I think too many seeds have been planted and don't knwo how to proceed

Hi,

My son was given a "grow a rainbow" kit which contained seeds for five flowers, four have worked. The only problem is instead of a few seeds being sown, loads were chucked in the pots (this was not my idea, my partner was supervising this!).

They're been growing in an unheated propagator on the kitchen windowsill for about four weeks and I'm wondering what to do with them. The Flax has had to be taken out of the propagator as it's too tall for it.

A small proportion of the flowers seem to be spoilt in some way,I guess mouldy looking would be the best way to describe. I don't know if this is due to them being so close together or because they were grown in these little blocks which had to be soaked in water, the blocks got so saturated I've only water them once, two days ago!

Can I just put them in a bigger container? Do they need thinning out? Any help gratefully received.

This is the Venus Looking Glass and Swan River Daisy:



And this is the Flax and Californian Suncap:

 

They need planting into a larger pot (or pots) and MUCH more sun. I think you will have problems trying to save these, however as it's your son's. . . .I should plant them out in smaller groups as trying to plant them individually will damage the roots.

Cheers, Tony.

 

Thanks, I'll give that a go. The kitchen window doesn't really get much sun, I'll put them in the front room window sill. If all goes well, when would I plant them out?

 

If you put them in a sunny window, which will stop them growing 'leggy', just watch out that you don't bake them. Keep an eye on the compost and make sure it doesn't dry out.

 

Hi Zesty, it looks as though you've left them in the propagator with the lid on, this is why they are so tall and weedy looking, i.e. drawn and leggy.
I agree about thinning the seedlings and giving more light if possible, not necessarily full sun.

I imagine the coloured pots came with the kit and perhaps each flower goes in it's corresponding colour pot? Might be worth buying some multipurpose compost and carefully tipping out each pot of seedlings, then planting one of each into new compost in the correct colour pot and growing on for a while on the window sill. You could prick out the spare of each variety into small pots or seedtrays too. When you prick them out, try and drop the seedlings well down into a hole so the seed leaves are not too far above soil level...they might look a bit less leggy!

As far as planting out...just get them pricked out and grow them on for a bit and then maybe leave the one seedling per coloured pot group in pots and group them outdoors after frosts and plant out the others in a little rainbow garden!
You would need to harden them off first. i.e. a bit of time outdoors each day for a few days, then in at night...or into a cold frame with lid up and then finally left open etc.

I think these bloomin' kits are a bit useless, but persevere and good luck!

 

I hope both you and your son get to see a good result of all this. It would be lovely if you could get him to take some photos to show us in the future. Who knows, he may be a young Alan Titchmarch in the making! Have fun both of you,
Jenny namaste

 

Thanks for the help everybody. One question though: why would the propagator lid being on cause the plants ot be tall and weedy looking? I thought the idea of the lid was to retain heat?

Edit: Okay, make that two questions!

 

You are right, the lid is to retain heat and stop moisture loss of the compost to provide ideal germination. But in most cases, you only need to leave the lid fully on until germination has started. Once seedlings have started to germinate, (so as soon as you see little white necks of the shoots popping through the surface,) it's best to take off the lid and let more light and airy conditions in. They are slower growing without being 'forced', but more healthy and sturdy looking. The growing seedlings don't usually need to be humid and hot, (unless you are growing tropical plants).
You can usually judge what they need by watching them following germination, so maybe put the lid on, raised above the seedlings a bit if it's cold or just put the lid on at night for a few days if you need to.
The legginess is due to the seedlings competing for light, so a mixture of being close together and not being in as much light as they would be outside or in a greenhouse.

When you've pricked them out, try turning the pots round now and then 'cos they will grow towards the window. By turning them you'll get better plants!

 

Actually, looking at the seeds you have here....to be really honest I'm surprised they recommended using a propagator at all. If you had just put a few seeds in each pot and covered with a little sand or a sheet of newspaper on the window sill - they would have come through anyway.
Sorry! I'm sounding like a right grumpy old woman...I still think you can rescue a few of each.

 

Thanks for your helpful and informative posts.

Yes the instuctions did say cover with a sheet of paper but I had a spare propagator so thought I'd use that.