When Seedlings Suddenly Wilt

Yesterday I took the time to repot many of the seedlings that we started back in early February.  Of the varieties are: Cal Sweet Watermelon, Ice Box MickyLee watermelon, Straight 8 Cucumbers, Bunching White Libson Erect Onions, Hearts of Gold Cantaloupe, Early White Bush Scallop Squash, Waltham Butternut Squash, and several varieties of sunflowers including Mammoth, Lemon Queen, and Red Sun.

Most of the seedlings germinated, although not to the time tables on the package, and produced was seemed to be a great crop of seedlings.  We took extra care to cover on cold nights and really tried to water consistently.  We even kept the tops on the seed starting trays until the plants were hitting the top of the lid.  Then, within a week or so, several of the plants started to die off; starting with the cantaloupe, then the onions, Early White bush scallop squash and finally most of the Cal Sweet watermelon. I was able to salvage the Waltham squash, some of the Ice Box MickyLee Watermelon, a small amount of the onions, a single start o the Cal Sweet watermelon, and several the cucumbers.  Most of the sunflower starts are going nuts so those seem to be quite hardy and will take whatever bit these seedlings.

I thought it would be useful to post a couple pictures of one of the failed seedlings and let readers speculate on the cause.  I used bagged soil to start the seeds and did not sterilize the soil first which I have read will lead to some pretty major seed failures and disease.  It almost has the characteristics of damping off disease but I don’t know if that will strike such young plants.  Anyway, I’m going to pick up some more trays and start a new set — this time making sure to sterilize the soil first.  I also plan on moving the seed trays to an area where they receive more sun than the few hours they were receiving under the patio cover.

All in all, the good news is we have a ton to plant and there will always be some failure rate with seeds.  So a good rule of thumb is to plant 20% more than you think you will need.  If they all survive, you will have extra plants to give away to other Urban Gardeners or even those looking to Garden in Small Spaces.

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