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Seedling progress so far

9 years ago

So here is an update of my seedlings so far. They are 17 and 27 days old.

Grown under old T12 fluorescent lights, How do you think they are doing so far? do they look ok or do you think they are elongating a bit?

John


Comments (3)

  • 9 years ago

    They don't look overly etiolated to me, but it's hard to tell as some seedlings want to grow tall and others stay chubby whatever light you give them. I can't be any more specific as my seedlings don't have the luxury of supplemental lights, other than when they had just popped out of their seed cases to green them up, now they just put up with the less than frequent UK sun at this time of year. The best ppl to advise will chime in I'm sure and give their opinions too. They're all obesums, correct? If so there will be variation in their growth and their true forms won't begin to show till later on. I've found the tall seedlings do fatten up eventually.

    Two ??'s that the 'under light growers' will want to know the answers to are...How long are they under the lights for and how close are they to the light source?

    Gill

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    Hi Gill thank you for your feedback. Most are Obesums but the 5 larger ones on the right in the first photo are Arabicum and they are also some of the seedling that are 17 days old. As far as the lights go I started them 5-6 inches below the bulbs and have them on a 15 hour light cycle. I also started them using a heat mat and clear cover. At this time they are off the bottom heat and I am no longer using the cover.

    John

  • 9 years ago

    Are you still experiencing sunny days in your area? We now have dark, gloomy days here with little or no sun. If it does clear, the temps can get to Low teens C so growth is at a minimum for my seedlings. I just try to keep them as warm as possible as I've central heating/gas fire and they're kept in my sunniest windows that face south to catch whatever sun there is. However, I don't run the c/h all day as I work.

    You have better overall growth rates than my last batch that was sown back in July. Mine have halted upward growth now but are currently steadily increasing in girth. I would guess they are still of a similar height to yours now, so well done!

    I'm sure you have read here that cold and wet is a bad combo, the warmer and brighter they are the better. Seedlings rarely drop their leaves during the colder winter months. You are correct in removing the cover once sprouted and acclimatised. As for the heat mat, I've never used one myself, others will hopefully comment as to whether it will still be beneficial.

    Gill