After Germination
Lighting is critical when starting plants indoors. Without sufficient light, your plants will become tall and leggy, which in turn will make them prone to bending and breaking. When growing plants indoors, make sure you have at least a bright south facing window along with an adjustable fluorescent light suspended from the ceiling, or use a table top or shelf style of lighting stand to hang over the seedlings. Young seedlings will require 16 hours of light and the plants must be 3-4" from the lights at all times for proper growth. Feeding plants, whether they are in the garden or growing as transplants indoors, is important. You will need to start fertilizing young seedlings with a mild or small dose of a balanced fertilizer. Some fertilizers include fish emulsion, compost tea and blended fertilizers such as 20-20-20 or 15-30-15. Which ever fertilizer you use, be sure to dilute to half the strength for the first few feedings and then gradually work up to full strength. Feed plants weekly.
Watering: When watering new seedlings it is very important to follow some simple guidelines to avoid the spread of diseases that can attack and destroy newly emerging plants. The most common disease is known as "damping off" which can attack a seed before it germinates but is best recognized as rot at the base of th eplant causing irreparable wilt. The following instructions will help you maintain a healthy crop by providing a diseas resistant growing environment.
Do: Use sterile, well-draining soil and containers. Sterilize old containers in a very mild bleach solution. Use fresh, pH neutral soil. Use containers with proper drainage holes and water plants from the bottom. Provide good air circulation at all times. Sprinkle a thin layer of sand or perlite on surface to keep stems dry at the base by absorbing excess moisture.
Avoid: Acidic soil. Watering from the top Transplanting or taking cuttings when soil is wet. Excess watering. Letting the soil dry out completely. High humidity. Over crowding of seedlings. Crowns that are below soil level.
