Published: May 26, 2022 Last Updated: December 11, 2024
Most of us start seedlings for the gardenhome garden A designated area around a residential property where individuals cultivate plants, fruits, vegetables, or ornamental plants for personal use. It comprises a farming system that combines physical, social, and economic functions on the area of land around a family home, providing a sustainable source of food and other benefits for the household, extended family, and friends., right? Well, there are 5 DEADLY seedling mistakes you MUST AVOID or else they will KILL all your seedlings. AND I MEAN IT! PLEASE AVOID THEM!
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Why Start Your Own Seedlings
Starting seedlings from seed yourself is the most cost effective option for most gardeners. Seedling transplants from a nursery will cost more and you’ll get less seedlings to plant in your garden for your budget. The seedlings from the nursery will be ready to transplant in a few weeks or when you bought them. Whereas starting seedlings from seed will take longer and you would have to start it earlier. Starting seeds require a higher level of gardening experience for successful seedlings. So these are 5 mistakes to avoid when starting seedlings and you’ll be one step closer to a bountiful garden.
Seedling Mistake # 1: Over WATERING
Over watering the seedlings or seeds that you just planted is one of the biggest mistakes you can make and is one of the top reasons most houseplants die. Their roots require oxygen to function. When you over water the seedlings, their roots drown and can develop root rot. Take a look at your container you’re using to start seedlings and ensure there are holes.
A sign of a dying seedling is their leaves will be wilting. If you already have a dying seedling, don’t give it any water in the soil until it bounces back and take it out of the direct sunlight. Light will cause the leaves to wilt and need water, but the root won’t be able to pull water. Just mist the leaves and lightly loosen the soil to allow oxygen in every 2-3 days.
Seedling Mistake #2: Making Leggy Seedlings
What is a leggy seedling? You may have or haven’t heard of a leggy seedling. Essentially, a leggy seedling is a stringy seedling. It is thin and long and often bent over.
Leggy seedlings can snap at any point because they are not sturdy if not taken care of immediately. Even with a mild wind during the day, leggy seedling will grow until it snaps unless corrected. So why do they get leggy? When seed germinate, they grow their leaves and a stem in the search for light. If not given light, it will continue shooting up until it finds light. Keep your plants healthy by having strong light daily. Direct sunlight or grow lights are sufficient. Learn More: Leggy Seedlings
Seedling Mistake #3: Lack of a Fertilizer
By not fertilizing seedlings with a few major nutrients, novice gardeners can hinder green plant growth. Here’s how it works: seeds are planted in soil and watered, they sprout and grow leaves and roots. But what happens after? If plants are not given a fertilizer, they’ll stop their green growth. Unless planted in a rich soil to begin with.
Make an organic fertilizer of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous and calcium, or buy it at a local garden nursery. That’s why fertilizing is very important. Fertilize your seedlings as soon as your plant grows their first two true leaves.
Seedling Mistake #4: Haven’t Harden Off Seedlings
Hardening seedlings off is probably one of the major steps that must not be avoided, though some do.
If the seedlings are not hardened off before you transplant them outdoors, they may die. Hardening seedlings is the process of gradually exposing young seedlings to the outside elements. These are the lack of water always, windy conditions, heat of the sun, and the cold. It’s basically what their new environment will be once they are transplant in the garden or containers outside. Harden off the seedlings for a minimum of a week before transplanting, although you may take longer. Choose a location for the first few days where it is not windy and gradually increase the time they stay outdoors.
Seedling Mistake #5: Transplanting Outdoors Too Early
If seedlings are transplanted too early into the garden, a hard frost can come without a warning and wipe out the gardener’s season worth of food. This is a mistake that many beginner gardeners may make.
Beginner gardeners are so excited that all their seedlings have germinated and would like to get them into the garden as fast as possible for a better head start. What do you know? They transplant them outside in their garden and place a frost blanket over the few seedlings. The following day morning they wake up and check their garden. Nothing died, so they press forward and transplant all the seedlings ad place a frost blanket over it.
A few week goes by and nothing died, they get slack and stop covering the seedlings a few nights. Then one bright sunny day they wake up and go to check their garden as they would usually. They see a bunch of wilted seedling, and burst into tears. DON’T MAKE THIS MISTAKE!
Seedling Mistake #6: Delaying Transplanting
The last seedling mistake is delaying transplanting your seedlings. Delaying can limit the seedlings growth rate. Transplant young seedlings as soon as they have a few sets of true leaves. First true leaves are leaves that look like the typical leaves on the plant. Another sign that the seedlings are ready to transplant is that their roots will be near the bottom of the drainage hole in the container. When transplanting seedlings, they could be transplanted outdoors if it’s past the last frost date.
Follow these few rules when choosing a container to transplant the seedling in. Transplant the seedling into a container that is 2 or 3 times larger than the current one it’s in. The second rule is that the container that you are transplanting the seedling must have drainage holes in the bottom. If it doesn’t, you can always add some. Keep transplanting the plant as it grows until it’s time to do their final transplant into the garden.
When you AVOID these 5 seedling mistakes you could have a beautiful garden. But this post would be kinda useless if you suck at gardening. Which is why you should check out these 9 beginner gardening tips to level up your skills. Until next time, continue to learn and grow!
