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Another Noob Question

F

FiyaEater

Sorry for the rookie question once seedlings emerge from the soil and they are under light should you remove them from the heat mat or is it okay if they remain on the warm mat for a bit longer?
 
Conventional knowledge is take them off the heat mat because it is just asking for root rot, but I usually wait until most of my tray has sprouted to do so. I havent had issues with them sitting on there for another week or so, just be careful with the watering and monitor them.
 
Here's my take on it.

I've found that leaving the heating mat underneath them kicks the sprouts into overdrive and they get really, really leggy. As soon as they're about an inch above the ground I try to remove the mat.

But seeds don't always play nice, and since germination times vary pretty widely, it becomes a balancing act. I think in the future I'll try to find 2x2 or 4x4 cell packs. Right now I use 6x6 and there's just too much variance.
 
Sudostahp -- you might want to try the pellets instead - that is the main reason I like them since I germinate in an enclosure to keep the heat\moisture in thus has no light inside the pellets let me remove the individual pellet from the chamber as soon as the hook becomes visible rather than having to try and wait for the tray to fully germinate or remove it before some have had a chance to germinate. (sure they are a bit more costly but not by that much and they also make up potting much easier since you just place the entire pellet (minus the outer mesh ) into the new container and doing that also keeps the roots undisturbed during the process.
 
JDFan said:
Sudostahp -- you might want to try the pellets instead - that is the main reason I like them since I germinate in an enclosure to keep the heat\moisture in thus has no light inside the pellets let me remove the individual pellet from the chamber as soon as the hook becomes visible rather than having to try and wait for the tray to fully germinate or remove it before some have had a chance to germinate. (sure they are a bit more costly but not by that much and they also make up potting much easier since you just place the entire pellet (minus the outer mesh ) into the new container and doing that also keeps the roots undisturbed during the process.
Click to expand...

I'm on it!

I've got about 200 pellets sitting on the kitchen table waiting for the next grow segment. I wanted to try out a few different things this year in order to figure out what works best for me, and that's definitely on the list. :dance:

Edit: In b4 shenanigans

jOL3CDd.jpg
 
I've had some pretty good luck with them so far this season --- Here's a pic of my sprouts so far after 10 days - first one was up after 2 days and a few each day since with 15 of 25 pellets sprouted in just 10 days. with several having double sprouts (placed 2 seeds in each pellet - though looks like one got 3 seeds since 3 sprouted !!))

They are outside this AM getting some sun since we will be getting up to 70 today.

Sprouts10Days.jpg
 
Sudo it isn't the heat that is making your seedlings leggy, it's the distance from a light source that does it. Putting them out in the sun will probably worsen it too. Not enough heat coming from the sun this time of year.

JDFan yours are leggy too. Nothing fatal about leggy seedlings they just aren't as strong. Stem length needs to be in sync with leaf and root growth. When your seeds sprout they need to be put under lights. As close to the light as possible without burning it.

Good luck!
 
patrick said:
JDFan yours are leggy too. Nothing fatal about leggy seedlings they just aren't as strong. Stem length needs to be in sync with leaf and root growth. When your seeds sprout they need to be put under lights. As close to the light as possible without burning it.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Yes they are !! -- I was expecting at least another week before they sprouted so was slow getting the light setup -- But will be taking care of that when they are repotted this weekend into solo cups ( I'll leave about 1\4 inch of stem exposed below the Cots and the rest will eventually root as long as I don't wait too long and watch the over watering for a bit after the transplanting.)
 
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