Those seedlings look good, Mary.

Gigi & Ken....they sure are fun to watch grow. They seem healthy & hope they stay that way. Kind of an interesting side note, to me, I potted up one of that batch of seedlings a couple of weeks ago as an experiment to see if it could take the outdoor temps. Planted it in a solo cup with a mixture of Hoffman's seed starter soil and perlite. That one is really deep dark green but not quite as large as the others. They were all sprouted in jiffy pellets. Can only think that the soil is the reason for the difference in leaf color. Am also noticing that other seedlings started in that soil have that really dark green color.

drdawg said:I have clear orchid pots but haven't used them for anything in several years. With adequate light and moisture, too much algae seemed to grow because of the light-translucency.

Ken, you are 100% right as I was checking the roots today on the plants in clear plastic cups, and sure enough I see algae on the roots. I have some 6in pots that I'll stick them in this week.

Would that cause the growth to slow a bit of the algae is siphoning off of the roots?

I don't know the answer to that question, Gerald. I just assumed that algae-covered roots could not take in nutrients/water as well or have proper air-exchange.

That is a hazard of growing in clear (see-thru) plastic containers. I learned that lesson long ago. Algae can harm some plants and causes other problems.

Azgarden said: Used about half perlite and half EB Stone cactus mix.

Just wondering why you used the cactus mix? Do you plan to feed the devil out of these?

@DavidLMO
No, I just thought they would have better drainage.....hmmmm, now that you mention it...guess I had better get the fertilizer ready! Like I mentioned earlier, I am really impressed so far with Hoffman's brand seed starter soil. The babies started in those are extra green. May use that and perlite when I pot up the next batch of seedlings.

David..what are you going to use when you pot up your seedlings? Some of your special mixture?

Hoffmans is not available here - I use Foxfarm seed starting media. Straight. I really like it but it is pricey!

I will likely use a mix with 50 % or > Foxfarm or Happy Frog potting soil (Again pricey - but worth it). Beyond that --- not sure. But likely will mix in some perlite and builders sand. Likely some pine bark fines. Beyond that - not sure. A dab of crushed granite chicken grit is likely in order.

I may try a couple of different mixtures and see how they do. I am gonna have a LOT or Plumerias. And I have no idea what I will do with all of them.

I would add that I discovered a (new to me) product last summer - Earthgro potting soil. Very reasonable price and I was very pleased with it. Typically, I mixed in some perlite and some pine bark fines and that was it.

Thanks, David. I would like to try Foxfarm or Happy Frog, but it does seem rather expensive. Not sure if I have seen Earthgro. Will look. I ordered the Hoffman's from Amazon. Not cheap either, but glad I gave it a try. Whatever I use, I'm going to need A LOT for the new plumeria babies. Not complaining, mind you I really need to get with the potting up, but we've had gusty winds the past 3 days. I would really like to find a good source for the gallon sized nursery pots. Have a few used ones on hand, but they will run out quickly. Am regretting ever disposing of any. Home Depot sells them for $1 each, but still, would like something cheaper or FREE, of course!

The Earthgro was way cheap for its quality -- Walmart. I hope they have it again this year.

Check these pots. They are right at a trade gallon I believe - maybe a wee bit bigger.

http://getmw.me/1oC0ZXy

That link is ok. getmw.me is my domain.

@DavidLMO they look good and have good drainage too. Good price. Will you be using these for your seedlings?

I will be getting some - not sure how many. I am like totally out of that size. And I have like 150 tree seedlings coming in April. Aside from my other needs I mean ... I already have ~ 400 seeds planted in my basement and have hardly got started!

Wow! That is a lot of seedlings. Hope there aren't any seedlings from the Little Shop of Horrors! Look out if you start hearing "feed me Seymour"! Seriously, you must work really hard at taking care of that many plants.

Did you mean something like this, Mary?





Planted 10 seeds of that a few days ago. Fingers crossed.

And yes - taking care of them is a pain. And I still have easily another 500 -700 more to get planted. Or more. If I had a real greenhouse, I would start another 2,000 or so.

Exactly

Don't think this will end up well.




Not sure if these pictures do it justice, but this guy has taken off and now the top half is twice as thick as the bottom half. It's almost touching the led lights. Anyway to correct this and fatten up the bottom of the stalk?

This actually happens quite a lot. I would 'wean' it from the artificial light at this time.

Dutchlady1 said:This actually happens quite a lot. I would 'wean' it from the artificial light at this time.

Do they usually "recover"?

Yes, in my experience.

That's great that it should recover. I will start to move these outside this week.