By Jay Marsh
Twitter: @ConfessHomeGrow
Our germinated seeds have sprouted beautiful seedlings. Just in time! It has been a very busy work week, and I am excited to get to work in my garden.
Now, because I used the starter peat pots, they are ready for a bigger container. It has only been five days since the germinated seed was placed in the peat pot and humidome. If you are using the red party cups to start your seeds, you may only need to give them a little extra soil.
Now, I have planted the whole pod into a small biodegradable pot (I had serval in the garden already from a previous project). I like to plant my seedling deep. You can see in the photo that they have long stretched out stems; this would not support the future weight of the plant. I use the Fox Farms Ocean Grow mixture; I add extra perlite to keep the soil aerated. Do not compact the soil, water thoroughly. Once repotted place back under your humidome and a 100 watt LED full spectrum light for 18 hours of light and 6 hours of sleep (this means TOTAL darkness).
Please make sure that your light source is as close to the plant as possible without causing the leaves to burn or wilt. The light I’m using doesn’t get hot, so I am able to place them around 5 inches away. If your light source is too weak or too far away it will cause the seedling to excessively stretch.
Remember to keep the soil moist during this phase. Do not let your seedlings become soggy as this can lead to improper nutrients uptake because it literally suffocates, and the plant will not survive. Excess water or moisture can also lead to mold.
The optimum temperature is around 78 F (70-80 F)
Humidity levels around 50%.
At this point, it is not necessary to start feeding your seedlings. They are still very sensitive and will receive enough nutrients through the soil, water, and light source.
Things will begin to move rapidly now. The roots or root hairs should be visible within 10 to 14 days from the start of germination. Please start making plans for where your plants are going to live after they are too big for the humidome.
