help for growing with a brown thumb

[rednerite]

Okay, so I do not have a green thumb. It is brown, withering. I have been trying for a couple months now to grow my own broadleaf mix I purchased online with little success.

I sprinkle the seeds on top of organix potting soil in a square seed tray, spray it down really well, cover with a moist papertowel and keep moist for a few days.

Once they start sprouting, I remove the papertowel and put them under my lamp and water daily. They grow to maybe 1/2" and that's it, kind of too small to really snip off to feed my baby Hermann's, and he doesn't seem to understand the concept of foraging if I put the tray in his enclosure. Plants die within a week. Is there a better trick to this?

I have had an especially hard time growing clover. I'm able to get it naturally in my yard during the summer and Mr. Tortoise loves it. But he won't touch the stuff I'm growing at home that appears stunted. Sigh.

 

[jaizei]

What type of lamp?

 

[rednerite]

It's my tortoise's lighting, an Exo Terra Solar Glo mercury vapor bulb, I believe it's 150watts. I keep the tray about 20" away from it at an angle, unless I put the tray down inside the enclosure, then it's about 12" almost directly under it. I know the seedlings die faster when I do this, but I've had no luck either way so far

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Is there a reason why you have to grow them indoors? If that's the case, get a special plant grow light from the hardware store.
Otherwise, just sprinkle the seeds on the soil, water it every day and in about 5 days, they'll start to grow in the sun.
You'll find that seeds will sprout and begin to grow with no light at all.
You are not using the correct lighting for plant growth.

 

[Odin's Gma]

From what you've said I would guess you are moving it too quickly from it's humid, sprouting environment to an open and direct heat environment. For most seedlings the change has to be more gradual. The way I start mine is to keep it covered with a clear tray topper (you can find them cheap on amazon to fit all standard grow trays) in a warm spot with some sun until a few days after the germinate. (With the topper you don't have to worry about maintaining humidity, it does it for you) after that I start removing the topper during the day and giving them more sun, and replacing the topper at night after giving them a good misting to bring the humidity back up before bedtime until all seedlings look good and strong and start to leaf out with true leaves.
Also, clover doesn't need direct sunlight, particularly when it's a seedling. Mine does best in a tray intermingled with grass and other assorted weeds. The grass takes off much quicker and seems to protect the clover babies, just as they do in your lawn.
Good luck, and feel free to ask more questions, there are a lot of great gardeners here who know far more than I ever will!

 

[Yvonne G]

I start seeds in those plastic "clam shells" that strawberries come in. It's sort of like a mini greenhouse. Plants take a lot of light. Regular indoor lighting doesn't do it. Fluorescent tube lighting works pretty good.

 

[Heather H]

i throw seeds into my enclosure.