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The emails are rolling in. Slow growth, small first & second leaves, & a pale yellowish green color.

It's not a disease & not even a nutrient deficiency of the sort we normally think of.

This is simply Low Nitrogen caused by cool soils which limit bacterial Nitrogen release.

What to do?

1.) Ammonium Nitrate as a dilute foliar might pick things up a little. Go easy!
2.) Turn up the heat in the cloches or add plastic around the immediate root area to warm the soil. Use heat cables &/or heated cloches next year.
3.) Do nothing. Just wait for warmer temperatures.

Don't over-do either or any combination of the first two. While #3 is the least exciting, it is the most often used & most reliable.

5/14/2006 11:17:57 PM

Canada

Yup Last 2 seasons I used NON-Heated Greenhouses and removed too early. This year I'm useing smaller greenhouses with large reptile Heat Rocks and jugs of water
and The plants have been outside for 2 weeks now and are already vineing :-) SO FAR its the best year hopefully they keep growing this well. Its eaither all the hard work and manure I put into the patch in the fall or the heat I'm giveing the plants OR BOTH( dureing the day its anywere from 80 + F night time temps dip down to about 65-70 F I found with keeping the nights a tad cooler the plants took off rather then constantly keeping it at 80 F all the time.

Dave

Yes My plants are also a tad pale green Ive added nothing but water, I plan on trying the 100% organic route on these plants this year to see what happens.

5/14/2006 11:27:44 PM

Western NY

a tiny amount of urea added in with the water worked for me last year.

5/15/2006 7:57:49 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

Greetings, I recently have added a 20X20 foot cloche. Got my plastic up and monitored the temp for the first day. Inside got up into the 90-94 range, 60 % humidity. Im in Colorado at 1 mile up. My cloche has ventilation at the bottom all the way across about 18" from the bottom and doors on either side. Great south exposure with a brick wall on my north. How hot is going to be too hot. My seedlings are just startin the second leaf. Ive been ping ponging them inside and out to harden them off. I dont want to blow it now because its too hot for em. Please Advise.

5/15/2006 9:17:26 AM

[email protected]

I would like to add some words of caution to this thread.

Unvented cloches that are too small will do more than just heat up quickly. They also trap ammonia gas. So as soils rise, manures & fertilizers start to "gas off".

When we go on our summer patch tour in August we often find a pattern of spent leaves on the main where the cloches were located in May. Tight cloches trap gasses & get too hot so those first 8-12 leaves get the tar beaten out of them.

There is a good reason why greenhouse operators use only greenhouse grade fertilizers & not Urea & Manure.

I am speaking from hard earned experience. Don't become a statistic. Vent those cloches & build them as big as possible. For those of us who work, heat activated vents &/or fans are a real blessing.

5/15/2006 9:58:06 AM

Midwest

Several people use 2 10ft 1/2 or 3/4 pvc pipe, 3 in a row... 4 to 5ft apart, connected at the pinnacle and at ground level... Is this a sufficient cloche or should it be bigger? I would like to know since I will put my plants out this week and I have not made my cloche yet.

Thanks for the advise.
Greg

5/15/2006 1:33:45 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Thanks Tremor, Second day of monitoring had ambient temps inside at 110 in several places, 90 at 3" into soil. I added 3 12 X 18 vents and will definetly add a turbine to pull more out after reading your post. Night temps are still 40. I do have a lot of cow put in mixed with 200 lbs of Starbucks coffee grounds. I havent added the BB's yet cuz I know they would fry. The cloche consists of 3/4" electrical conduit (UV rated) 24" apart, 18' X 18' . I created two headers that will be used for a two stage overhead watering system. One for a rain effect with a fertilizer injector, the other for 60 micron misting, both can be controlled with the programatic timer. Still need to order the ground injection system. I mimicked the Holland hoop house but modified it a bit because of adding it to the south side of my house and didnt want to drop rain water next to my foundation. It has the same doors on either end and now has 3 roof vents with a 18" screened opening across the bottom 18 ' across next to the ground where the bottom headers attach. SO its a 1/2 a hoop house plus (Named the wizzernator). I plan to take off the plastic later and still use the overhead system that way I have no pipes to worry about when I till. It still a project under construction and I know I have issues to resolve. I thank you all for the posts as this is starting to be real rocket science and I dont want to crash and burn. Looking forward to additional help since Im a newbie at this. Thanks again. grow em big....

5/16/2006 9:26:55 AM

Follansbee, Wv

"Slow growth, small first & second leaves, & a pale yellowish green color."

Yep, that sounds like my plants. High's barely in the mid 50's and overcast, I wouldn't expect much else.

"3.) Do nothing. Just wait for warmer temperatures."

Yep, that's my plan of action. When it warms back up all will be well again.

5/16/2006 4:58:23 PM

Montoursville, PA

I got my super heater out, of the dusty bowels, of my trash collections. A seventy five watt bulb in a 4' X 4' X 4 ' temporary cold frame will raise the night time temperature fourty five to fifty five or about ten degrees. Does not sound like much but it is a great temporary fix, for a few days.

Just remember,in one more day, the situation may call, for ventilation not more heat. It's called management. My little plant just keeps on growing a little each day instead, of stopping and pouting.

That's as close to doing nothing I can come up with that makes some sense. Doing nothing is OK too. They will all look about the same, in thirty more days.

5/21/2006 9:16:25 PM