Hi, I live in zone 8 (Georgia).. About 4 weeks ago i starting growing seeds (tomato) indoors under LED lighting 24- 7.Seedlings were doing very good until some plants leaves started turning yellow .I normally water lightly daily with very week mixture of miracle grow...any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong?
Leaves turning yellow
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Pictures are needed but IMO you are watering too often. Also seedlings do not need fertilizing until about the 2nd set of true leaves and even a light fertilizing every day is too much, especially for a chemical fertilizer like MG which will build up in the soil. Also when growing seedlings one tries to mimic Mother Nature as to perfect conditions. 24 hour lighting is IMO too long a period. Plants need different "situations" in which to properly grow, sort of like people needing sleep. I would light 16-8. Please send pics.
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Your seedlings are suffering from nutrient deficiency, more than likely nitrogen although iron is possible. Your plants have needed full fertilization for some time. Also, I see a few brown leaf tips, a sign of staying too wet in the past. Water thoroughly and let dry. Water from the bottom up to prevent fungal diseases. Let stand in water until water stands on surface of the soil, then remove from water. When dry water again. You can tell when to water by the weight of the container or by sticking your finger into the soil. If your plants are on heat mats watering will probably be about every 4 days. If not about once a week. These plants should be taken outside while warm to start hardening off.
Chuck..Please recommend type of fertilizer and amount...thanks
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I am a totally organic gardener, have been for many years and I know the short term and long term effects of synthetic and chemical fertilizers so I will recommend a few organic brand names. I do not know which brands are available in your area but any fertilizer with OMRI on the package is acceptable. Espoma, Fox Farm, Dr Earth, Medina. There are also many different soil amendments available but the two I always use are Liquid Seaweed/Kelp and Fish Emulsion. I use these in addition to the fertilizer. Also, molasses added to the water has a tremendous effect on plant growth. With synthetic or chemical fertilizers the amount of application is very important. Too much and you can severely damage a plant. With organics, this is not true. It is hard to use too much. There are guideline amounts on the packaging of both types of fertilizers but with the organic fertilizer it is more about money saving than anything else. With organic fertilizer you can reach a point of diminishing return while with chemical fertilizer you reach a point of plant death. Fertilizers come in three forms, liquid, pelleted and powdered. I only use the pelleted and liquid but a lot of organic gardeners like to use all three types. In your case where your plants will stay in containers for a while I would recommend either Medina HastaGro or the Espoma Liquid Tomato and Vegetable Food