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When to water Seedlings?
Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:12 pm
by JCcares
My 9 month old seedlings now living outside in the shade HOW often should I water them? How about food fertilizer they like that?
Thank you.
These
- 3A6A8675-66A8-427D-928A-DB20C6756735.jpeg (218.69 KiB) Viewed 942 times
Re: When to water Seedlings?
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 12:26 am
by keith
I water seedlings a little more often than big plants in the same size pots but not as heavy because the bigger pot compared to tiny seedlings will hold water down at the bottom of the pot that may cause problems. I add extra grit to seedlings pots because of this.
Re: When to water Seedlings?
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 12:42 am
by JCcares
keith wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 12:26 am
I water seedlings a little more often than big plants in the same size pots but not as heavy because the bigger pot compared to tiny seedlings will hold water down at the bottom of the pot that may cause problems. I add extra grit to seedlings pots because of this.
Got it Keith. Thank you.
Re: When to water Seedlings?
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 4:42 am
by greenknight
Agreed - at this stage you should keep them damp but never soaked. Commercial nurseries keep them on capillary mats. they wick up water and stay moist, but never get saturated. A little dilute fertilizer wouldn't hurt, but if the mix contained much fertility to start with it may not be needed - the roots will not have filled the pots yet, they're still finding fresh soil.
Re: When to water Seedlings?
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 5:28 am
by JCcares
greenknight wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 4:42 am
Agreed - at this stage you should keep them damp but never soaked. Commercial nurseries keep them on capillary mats. they wick up water and stay moist, but never get saturated. A little dilute fertilizer wouldn't hurt, but if the mix contained much fertility to start with it may not be needed - the roots will not have filled the pots yet, they're still finding fresh soil.
Thank you GreenKnight
Interesting.
Re: When to water Seedlings?
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 7:09 am
by greenknight
As they get bigger and start to resemble miniature versions of adult cacti, gradually start to treat them more like adult cacti - let them get drier between waterings.
Capillary matting is pretty cheap, by the way. If you're going to grow a lot of seedlings, it's a big time-saver. You can even make your own, The commercial stuff is just a felt core between layers of perforated plastic. Some people just use newspaper about 10 sheets thick (avoiding colored inks), compost the paper at the end of the season.
Re: When to water Seedlings?
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 5:24 pm
by jerrytheplater
I've been wondering about the fertilizer for seedlings too. Good question.
Re: When to water Seedlings?
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 11:11 pm
by JCcares
greenknight wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 7:09 am
As they get bigger and start to resemble miniature versions of adult cacti, gradually start to treat them more like adult cacti - let them get drier between waterings.
Capillary matting is pretty cheap, by the way. If you're going to grow a lot of seedlings, it's a big time-saver. You can even make your own, The commercial stuff is just a felt core between layers of perforated plastic. Some people just use newspaper about 10 sheets thick (avoiding colored inks), compost the paper at the end of the season.
Thank you Sir
Will do.
Re: When to water Seedlings?
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 12:49 am
by JCcares
jerrytheplater wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 5:24 pm
I've been wondering about the fertilizer for seedlings too. Good question.
Jerry what’ve photos posted of your cacti collection?
Re: When to water Seedlings?
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 6:01 pm
by jerrytheplater
I've posted pictures in various places, but I haven't posted them all in one thread. Plus, I have transitioned from a Point and Shoot Digital to a Digital Mirrorless camera and have been pretty slow in using it. I need to learn it and its a bit overwhelming. I did take some photo's of a blooming Echinocereus reichenbachii "Miniature" yesterday. First time it bloomed.
Interesting.