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nafex - Re: [nafex] seedlings - overcome drying losses

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  • From: Alexander Brands <abb7@Lehigh.EDU>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [nafex] seedlings - overcome drying losses
  • Date: Sun, 04 Mar 2012 13:36:09 -0500


Message: 3
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2012 08:40:19 -0700
From: "alden@waldenwinds.com" <alden@waldenwinds.com>
Subject: [nafex] seedlings - overcome drying losses
To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <7fe020d$3f60ac83$6cfba3be$@com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I want to start some small seeds of trees this year.

In prior years, when I did get germination, I lost the resulting planted
seedlings in their two-leaf stage before they could develop their first
leaves, because they dried out in the pots.

I can only think of two ways to overcome drying losses.

One is to have an automatic mister. I've done this before for
cuttings...but is attendant with lots of set-up time, so is costly of my
time. Usually capital demanding, too.

A second is to leave the pots always in standing water. How many species
object to the presence of standing water on the bottoms of their pots?
Is clay better suited to the job of standing in water than plastic? Thank
you for any thoughts.
Charlie in Massachusetts

If it's really a problem of drying out, you could increase the humidity around the seedling with a small improvised cloche of some kind. Empty jars inverted over the seedling would do the trick. Alternatively, you could put several pots in a clear/translucent plastic enclosure, like a large plastic storage bin.

Are you sure it's a problem with drying out? Are you familiar with "damping off"? This is a common problem with seedlings where they are attacked by a fungal infection near the soil line, and superficially may look like they have dried up.

What kinds of seeds have you had trouble with?

Alex

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