Seed starting-Tiny Marigolds and Zucchinis trying to grow flowers?

[Chkn salad sandwhich]

Hello all,

I’ve had these seeds growing indoors for about two weeks now. For some reason, these tiny plants are trying to grow flowers? They only have two sets of true leaves. I assumed it was some sort of stress response, but the plants look perfectly healthy. Perhaps they need to be repotted, but I don’t see any roots coming out of the bottom of the pot. I will try to get pictures in a minute. Has anyone seen this before? I know I was having trouble with too much water absorption in the soil with my tomato plants, but that doesn’t seem like it should have any connection to the flower growth.

 

[Chkn salad sandwhich]

Pictures:

 

[Alasgun]

From here they (the squash) look like they are either starving or severely waterlogged.
What is the starting mix? My experience with stressed Cucurbits is that your better off starting them over. Without a good start most never come back to be good producers and are more trouble than their worth at that point. IMO.

Now days i only use those small starter trays for something that will immediately get up-potted And as soon as that happens the little plants do so much better. Also, Up-potting always happens during the Cotyledon stage, which is surprisingly easy.

Take a hammer after an old teaspoon to flatten it SOME and grind the sides to narrow it. You will soon discover how easily it will glide down the side of those small cups, allowing you to lift everything out of the cup easily.
be sure to smooth the edges of the spoon and dampen the cells before hand with a spray bottle. They don’t want to be soggy wet, just enough to keep the soil together.
you can use the same spoon to wollar out a depression in the up-pot soil to receive the little guy, before lifting the transplant.
This lettuce was moved yesterday.

 

[heirloomgal]

I agree @Alasgun, that looks like starvation to me too. My guess would be your potting mix is off kilter somehow, maybe pH or coir in the soil. Check expiration date on the bag maybe. It's amazing how many bad starter/soil mixes are out there - I had soil which created this effect in my seedlings this year - twice. Yellow coytledons is not a good sign, it's definitely a symptom the plants are stressed, and flowering at such a young age would also suggest they feel their life is coming to an end. The foliage on the mari's also looks like it's releasing a bit of antho purple and that is stress as well. If your only 2 weeks in plenty of time to replant tho! Maybe try a different soil mix.

 

[flowerbug]

i've said this before but it seems to bear repeating... seed starting mix is not the same as potting soil and the directions on the package should provide clues as to what to do with it.

though i'm not sure if @Chkn salad sandwhich used seed starting mix or potting soil or some other mix... but it is likely that many issues with young plants going pale after starting them is that people have used seed starting mix and not read the directions or learned that it is not for longer term growth... so it needs to be supplmented or the seedlings need to be potted up into a more nutrient amended mix or liquid or other fertilizers need to be used or ...

 

[ducks4you]

I have seen some small marigolds flower, so THAT's not surprising. The squash are another story. I agree about your soil. I would keep the marigolds and put them out asap. They are annuals that drop seed, so it isn't a loss.
Also, since your growing marigolds, pay attention to the flower after it dries out. I have literally counted about 50 seeds from a single flower. They are prolific!

 

[Chkn salad sandwhich]

Thanks everyone for the advice! I make my own seed starting mix and I got the ratio off this year (too much peat), so that explains the water issue. I think they just got waterlogged, although it’s possible that I didn’t put enough compost in either. I will toss these and start over, and repot the marigolds. Interesting that none of my other plants seemed to have too much trouble.

edit: It also says on the seed packets that squash/ zucchini aren’t supposed to be transplanted in the first place so maybe this is a moot point.

 

[Chkn salad sandwhich]

I

From here they (the squash) look like they are either starving or severely waterlogged.
What is the starting mix? My experience with stressed Cucurbits is that your better off starting them over. Without a good start most never come back to be good producers and are more trouble than their worth at that point. IMO.

Now days i only use those small starter trays for something that will immediately get up-potted And as soon as that happens the little plants do so much better. Also, Up-potting always happens during the Cotyledon stage, which is surprisingly easy.

Take a hammer after an old teaspoon to flatten it SOME and grind the sides to narrow it. You will soon discover how easily it will glide down the side of those small cups, allowing you to lift everything out of the cup easily.
be sure to smooth the edges of the spoon and dampen the cells before hand with a spray bottle. They don’t want to be soggy wet, just enough to keep the soil together.
you can use the same spoon to wollar out a depression in the up-pot soil to receive the little guy, before lifting the transplant.
This lettuce was moved yesterday.

Huh, I’ve never heard this before. I thought you couldn’t transplant until the plants have their first true leaves. I try to avoid as much repotting-transplanting as possible so that is something to think about next year. The plant sets we buy at the store are in these sized pots and the plants are pretty big, so do they transplant or is that just not the best method?

 

[catjac1975]

Pictures:
View attachment 64768View attachment 64769View attachment 64770

I would clip off the buds.

 

[Alasgun]

“Necessity is the mother of invention” is an applicable term for gardeners everywhere and a lot of us adapt based on our local conditions.
I’ve read all the hype about this or that not liking to be transplanted and would agree that in a perfect world you should plant everything in it’s intended location; however if you want a crop from any number of vegetable’s in Alaska, adaptivity is essential. Due to the shortness of our season i start and transplant Kale, Chard, Broccoli, Onions from seed, Summer squash, Pumpkins, Cucumbers, Pole beans, Tomato’s Artichoke’s, Anise Hysopp, Dill, Celery and Parsley! Being conscious of “what the plants like”, experience has shown me that Anything i can transplant in the cotyledon stage has a 100% chance for success. As in, “i’ve never lost a plant”. Bear in mind, a lot of these things go directly in #35 pots and only get transplanted when they go out to the Garden as im not a gluten for punishment, the little cups see limited use around here.

I once bought a 10/20 tray of Marigolds, all in those tiny starter trays and they were 6 inches tall and in full bloom when i brought them home. By the time i got them planted out each entire little cup was nothing but a ball of roots! It worked because every-time i watered them they got a strong dose of the liquid nutes added to the water-can.
They are tough, real tough and should be fine.