I have been sowing lettuce and spinach in cells indoors.
As soon as they sprout I put them on a window cill - not
in full sun.
The problem is that all the seedlings are tall thin things
(look like cress) - not short stocky healthy things.
They are still at the pseudo 2 leaf stage at the moment.
Has anybody more success sowing indoors?
DAvy

On Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:06:49 -0600, Davy
wrote:

I have been sowing lettuce and spinach in cells indoors.
As soon as they sprout I put them on a window cill - not
in full sun.

Why not?

The problem is that all the seedlings are tall thin things
(look like cress) - not short stocky healthy things.
They are still at the pseudo 2 leaf stage at the moment.
Has anybody more success sowing indoors?
DAvy

When I sow tomato seeds indoors I stick them on a shelf right up
against the conservatory window in full light. I like the see the
little beggars come through stubby and dark green as soon as they
break the surface. I'd think that tall weediness is probably due to
insufficient light.

--
®óñ© © ²°¹°-°¹

Davy writes
I have been sowing lettuce and spinach in cells indoors.
As soon as they sprout I put them on a window cill - not
in full sun.
The problem is that all the seedlings are tall thin things
(look like cress) - not short stocky healthy things.
They are still at the pseudo 2 leaf stage at the moment.
Has anybody more success sowing indoors?

The problem is low light levels - the plants are putting all their
energy into elongation in the hope that they will reach better light
(because usually low light would mean they had germinated under a taller
plant).

If you can get them outside into good light levels within the next few
weeks then they usually recover and grow into sturdier plants. I
wouldn't have sown either lettuce or spinach this early, but then I'm in
the N of England.
--
Kay

When I sow tomato seeds indoors I stick them on a shelf
right up
against the conservatory window in full light. I like
the see the
little beggars come through stubby and dark green as
soon as they
break the surface. I'd think that tall weediness is
probably due to
insufficient light.

So the only person who has had success with indoor sowing
uses a conservatory? Does this mean that putting trays in
a normal house window usually produces weedy seedlings?
DAvy

Davy writes
When I sow tomato seeds indoors I stick them on a shelf
right up
against the conservatory window in full light. I like
the see the
little beggars come through stubby and dark green as
soon as they
break the surface. I'd think that tall weediness is
probably due to
insufficient light.

So the only person who has had success with indoor sowing
uses a conservatory? Does this mean that putting trays in
a normal house window usually produces weedy seedlings?
DAvy

Pretty well, yes. Definitely at this time of year. Not a problem in
high summer.

You might do a bit better in a cooler room to slow down the growth (but
then you might not get good germination).

They will recover from being long and weedy, if you can plant them out
soon enough. Which means sowing later if the only place you have for
them is a windowsill.


--
Kay