Good basil, bad basil
EAT YOUR VEGETABLES: Maryann James posts on vegetable gardening every Tuesday.
One seedling was grown from seed indoors (perhaps because its planter was impatient to start growing things) and another sown outdoors, once it was warm enough. One seedling grew tall and spindly, the other grew squat and dense.
Which one survived once they were transplanted to its final container, nestled next to my robust tomato seedling?
The short one, of course.
This tale of two seedlings is a cautionary tale for those of you who are planting from seed. Spindly seedlings (like my sad, doomed one above, at right) are more likely to meet an untimely end because they got a bad start -- "leggy seedlings" are a sign of insufficient light and/or too much heat or fertilizer.
However, if you're like me and are already down the leggy seedling road, there may be some hope. Try planting your spindly seedlings deep. And pray on it.
Comments
The leggy, spindly seedings rule is good for just about everything except tomatoes. You can start tomatoes inside (and you have to to get your favorite heirloom varieties) and if they are scrawny when it's time to go outside, they can be saved. All you need to do is plant them deep, deep down and they will grow new roots and get stocky and bright green ready for the season. It also works with marigolds, I find.
I start everything from seed in the basement beginning in February. The problem is, with a full time job, I don't get everything in the ground as quickly as the plants would like. So, they learn to survive until I do and get spindly as a result. Basil and zinnias -- I put seed right in the ground.
On that late start note, what can I still be planting this weekend that will give me something to harvest in October. I was thinking butternut squash.
Posted by: Kathryn | June 4, 2009 8:47 AM
The sunflower seeds that GrandBoy and I planted in an egg carton got all spindly before the rain let up enough for us to get them in the ground. Then, unfortunately, the stems snapped when we tried to plant them, Small Boy hands being not-so-good at delicate matters. The good news is, we still had sunflower seeds left so we planted more directly into the ground and they popped up in practically no time!
Posted by: Eve | June 4, 2009 2:19 PM