Adventures in Seed Starting - Leeks and Onions

It's been a little over a month since I started the Blue Solaize Leeks and Red Wethersfield Onions and they are now about 4 inches tall. They both took about a week and a half to germinate. I just started to add a weak solution of fertilizer to the watering schedule, every third watering or so. I use organic Alaska Fish Fertilizer which has an NPK (nitrogen(N), phosphorus(P), and potassium(K)) of 5-1-1 and is fast releasing. While there is an initial odor when you add the fish fertilizer to the water, it dissipates quickly. You can find this fertilizer at Lowes or Home Depot and a little goes a long way. An indication of when to start fertilizing seedlings is when they begin to grow their "true" leaves. The leaves that first appear after germination are called cotyledons and these will start to yellow and wither after a seedling's true leaves start to grow. I took these photos right after watering so everything looks a bit soggy.

I also started two small pots of Sweet Genovese Basil for my windowsill herb garden at about the same time. These seeds also germinated in about a week. You can see from the photo below that the basil seedlings have both the cotyledon leaves and their true leaves.



The Hydrofarm 4 ft Jump Start T5 Fluorescent Grow Light System is working OK. My only complaint is that it's only a one bulb fixture which doesn't cast light as wide as I'd hoped. But, this my fault for not doing my homework. :-) The next time, I think I'll go over to Home Depot and build something more custom to my liking. But, for someone first starting out with a small amount of seed starting, say two narrow trays max, I think this light system would be appropriate. Maybe next year when the basement is more organized (ha!), I'll set up a bigger seed starting operation.

I also started a bunch of heirloom tomatoes and peppers, both hot and sweet, but more about that later...