Ten Important Reasons from Olle Garden Bed for Slow Seedling Growth

It's exciting to watch your seedlings sprout, but it can be frustrating if they grow very slowly. What is the reason why you want to pull out your hair.Read here are some things that you should know when It comes to Olle Garden Beds!

Your seedlings are growing so slowly because they may have suffered transplant shock. This may also occur due to over or under watering. Or plants may get too little sunlight, heat, or nutrients.

Transplantation shock

You may have germinated seeds in the indoor seed startup tray. Now they have grown into seedlings. Or you may have purchased seedlings from a garden center or nursery.

It is time to transplant the seedlings to the outdoor garden. However, if the seedlings are not careful during transplantation, they will suffer from transplantation shock.

Changes in temperature, light, wind and humidity will put pressure on seedlings, and they will not grow well. If the seedlings cannot adapt to the new environment, they may even die.

The solution to this problem is to harden the seedlings before transplanting them outdoors. Hardening is a process that helps seedlings gradually adapt to the environment.

You can do this by leaving the seedlings outdoors for a few hours each day. Make sure they are away from direct sunlight, rain and wind.

Keep doing this for a week, and the seedlings will be ready to be transplanted outdoors without any problems.

Lack of sunshine

The amount of sunlight your seedlings need depends on the type of plant. Some plants like shade and can live in very little sunlight.

But many plants, especially edible plants, need plenty of sunlight. This means that it takes at least 6-8 hours of sunshine every day to grow well.

If you plant seedlings in places where there is not enough sunlight, they will grow legs as they stretch to try to get more light. The seedlings cannot produce the food they need, and they grow very slowly.

The solution is to plant the seedlings in the garden to get the required sunlight. Make sure they are planted in front of taller plants so that they are not shaded. Make sure they are not covered by walls or fences that block sunlight.

If you have already planted seedlings and are faced with this problem, you may need to remove as many obstacles as possible. If not, you need to move the seedlings to another location in the garden that provides them with the sun they need.

If seedlings are used for plants that need shade, they need to be protected from excessive sunlight. This will put pressure on them and they will not grow well. So for these plants, you actually need to put a shade on them.

You can plant them near tall plants, trees, or walls that provide the necessary shade. Or you can use a lid to block the sun.

Excessive or insufficient watering

One of the basic mistakes most beginner gardeners make is to water or submerge seedlings. Both of these can cause plants to lack nutrients and slow down their growth.

It is easy to see how inadequate watering can cause this problem. Too little water means that plants cannot recycle nutrients from their roots to their leaves. This will slow its growth.

The solution to insufficient watering is to check the moisture in the soil. If it is dry, you can thoroughly water it so that the water will penetrate into the soil.

Put your finger 1-2 inches into the soil to check if the soil sticks to the soil. If your fingers are clean, it means the soil is dry and needs good watering.

Overwatering will lead to nutrient deficiency, and we will see why. This is a more serious problem than insufficient water, even killing plants.

When you water the seedlings too much, it will cause the roots to submerge in the water. This can lead to fungal problems such as root rot or damping.

Root rot means that the roots begin to rot and decrease in number. Therefore, there is a lack of nutrients reaching the plant. Damping is the problem that the stem begins to rot and the nutrient circulation is cut off.

Overwatering may be due to inadequate drainage in the soil. Therefore, please ensure that the soil has a good texture, which can retain water, but can drain excess water.

If you plant seedlings in the container, make sure there are drain holes at the bottom to allow excess water to flow out.

If root rot affects seedlings, you need to take them out and check them. If all the roots turn brown and wet, you can do nothing but deal with the plants.

If there are some healthy light colored roots, you can cut off the rotten roots and replant the seedlings in another dry place.

Lack of heat

The plants you want to plant will be warm or cool. In warm seasons, it needs a temperature higher than 65 degrees to grow well. The temperature in the cool season will be good at about 50 ℃.

If the seedlings do not get the heat they need, they will not grow well. They will spend time trying to survive under pressure instead of growing leaves.

I suggest planting warm season seedlings only after the last frost date in your area. Wait about 2-3 weeks after this average last frost date. This will be spring/summer in your area.

For seedlings in the cool season, make sure to plant them when the summer temperature drops and the autumn weather comes.

If the growing season is short in your area, you may need to plant seedlings indoors until the outdoor temperature is suitable for them. Before that, you can plant seedlings with heating pads and growth lamps.

Too much heat can also be a problem for seedlings, depending on what you plant. Because of the high temperature, some of them will begin to wither. While others will start to bolt, you won't get the leaves you need because the plants will start to die.

Poor soil conditions

You may have an underground garden, an elevated bed or a container garden. In any case, you need good soil suitable for the seedlings you are planting.

Soil contains different amounts of sand, clay and organic matter, giving soil texture and quality. If the soil contains too much sand, it will drain water quickly. If the soil contains a large amount of clay, it will retain water for a longer time, and there is a risk of drowning the roots.

The type of soil depends on the plants you want to plant. Hardy plants like succulents grow well in sandy soil. But edible plants need textured soil, which can not only retain enough water, but also discharge excess water.

If the seedlings do not get the type of soil they need, they will grow slowly because the soil is too dry or too wet. Moreover, its ph value in soil may be inappropriate.

You can avoid this problem by ensuring that you understand the type of seedlings you are planting and their soil requirements.

