The good news is, most of them are solvable.
Remember, when growing seeds inside, you have to give a shot to replicate the sun.
When people estimate how much light they need to reproduce the sun, they almost always underestimate.
The stem is often curved, almost like the plant has scoliosis.
The seedlings may bend towards the light, too.
The solution is, of course, to add more light.
Those lights need to be much closer to your seedlings than you think, too.
Six to eight inches above your seedlings is the right distance.
If your seedlings are already too leggy, you’re able to try a few things.
Both will encourage the stems to strengthen.
This isnt true with light.
Its really easy to tell if theres not enough, as above, or too much.
Like us, plants can get sunburned.
They develop scorch marks with the leaves at the top bearing almost white or golden splotches.
The splotches dont have a pattern to them, either.
The good news is, it doesnt matter because the solution is the same: Cut it off.
Obviously, move the lights farther away, but dont overcorrect.
No germination
Of all the seeds you plant, some just arent going to germinate.
There are a lot of reasons for that, but let’s cover the most likely causes.
First, you may have buried the seed too deep or not deep enough.
Another tell is this: The bigger the seed, the deeper you bury it.
This is, unfortunately, one of those problems you oughta solve ahead of time.
Another reason might be that the seeds are simplyexpired.
Every kind of seed has an expiration date.
It can be very short, like alliums (onions), which are good for a year.
The seed mat youre using to heat up your seeds could also be too hot, cooking your seeds.
You want the seeds and soil to remain between 70-80F, but no more.
Once your seeds are cooked, theyre goners, so start over with fresh seeds.
Too much water
Youcanover-love your plants.
Too much water, even if your plant survives, discourages your seedlings from growing strong root systems.
Yellowing leaves or mushy plants are usually a sign of overwatering.
In those cases, the solution is to go the other way and use less water.
Your plants may or may not recover.
If you trim away any root rot or squishy leaves and stems, it may recover.
It just happens, and it wont affect your seedling in any way.
Not enough water
Droopy seedlings usually need water.
Tomatoes, in particular, will start leaning over and will quite literally look sad.
You should see plants immediately perk up, within an hour or two of watering.
If your soil block is really dry, thats never a good sign.
You want your soil to always be lightly moist, not dry.
The soil takes up what it needs.
