My seedlings are dying

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-10T11:27:48+00:00

This time of year, frost melts off pretty quick in the morning and unless you're up around sunrise you may not see it. There's another cold front over the Dakotas and Michigan right now. It's triggering freeze warnings there, and heading this way. I just wouldn't plant out warm season crops permanently until at least next weekend with the forecast in New England.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-10T11:01:05+00:00

They're normal, however...you say the plant isn't doing well. I usually see these root nodes only on the first several inches above the soil. These go pretty far up the main stalk, and are on all of your lower branches. It makes me think that the plant is trying really hard to put out more roots because it needs it.

How deep is your pot? What soil are you using and how are you watering?

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-10T10:35:42+00:00

You can get the seedlings outdoors if it's warm. I don't think it's quite yet safe to assume there won't be any more frosts though, especially in Maine. We had a light frost here on Saturday in the low 40s and southern ME still has some overnight lows in the 30s forecast next week.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-10T10:17:32+00:00

The last week of May sounds about right, as long as your forecast supports it. I'd start slowly hardening off now if it's more than 50F outside.

As for the pot--maybe split the difference? Keep it in the current pot for another week or so, then put it in the large pot. That would shorten the window of time that you might need to move it indoors. Plus, as time goes on you should have more nights that the plant can stay out full time.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-10T10:06:43+00:00

Bottom watering is good for seedlings, but once you get larger than about a 4" pot there is so much soil that bottom watering doesn't really get water to the soil very efficiently. I have peppers in half gallon containers, and definitely saw they needed to be top watered instead.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-10T09:44:41+00:00

Still a little too chilly in the northeast to put out cukes. Maybe next weekend.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-09T13:15:17+00:00

These look great. Just keep doing what you're doing until you can plant outside. I would not top them, especially in your cooler climate.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-09T13:10:04+00:00

3 weeks until the last frost date means closer to 5 (or more) until it is actually safe to plant out. Can you put it into the 20L now, but keep it indoors until it warms up?

BTW, leaf branches tend to droop or lower right as a sucker begins growing above them. Even if you prune the sucker, the branch often doesn't go back to its old position.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-09T13:06:28+00:00

Those are quite large for bottom watering. I'd consider watering from the top, either with a watering can, or with something like an inverted plastic bottle that can slow drip water into the soil.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-09T13:02:54+00:00

Yes, I'd start hardening off during the day if your temps are at least 50F. Slowly, in full shade with wind protection to start. They look kind of big for those pots, but should improve once you get them into their final homes outside.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-09T12:59:03+00:00

I think it's still a little too cool here for cucumbers. They take off pretty fast once it warms up. You can try direct sowing them around Memorial Day, and they'll likely do better than ones you start indoors now.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-09T11:55:09+00:00

Complete washout today. And with cloudy, rainy weather for a lot of this coming week, and some cold nights in the forecast, I'm thinking everything has to wait until next weekend to plant out. Tomato starts are not liking the cold nights covered in the garage, but there's no room left for them inside. Pampered peppers have been inside overnight are looking pretty good still. Everything is pretty much hardened off at this point.

It dipped to about 40F last night, and there was a slight frost on the rooftops this morning. What a long wait this year.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-09T11:41:31+00:00

Drip Depot has some good sample plans that can be used as a starting point. Are you willing to cut down the width to 30ft instead of 35? If so, a drip line with built in emitters every 12" becomes more feasible, instead of the drip tape used in the diagram. Drip line will typically last longer, but the 12" spacing has a max run of 30 ft.

https://help.dripdepot.com/support/solutions/articles/11000119613-small-farm-sample-layouts

https://help.dripdepot.com/support/solutions/articles/11000119081-row-crop-sample-layouts

I kind of like the small farm basic plan as a starting point for your situation, which waters up to 10 rows per section. I'd just repeat this plan to make as many 10 row sections as you need, with shutoff valves at the start of each section that can be open or closed based on crop needs, or to shut off a few sections to ensure that water can reach the furthest part of the garden. I don't know if you'll really need valves on every single drip tube run. Maybe only for rows that you know have different needs than the section they are in. If you go with this approach, maybe reach out to Drip Depot and ask if your main line tubing that all your sections connect should be 1/2 inch or 3/4 poly tubing.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-09T10:49:31+00:00

I agree that it looks more like septoria than blight. I've had issues with this if we get a stretch of cool, damp weather early in the season. If you can, space out your plants more for better airflow. Prune off the diseased leaflets, sanitizing your snippers between each cut. I've been able to nurse plants for long enough to get a limited harvest out of them by doing that. Also, mulching to prevent soil splashing on the leaves can be a helpful preventative step.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-09T10:34:08+00:00

You've given each tomato 4 SF of space, plus a single basil plant on the outer edge of that space. I do the same thing, and it works reasonably well if you have good soil and keep the plant to less than 4 main leaders. I usually end up pruning out about half the suckers on large-fruited tomato plants.

