Purple seedlings

10 years ago

A few of my seedlings are coming up purple! There doesn't seem to be a consensus as to what causes this, so I'm looking for some more opinions. Here's the facts on my set up:

* The most purple-y seedlings are Chinese 5-Color peppers (shown in the picture below) Perhaps this is normal for the variety? The true leaves poking through are showing some signs of green.

* Other varieties grown in the same conditions include lipstick peppers, Jimmy Nardello peppers, and Applegreen eggplant. These are all green.

* Amish paste and minibel tomatoes have purple stems and veins, but are otherwise green.

* Seeds started in butler organic seed starting mix. Fed with compost tea made from worm castings once true leaves appeared.

*Plants are 3-4" away from t-5 HO grow lights.

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Comments (3)

digdirt2
10 years ago
It happens with many young seedlings, especially in a cool environment. See it all the time with spring seedlings.

Their systems just are not developed enough to fully process nutrients so phosphorous gets a bit behind. It does them no long term harm and they color up normally once they get a little older or when they go out to the garden.

Dave
Jillian Zone 4b/5 - west MI
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the response. I have a fan on some of these plants for air flow, but it may be dropping the temps as well. I've started using the fan less frequently to see if that helps.
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digdirt2
10 years ago
That is only creating a new potential problem in an effort to cure what isn't a real problem to begin with. The benefits the fan provides outweigh any drop in temp it might cause.

The primary issue with the discoloration is the under-developed root and circulatory system of the seedlings. If you can warm the ambient air temp in the location of the plants a bit, fine. If not, the increased air circulation caused by the fan is still necessary to prevent fungal diseases from developing. And they are far more of a threat to the seedlings.

Ignore the purple, they will outgrow it, and leave the fans on.

Dave