Help! Seedlings dying

Tearing my hair out. I'm a complete novice. I planted seeds for various plants (argeratum, lupins, mid-Feb after following instructions on seed packets. Germination was pretty quick (few days to a week) which got me pretty excited about being green thumbed. Alas, then they quickly grew spindly, and although the seedlings were very tender and probably not strong enough to prick out, I did to make them grow better. Now, growth seems arrested in most parts and they've started to droop and appear very weak. My lupins started well but have ended up sorry looking too. I've grown them all indoors in as much light as possible between 15-22 degree C. I noticed that when they started germinating they started bending towards light and grew spindly since then.
What do I do now, as I have already pricked them out but they have stopped growing and looking weaker and weaker. Help please!

 

Hello and welcome Nomi. So sorry to hear about your problem with seedlings. If you start seeds this early, you need to have them in a suitable greenhouse for the light or use artificial plant lights. When they grow spindly and weak like this they will probably not survive despite any remedies you try. They will be very prone to fungal diseases etc
Sorry to bring bad news. Someone with more experience and suggestions will hopefully be along soon.
Do have a good look around this site. Everyone is very friendly and there are many excellent articles and threads with lots of information. Good luck

 

Hello Philomel, I'm gutted that I may have to lose my seedlings :( I assumed growing them indoors under my skylight would suffice- obviously not. I'll have to research some inexpensive propagator/artificial light options. Hopefully I'll get a few ideas here. Thank you for your friendly welcome!

 

Welcome to GC Nomi. Unfortunately seed packet instructions are only guidelines. Starting seeds in February, unless they need a long germination period is pointless as the light is still so low and there's not enough daylight hours. This is why the seedlings grow leggy. I rarely start any seeds before the first week in March and really the best time is the middle of March, what I call the stepping stone between winter and spring.

Once the seedlings appear give them as much light as possible but not direct sunlight and keep the temperature low as this helps to stop them 'galloping'. Some members here stand something reflective behind trays and pots, such as foil backed card, it reflects the light back to the seedlings. Mine are in an unused room where the radiator is barely on and as close to daylight as possible. They won't be moved out to my cold greenhouse until possibly the middle of April when the overnight temperature is a minimum of 7C.

Meanwhile you could prick your seedlings out and plant them lower into pots, so that the first leaves are just above the surface. Many seedlings will cope with this but others won't, it's trial and error.