Seedlings..?

Hort101

Ok av planted well over 500 seedlings of a wide range of veg.. lettuce, turnip, carrot, parsnip ect.. i grew a few in modular trays (cells) and a few in containers that need pricking out..

How long should they be left in the cells outside? and at one stage should i prick out the remainder of the seeds?? Size ect.. age also??

Some seeds in the cells have gone long and spindely.. What the story there??

Any reply or advice is very much appreciated..

looksee

The ones that have gone long and spindly have not had enough light (even a windowledge can sometimes be not enough, except that you then get spindly and at 45 degrees )

How long they should stay in containers varies according to the seedlings and the conditions. I would normally leave them covered till they are mostly showing through the compost. Let them grow on till they have at least 2 proper leaves. This has to be balanced against how spindly they are threatening to get. Once they have 2 leaves (as well as the seed leaves) transfer them to bigger/deeper trays and put in a much lighter place, preferably outside with a bit of shelter. When they start to look like sturdy small plants, plant them out. There isn't really a 'one size fits all' though, and experience is the main help in knowing what to do.

I have never grown root crops other than where they are to grow.

Lettuce needs to be grown fast with no transplanting check, so if it goes directly from warm indoors to chilly outside it might not be too happy.

Hort101

Im growing everything outdoors??

If i was to leave carrot seedlings and parsnip seedlings in there modular (cell) trays until i can lift them out where the roots are now holding all the compost together and they are basically cubes.?

looksee

Hort101 wrote: »

Im growing everything outdoors??

If i was to leave carrot seedlings and parsnip seedlings in there modular (cell) trays until i can lift them out where the roots are now holding all the compost together and they are basically cubes.?

Well for whatever reason they did not get enough light. Were they on a shelf under other trays? Seedlings grow long and spindly as they search for light. They are not necessarily completely lost but you will have to handle the tall ones gently.

As I say, I have never grown roots other than directly into the ground. But if you think about it, if you allow the root to wind round and fill the cube you are going to get a tangled carrot! The root is what swells to make the carrot, it needs to grow long and straight. I would be inclined to immediately water them well, then take them out, VERY GENTLY persuade the main root straight as possible then let it hang into into a hole that will take the length of root straightened out, ease the soil back round it and hope for the best.:D

Hort101

I had them inside with a window to one side so i suppose that is what happened.. :P

Very through about the root crops think ill go out and plant them straight into the ground now rather than risking all the crops

looksee

I would suggest putting a bit of seed directly into the ground too, if only to compare the results You may find that the first batch of carrots may attract carrot root fly as they (will) have been stressed and the foliage bruised.

Hort101

Any chemical (spray) that may stop the carrot root fly??

Weeds develop quicker than the seed and weeding then becomes a night mare because i dont know what is what??

redser7

Carrots and parsnips can be sown in loo roll inserts. But still you need to transplant them in the ground prett sharpish before the ap root grows out the bottom. Just sow the seed in perfectly straight rows and mark each row with a stick. Dont broadcast them. Anything outside of that is a weed. Or cover the space between rows with layers of wet newspaper with rocks holding them down. That will supress the weeds. Not sure about a chemical, people genrally cover the carrots with fleece or enviromesh to keep the fly out.

looksee

There are some companion plants you can use to deter carrot root fly. I have never been able to persuade my husband to try this, but apparently if you plant onions on 'outside' rows it confuses the carrot flies (entertaining picture!), I have an idea that marigolds work the same.

You should avoid crushing the foliage of carrots as this give the flies the scent! There probably is some chemical, but do you want to eat chemically treated carrots? You might as well buy them from the supermarket.

As redser says, sow the seeds thinly in straight lines - stretch a string over the line or put a stick at each end - carrots are one of the easiest to spot as they have tiny ferny foliage right from the start.

Hort101

I might try that idea of planting onions on the outside

Yeah i suppose it would be more expensive to grow them then.
How many will suffer if the fly is present?? Any cultural control or ides on controlling cabbage root fly?? Iv 60 cabbage plants growing out the back in modular trays. there only seedlings let but id like to know in advance if there's anything i can do..

redser7

You can put collars round the stems. You can buy them or just make them. Basically they are just a disk with a slit through to the middle, slide it round the stem and keep it snug around it.

redser7

And build a cage of some sort with netting to keep the butterflies off.