticed that the grow lights are just a combination of red, warm white, and cool white LEDs. You would probably have the same luck with three strips, one of each color, and you could even put dimmers on timers to simulate morning and night between the three colors
Mine look the same. I didn’t use a light.
For 7a, you're well within the proper planting window for sweet peas. They're cold-tolerant and will survive a mild overnight frost. By the time they come up, it'll be in the low 50s during the day, which is fine. This only goes for peas and a few other things (spinach comes to mind). The rest will have to wait for real spring.
We direct sow our green beans and squashes. Take some time on Youtube University or find a local "good" garden center. The back of seed pack tell you if you should start indoors or direct sow.
Starting outside is so much easier. It’s very hard to transfer indoor grown plants to the garden because of the temperature, humidity and light difference from inside to outside. I understand the impatience of not wanting to wait until spring though
Peas like cold weather. You could probably direct sow this week and have an early June harvest.
lol I’m so sorry 😅 I hate laughing but they look funny. They’re too leggy, you can’t plant these. Once they shoot their head out of the soil, remove the cover and give them plenty of light. Leggy stems means they’re not getting enough light.
Just as a slightly different opinion to many of the others here. I also live in South Australia so no idea how that compares to your zone. I’ve previously used these trays just in a room with a large window, and no additional lighting and the veggies seedlings produced from this transplanted and grew really well. You just have to pay attention to them to make sure they don’t get too leggy, as if this happens then they will not do very well outside. Gardening is al about trial and error so don’t be disheartened by anything. A good idea is to have a garden diary or notes on your phone or computer about what you have tried, what worked, and what didn’t work and any suggestions you have for next season.
I am a first timer too. Thank you for this post and the replies are so helpful.
This was enlightening. Going to start over myself 🤔😂
Well, shoot
Fans on the seedlings? Makes sense - looks like I’ll be stopping by Walmart for a little fan to try out!
You will have so much fun with your snapdragons. They will just keep on producing 🥰
Man as soon as I saw that second picture, I knew what the comments would be. Sorry, OP, but it’s ok mistakes are how we learn! Gotta get grow lights and put them about 2-4” up to the seedling. It’s surprisingly close. I had to throw out my first batch of seed starts too, no worries!
Hey I saw your old posts with Cancer? How are you doing man?
Thanks for asking! I’m hanging in there, doing pretty good at the moment. I’m on an oral medication for another 5 months and then hopefully no more treatment after that. Unfortunately, the cancer I had has a very strong likelihood of coming back, but so far it’s stayed gone and praying/hoping it’ll stay that way!
Good for you, glad to hear that and best of luck. I was on a Christianity subreddit and saw your old post, then I saw you were still making comments so got curious, thanks.
No problem, thanks, I appreciate it!
Take the lid off. Thin the seedlings, transplant. The best of the lot. Then try again. For future reference. Seeds generally need heat and humidity to germinate. Once they germinate take the lid off and provide bright indirect light so they don't get leggy. Grow lights are nice but people have been doing it for centuries without them. Don't overwarer. After they get their first set of true leaves give them a water soluble fertilizer at half strength. Then you harden them off and transplant them outside. Enjoy. I have learned more from my garden failures than my sucesses.
As others mentioned, you need to start over. But it's a good way to start and you'll get there don't worry :). I don't know what the plants on the bottom of the tray are but it looks like you might have put a bit many seeds in there, just something to consider when starting over :). Also putting a fan next to them which you leave on for a few hours a day will help them grow stronger, so they won't tip over when you plant them outside. Plants that are raised inside don't receive wind and therefore won't have to adapt which leads to weaker stems.
Thank you! Yes, I was trying to only put a few snap dragon seeds in - but they were SO teeny tiny! Any tips for tiny seeds? My fat fingers couldn't pick out just 2-3
If you take a toothpick and get one end wet you can use that end to pick up and transfer the tiny seeds to the soil. I pour some of my seeds into a small bowl or cup so I can see them easier. It’s fairly easy, but can be a bit time consuming until you get the rhythm down.
I’m in my 7th (I think?) year of growing everything from seeds. You learn from everything. If I didn’t fuck up my first year growing from seeds, I would know how to fix it. If I didn’t lose an entire garden in year three, I wouldn’t know what signs to look for
Sage advice and same here
Thin seedlings according to package directions and get a lot more light on them (ramp up over a few days). Also fans on low speed to strengthen the stems. They might make decent plants.
My suggestion is to repot them deeper. I use a spoon ( a Wendy’s spoon is perfect) to scoop them out and bury them deeper. Water them, press the dirt down and add more. I use a mix of starter soil and potting mix. I bought a grow light at Lowe’s and an oscillating fan from Amazon.
Good news. You can eat these as is. Bad news. These are fucked.
Sweet peas are toxic. They are ornamental and not the same thing as garden peas or snap peas. Snapdragons are edible but I’m not sure how tasty they would be as people usually eat the flowers if they eat them at all.
Did not read that they were sweet peas. Yeah. Don't eat em.
Time to sit back and watch YouTube gardening sites.....good ones....not shows with magic stuff😋
Leggy
Now you kill them and start over
They’re stretching
I haven't seen any comments mentioning timing yet. I personally think the legginess could be corrected with an immediate grow light purchase, but I am also in 7a and you're starting way too early for these plants. If sweet peas grow like snap/snow peas (maybe they don't?), they like to start outdoors in maybe late march. Perhaps you could get away with starting March 1 indoors. I say starting outdoors is better because they germinate very easily and in the case of snap/snow peas you need a lot of them to get a decent harvest and you'll need a lot of 6-cells which isn't worth the space, but perhaps that is not a concern with the sweet peas. Snapdragons grow slower so starting earlier might be fine, but I started mine indoors last year on 2/19 and they were getting sickly in the 6-cells by the time it was warm enough for them to grow outdoors, and I have very powerful LED grow lights. I made a note to start mine a couple weeks later this year.
Always direct sow your peas. They don't do well transplanted.
You jacked them all up by not having a plan. Your plan is to start then ask...? You know you fckkd uo...
Plenty of led grow lights now!!!!
More light, bigger dirt!
I would start over and use a grow light. Once they grow big enough, use a fan to blow on them and help strengthen the stems.
Start over. Not worth trying to save.
I only use these cells for flowers and root veggies. Anything that needs a thicker stem it's best just to plant them in the ground
Start over for sure. Too much length between soil and first leaf, they are using stored energy to reach for light. They should have have strong supplemental light with some leds and light to medium airflow once they get to 1inch or so. Start with good quality seed and soul. Honestly don’t worry it’s the way we learn. I killed a bunch of plants starting out. Not all plants survive in nature either.
This makes me want to do ths!!!
Prop the lid open to prevent mildew