Poorly seedlings

Hi. At the weekend I put my 2" tall pepper and tomato seedlings into 3" pots as they had 4 leaves and roots were poking from the bottom of the biodegradable pots I had germinated them in. I used compost from the garden centre that said it was all purpose, watered them in and put them back in the south facing conservatory. Kept the compost damp etc etc but now they are poorly. The peppers are doing especially badly; the bottom leaves are going dry and crispy and curling slightly, this is followed by the next set of leaves doing the same and then they die off. What have I done wrong? And is it too late to sow some more?

Thanks for any help and advice.

 

Certainly sow some more.
From what you describe I can't see that you have done anything wrong. These problems tend to be caused by over-watering or under-watering. You choose whichever applies in your case and take your chance!
Perhaps you are not shouting at them enough? I find that seedlings respond to a bit of bullying.

 

Bullying...hmmmm. Maybe I'll try that, so far have been coaxing!

Thank you.

 

I also have a south facing consevatory and a couple of days ago I left a propergator with its lid on in direct sunlight.
Everything in there was cooked!
Peppers, chillies, late toms all showed a few leaves crispy, dry and curled up.
The cucumber just loved it!
After putting it in the shade and taking the lid off they all recovered after a few hours but I reckon it was touch and go.
Lesson learnt...
robert

 

"Bullying...hmmmm. Maybe I'll try that, so far have been coaxing!"

"Compost heap" is the four letter word you need (so long as you are Dyslexic!)

I would take them away from the window for a couple of days - put them somewhere light, but that is not in direct sun and doesn't get too hot during the day (does your conservatory get baking hot?)

Alternatively have you had the conservatory windows / doors wide open to cool it? The draughts may have been a problem, particularly for newly potted-on plants.

A couple of days in "shaded light" won't upset them, but will give them time to adjust.

They shouldn't need any water for two days if they have just been potted on and the top of the compost is moist to start with.

That will sort out either sun-scorch or over watering. You could put each one in a clear plastic freezer bag (again, out of direct sun) for the two days - the humidity will help them recover.

 

I too think it's a light/heat problem :thumb:

 

Thanks Kristen, Freddie and Capney - you could well be right, it gets very hot in there. Last year everything was fine but the weather wasn't as warm as early I don't think. Thanks again.

 

I recommend a Max/Min thermometer so that you know what Max you are hitting - just in case it warms up more than you are expecting, and thus you can change the amount of ventilation you give on subsequent days