The Coldprairie Chronicles Part 3: Caring for Seedlings

The continuation of Tatiana’s series that follows the highs and lows of her very first vegetable gardening season.  Will her dream of fresh, great tasting produce be realized?  Be sure to read the Coldprairie Chronicles every two weeks to find out!

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been waiting impatiently for the seeds to sprout, checking on them twice a day and worrying that they’re taking too long. But eventually they do sprout and there’s nothing like the joy of seeing a tiny sprout unfurl its two tiny first leaves. Which are actually not leaves but cotyledons (kot-ah-lee-don if you’re like me and have no idea how to pronounce that). Cotyledons provide the young plant with food until it gets enough strength to begin photosynthesis.

To photosynthesize properly your young plants will need light, and a lot of it. If your windowsill is getting less than six hours of direct sunlight, then it probably won’t do. In my part of the continent that meant grow lights, and I found a great T5 fluorescent bulb at the local garden centre.  Fluorescent bulbs don’t get hot which means they can be placed only inches above the young plants providing them with more light. Get at least a 25W to give them enough light, and the great news is you don’t need a special hood or chain or stand for it. I balanced the tube right above the seedlings on yoga blocks and it hovered about two inches above them which worked very well.  Plan to have the light on at least 16 hours and turn it off at night – that’s when plants do their growing.

Grow Light Setup

What is the danger of not enough light? Typically seedlings that don’t receive enough light get ‘leggy’. Trying to stretch toward the window they grow too fast, and their thin weak stems may fail to support them and they flop over and die. Light is food, so if you’re going to bother to grow from seed you might as well spend the few dollars to get a proper light.

Most plants that need an early start are heat-loving like tomatoes, cukes, peppers and eggplant, which means that they will also appreciate a reasonably warm environment during the day. During the night they should be kept cooler which probably meshes well with how most people keep their homes.

As the seedlings got a bit bigger, right around the time they develop their second set of leaves, I started to fertilize them, since the seed starting mix they’re growing in doesn’t have many nutrients.  The danger with young plants is overfertilizing, so most books recommend a one half to one third strength dilution of kelp and fish fertilizers, about every week or two.

When the tomato seedlings get three inches tall or so, gently brush the tops of the plants with your hands once or twice a day.  This will exercise their stems making them stronger and more resilient for when they get to go outside.  Weak tomato stems that encounter strong winds for the first time may go into shock and get too much wear and tear. Some people even set up tiny fans to blow gently on them for a bit each day. I adore the smell released when I brush the plants though, so that’s the way I provide them with exercise.

The final step in caring for young plants before transplanting is to harden them off.  The reason for this is to prevent transplant shock which will not only set back the growth by at least a week, but also stress the plant, reduce your future harvest, make them more susceptible to pests and diseases, and in severe cases kill them. Plants need time to adjust to cooler temperatures and fluctuations, unfiltered sunlight (which can burn tender leaves), and wind which can wreak havoc on the stems and leaves.

Sources differ widely on technique, but the idea is to take the plant outside and place it in a sheltered spot in the shade for about 15-30 minutes to let it feel the great outdoors for the first time. The next day you can place it in the shade for say an hour. Roughly double up the time they spend outside each day, with the idea of them spending the whole day out in the shade after several days.  If the plants are not showing signs of distress place them in direct sun for an hour or two and slowly increase the time spent outdoors until they spend an entire day outside.  The process should take a week or two depending on climate.

Most guides recommend transplanting on a cloudy day or by planting in the evening if sunny weather prevails. Be on standby with a shade cloth or a cover for a cold snap, and water deeply. Since by now I am just beginning to harden the plants, I will keep you posted on the process.

Thanks for reading!  Next updates will be in real time.

Tatiana also writes about gardening and many other interesting topics over at Coldprairie.  Be sure to visit and check it out!  Want to offer Tatiana some advice or words of encouragement?  Leave her a comment below — she will be thrilled you did!