Make sure you use the right soil in your garden, even if you have to spend more money and effort. I like to add organic compost to the garden soil constantly, because it will improve the soil quality over time.

When you start the underground garden, you can conduct soil testing by sending soil samples to your local promotion service at a small cost. They will provide you with detailed information about the soil and how to modify it to suit the plants you want to grow.

If you are building an elevated bed, be sure to mix a few inches of compost with the soil. If you plant in containers, use good potted soil that is well ventilated, light and free of sand or clay.

Lack of nutrition

Plants like us need nutrients to grow well. If your seedlings do not get the required quantity, they will not grow well.

When you start the seed, the nutrients are in the seed itself, and you don't need to provide anything extra. But once the seedling starts to grow, it needs nutrients.

The amount of nutrients needed for seedlings depends on the plants. Some plants like lavender can do little nutrition. If you try to add more, their growth will be poor.

However, other plants such as tomatoes are heavy eaters and need a lot of nutrition when growing leaves and fruits.

I prefer to use organic compost in garden or potted soil because it provides the necessary nutrients for plants. But you may not be able to use compost or need more nutrients.

In this case, you need to add fertilizer to the soil. I suggest using organic fertilizers because they are gentle to seedlings and wild animals.

You can use slow release granular fertilizer or liquid fertilizer for seedlings. Slow release fertilizer will release nutrients in the soil when watering. It is good to mix this fertilizer when preparing the garden soil. Once a month, when the plants grow.

Liquid fertilizer works quickly, and can be sprayed on the soil and leaves after being diluted with water. It is better to spray liquid fertilizer every few weeks when the plant is growing. You can further dilute and spray when watering the seedlings.

Insufficient space

Different types of plants have different space requirements according to their width when growing and fully mature. You must check the seed package of the seedling label to understand the spacing between seeds or seedlings.

Another problem when you plant plants too close is that they don't get enough sunlight. Leaves can block light from reaching other leaves, causing poor growth.

Plants planted close to each other can cause reduced airflow and create wet conditions. This is a common cause of plant infection with fungal diseases.

The best solution is to plant the seedlings away from each other according to the specifications mentioned on the seed package.

If you have planted seedlings too close, you can pull some out to create more space. These seedlings will be planted in another place in the garden.

You can reduce the nutritional requirements of plants by pruning some parts of the leaves. It will also improve air circulation between the leaves. But your plant size will always be smaller than its full potential growth.

A slow growing plant

You can plant a lot of plants in your garden. Each of these plants can have different genetic variations.

You can plant seedlings of the same type of plants, but because they have different genetics, one plant may grow faster than another.

This does not mean that other plants have any problems, but it should grow slowly.

You must understand the seeds and seedlings you use in your garden. Buy the labels on the seed bags or seedlings, and you will find information about them.

If you prefer fast growing plants, please select a variety that can bring you such results.

Pest

If you are planting plants, they will encounter pest problems at some time. If the number of pests is limited, this is not a big problem, because it is part of nature.

If the number of pests gets out of control and they start to eat a lot of seedlings, problems will arise.

This will cause stress on the seedlings. Pests may eat leaves, suck up sap or destroy roots. This will lead to a lack of nutrients in the seedlings and hinder their growth.

The best way to deal with pests is active pest management. I suggest checking your seedlings every morning when you water the plants.

If you see signs of insects on the leaves, you need to start thinking about actions to take. If the infection starts to increase, you can pull some insects by hand and deal with them.

If this method is not feasible or does not work, you may need to use some pesticides to get rid of them. I suggest using neem oil, garden oil or vinegar to try to solve this problem. These will not harm your plants as some pesticides do.

For some pests, you can plant companion plants in the garden to drive them away.

If pests are animals such as rabbits, moles, squirrels or deer, you may need to use deterrence to scare them away. You can use sports to activate sprinklers, scarecrows, insect repellents, or chemicals.

Disease

Your plant will get sick at some time, which is part of gardening. Some diseases you can get rid of, while others will destroy plants.

Some diseases may be superficial and make your seedlings look ugly, but they will not hinder their growth. But other diseases can cause stress on plants, which will not grow well.

Your seedlings may be infected with fungal, bacterial or viral diseases. Fungal diseases can occur when there are damp conditions around your plants. Bacterial and viral diseases can reach your plants through wind, water, pests or the soil itself.

In order to prevent fungal diseases, please ensure that the garden is clean and the plants are well spaced. Water the plants at the bottom. Don't splash the water on the leaves. It is best to water in the morning, so that when the sun comes out, the excess water on the leaves will become dry.

If your seedlings are infected with fungal diseases, you can try to use neem oil or garden oil to get rid of it. This may apply to some fungal diseases, but not all fungal diseases

Another option is to cut off the parts of plants infected by fungal diseases. Sometimes, this may mean that if the infected person spreads a lot, he or she must get rid of the whole plant.

In order to prevent bacterial and viral diseases, please keep pests away from plants. Before using on plants, make sure to clean garden tools with external alcohol.

You can try to obtain seeds and seedlings that are resistant to certain bacterial and viral diseases.

Once the seedlings are infected by bacterial or viral diseases, you should cut off the infected parts of the plant. There is no cure for many of these diseases, and you just need to live with them until the plants are completely infected and die.