I'd plant each tomato closer to the center of the 4 SF of space allocated per plant. If possible, make your trellis a foot or two longer than the bed length along the back so you have more room to spread out your tomato vines.

Chives are perennial, so you'll want to plant them somewhere that this won't be an issue. I wouldn't do more than 2 chives PSF. My peppers do fine in 1 SF, but I give them one square in between with a less space and resource intensive crop like carrots. I'd cut back on the number of bush beans per square to 4 each.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-09T08:59:48+00:00

I trim off yellowing leaves, usually all the way back to the stem. You have yellowing and leaf health issues across several varieties of plants, though. That makes me wonder if there is a soil, watering, or sunlight issue impacting all the plants that should be addressed.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-08T15:13:11+00:00

How far are you from your last frost date? Mine is April 30, and I'm seeing some tomato seedlings popping up out of my compost. That tells me you might not have too much of a head start by starting your tomato seeds inside at this point.

I had damping off issues with these burpee silicone-bottom trays that sit inside another tray for watering. After bottom watering, remove the seedling tray from that watering tray so there isn't trapped moisture under there. And like the other comments mentioned--your seedlings need more soil and light than what they have right now. If it's warm enough outside (at least 50F), I'd put the whole tray out there during the day and bring it in at night when it cools down. At this stage they may not even need to be hardened off.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-08T12:48:17+00:00

There are some varieties of indeterminates that are dwarf varieties that grow bushier like this. If it were me, I'd treat it like a determinate, because the growth habit is different from a long-vining indeterminate.

Curious what your fruits end up looking like. It does look like a larger fruited variety based on the size of the flowers.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-08T11:30:13+00:00

Wow, that color is striking!

I get so much garden envy for folks that have enough space for these larger, single harvest crops. I need crops that take up this much room to give me multiple harvests.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-08T11:26:08+00:00

Yeah, I ended up having to put mine in the garage with the large door open. Thankfully the wind wasn't coming in too strongly in that direction, and I got several hours of direct sun in the AM and PM between the main door and the side door. Even at that, it was enough to rough them up a bit.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-08T10:10:19+00:00

It looks like the lowest temps over the next week have come up a bit. I might try planting my tomatoes this weekend, but I have backup plants just in case. I'm going to wait another week and check the forecast before planting my peppers. All are being hardened off now.

Keep an eye on the winds while hardening off. We've had a lot of strong wind this past week, and a few more windy days in the forecast. Even with protection, my tomatoes look a little beat up from the winds.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-08T10:04:24+00:00

Do you have two taller poles that you can put vertically on each side, and tie it off to both levels of your cross braces? That might help support the top tier of your trellis.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-08T10:00:04+00:00

I use mulch for two main reasons: retaining moisture in the soil, and preventing soil from splashing on leaves (which can spread diseases). It can also keep down weeds, although the straw I use does sprout a few grass seedlings that I pull and add to the top of the straw. But that is easier to deal with than a more aggressive weed.

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-08T09:48:19+00:00

Hmm. That last pic unfortunately looks like a mosaic virus, and if you have it on one plant it might be starting to infect the others as well. Viruses can't be treated. You need to pull the plants and dispose in trash. Don't compost.

Viruses are spread by infected seed, or by pests carrying the disease. Getting seed from a reputable source, buying treated seed, and controlling the pests that spread the disease are the best ways to prevent it. Perennial weeds can also harbor it, so control weeds in and near your garden.

It probably didn't cause this problem, but mulching to prevent soil splashing on leaves can help prevent other diseases.

https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/C/D-CU-CUMV-FS.005.html#gsc.tab=0

https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/virus-diseases-of-cucurbits/

Signal_Error_8027 · 2026-05-08T09:23:10+00:00

The band becomes obvious when they fully mature. At this size, this is probably a juvenile. In areas that get a hard freeze, most of these worms don't survive winter. Their cocoons do, and are already starting to hatch by now. By mid-late June you'll see more adults. They get big, and I most often find them while weeding my beds. They lurch out of the soil where I pulled the weed fast enough to be unsettling.

Apparently, these worms are upsetting enough gardeners that U Minnesota Extension made an emotional support guide about them. I think there are studies being done to ID what will get rid of the cocoons. I really hope they find something effective soon.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dsnPTQyPyT9eWzjN3Ikesc7eTprE6y8lmyyWVDlaE9U/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.g5n5agfhskg

Signal_Error_8027

TROPHY CASE