HELP-I think my Cauliflower seedlings are dying!!!

[gawdambugs]

Hiya everybody - My cauliflower seedlings started growing really quickly I made sure I watered them everyday!!

Have just been in to check on them and they have all fell over... They wont stand up

Have I killed them?

Please help

[Lottie]

May be you have overwatered them. Is the soil really damp. They don't usually need watering every day, just when the compost feels dry.

Have a look to see if the compost is really wet - if so they might have rotted off.

I hope not though

[gawdambugs]

Hiya Lottie - everyday when I checked them the soil was really dry because of the hot weather!!!

They were fine a couple of hours ago - These are my first seedlings as well...

[Alice]

Hi gawdambugs, so sorry you're having a problem with your seedlings. Hard to say what the problem is without seeing them but if they have fallen over but look otherwise healthy (not rotten) may be that the seeds were not planted deep enough to let them get a grip. I would try sprinkling some just damp compost or vermiculite over them to help them get rooted and see what happens in a day or two. Good luck.

[Geordie]

i would guess one of the following reasons:

have grown too fast....spindly seedlings that have become top heavy and fallen over.

suffering from damping off....this is terminal and usually shows as a thinner stem next to the compost than the rest of the seedling. To avoid this always water from the bottom and use clean water.

When you say the soil was really dry...were they in the soil in the garden or trays of compost or a greenhouse? Had they just been transplanted?

[Amybee]

Hi Gawdambugs

My cauli seedlings all fell over too, I think they got too "leggy" so I potted them on and buried the stem a bit deeper in the compost, almost up to the seed leaves. Took a while but they recovered and are now going great guns. Good luck with yours!

[lyndap]

I've had same problem with my cabbages They germinated ok, then looked ok for few days after transplanting,then died off. I only bottom water and only to keep soil moist.Did calebrese the same and their fine. One of my caulis is going dead around edge of 2 of first true leaves aswell. Brought ready started trays of all the above(99p for 6) and they are growing well on the allotment! I'm wary of buying brassica plants,but know these are from good sorce.