January Seed Sowing Indoors – Fix Leggy Seedlings & Other Issues

Starting to sow seeds indoors in January can present problems due to light levels, overwatering or under watering but knowing how to fix these common issues can increase your chances to growing healthy seedlings

Common Indoor Growing Issues

Leggy Seedlings

Leggy Seedlings are the number one problem of growing seeds indoors too early.

It is the most common problem that occurs as January has the lowest light levels than any other month of the year and a windowsill has less light than a 360 light source from outdoors.

What is a Leggy Seedling?

A Leggy Seedling is one where the stem grows too quickly as it tries to reach the light source.

January has low light levels as the daylight hours are shorter, the clouds are usually denser in January giving extensive thick cloud cover therefore reducing light and the sun hardly makes an appearance.

This accompanied by the Windowsill you decide to put your seed tray on and whether it has enough light or not, I bet you are starting to wonder if it is worth sowing seeds in January?

The Best Windowsill will have:

  • A Medium to Large window to let more light onto your seedlings,
  • A window that is not in a dark area during daylight I.e. looks out into the shade of a tree as this reduces light,
  • A window that catches the sun when the sun is out,
  • A window which does not have a radiator underneath (as it dries out the soil in the trays, keep a close eye and keep watering if soil is dry).
  • A Window that is clear, clean and has no frosting on the glass.

What does a Leggy Seedling look like?

  1. Longer Stem than normal. The stem puts on a growth spurt trying to reach the light, but then forgets it needs stability. Good News, Tomato and Sweet Pepper plants can be saved by potting on a bit deeper, i.e. some of the stem goes in the soil so combat this issue.
  2. Thinner Stem than normal. The stem has put on growth and stretched itself too thin. Unfortunately these cannot be saved, unless the plant recovers of its own accord.
  3. Bendy Stems – The seedling has raced to reach the light but the stem can’t hold the plant up anymore and starts to bend. Onion seedlings do this naturally and survive. It depends on the plant as to a survival rate.
  4. Damping Off – This is a grey or green mould that forms on the surface of the soil from overwatering and not enough air flow to dry the soil out. With leggy seedlings, if damping off mould occurs, it will eat away at the seedlings roots and eventually the stem. The seedling will die.
Cauliflower Seedlings

Sowing Cool Loving Plants

In January, try sowing Cool Loving plants like Cauliflower, Summer Cabbage, Lettuce and Onions from Seed.

In February, try sowing Cool Loving Plants like Lettuce, Spinach, Peas and Broad Beans.

Beginner Indoor Seed Sowing

Onions and Lettuce are a great place to start for beginners in January and as they are cool loving. Start sowing the seeds indoors on the windowsill and if they do get a bit leggy, you can put them outside in a greenhouse or mini greenhouse with cover and they will be fine growing on outside.

Just protect them from frost with fleece material, lay the fleece over the seedlings, if frost is due and then remove it in the morning so they can see the light and sun.

Watch Now! – Seed Sow Along Video for Sowing Onion Seeds Indoors

In February, sow Lettuce, Spinach, Peas and Broad Beans, as these are all cool loving plants, they will be okay outside under cover with protection from frost.

Sowing Warm Loving Plants

Warm loving plants are plants that love the warm. A warm environment is their cosy home of love and they definitely don’t like the very cold weather and the frost is deadly to them.

Tomatoes, Aubergines, Sweet Peppers, Chilli Peppers are examples of Tender Plants which means they are susceptible to frost and like warm environments only.

Advice on When to Sow Warm Loving Plants

It’s best not to Sow Tender plants early in January or February like tomatoes unless you have grow lights to keep them warm. It will still be cold outside until your last frost date usually between April and May in the UK.

Tender Seedlings or plants will not be able to be planted outside or put in an unheated greenhouse until Late March to Late April at the earliest.

Sowing seeds too early could mean your seedlings become leggy and weak whilst you try to wait until it’s warm enough to put them outside.

Next Post

There’s more about When it’s ok to sow Warm Loving Plant seeds and how to find your last frost date in my next post, coming in 3 days time.

The Indoor Seed Sowing Series

Sow Onion Seeds with Video

Sow Cauliflower Seeds with Video

Sow Summer Cabbage Seeds with Video

Seeds to Sow Indoors in January

How to Create a Simple Indoor Seed Sowing Setup

Beginners Hub

The post January Seed Sowing Indoors – Fix Leggy Seedlings & Other Issues appeared first on Sow Grow Harvest.



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