I got several seedlings from my brother the other day that looked pretty weak and spindly but after being transplanted I have the majority of them looking stronger. This weekend I hope to put them in their permanent containers and want to ensure the vitality without getting too aggressive as I fertilize them. The varieties are beets, collards, cabbage, broccoli and radishes. When they were given to me most had weak stems and miniscule roots. My choices of fertilizers include Alaska brand fish fertilizer (5-1-1), Super Bloom (11-55-11) and general tomato and vegetable fertilizer (3-5-6). I am leaning toward the higher nitrogen fish emulsion or tomato feed, but a voice in my head says "build a good root system first!" These seedlings are about 2-4" high and the super bloom may kill them... What should I use?? Thanks in advance for all of your help!
I have read that feeding should start after they have their second set of leaves and which ever food you use cut it down to 1/4th strength.
I think I will use the fish emulsion. It won't burn my plants and seems to be recommended by many backyard horticulturists online. Still a bit away from being large enough to transplant yet. I should probably wait until hurricane Florence moves on out (a current tracking model puts it right on top of me!).
Hello There. I would not give the root veggies (beets and radishes) anything at the moment. Cabbage and broccoli are heavy feeders and like good, rich soil. Collards I have no experience with as they are not known over here. My feeling is that feeding seedlings too early on, may not be a good idea. Growing veg in containers is not something that I have done but once, so my experience may not be so helpful to you, as the care is a bit different than growing them in the ground. At any rate I wish you luck with these seedlings and hope that you will write updates every so often to let us know how you fare.
