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In in the San Diego area and new to gardening here. I think I jumped the gun. I direct sowed pole beans, okra and zinnias a few weeks ago and they just recently started to come up. Some of the zinnia cotyledon look wrinkled. But the worst are the beans! The first true leaves are small, wrinkled, and just don't look well.
What happened? I have a feeling the soil was too cold and/or wet. It is generally 60s or 70s in the daytime which is fine but at night it gets down to the low 50s and occasionally high 40s.
Should I pull them up and resow again or are they capable of growing out of it? Thanks!
Hi,
Zinnias require a soil temperature of around 74 F. I would wait until your night time temperaute is in the 60's and the daytime is in the 70's. Then you can direct sow outdoors. Next year try starting your zinnias indoors the end of March with a grow light and a heating mat made for seed starting. They work very well. You order a temperature control for the mat and you are in business. Good luck.
I did jump the gun on these seeds I get. Should I dig up the ones in the ground or do you think they'll come out of it? They actually don't look that bad. The beans and the Okra however...
ive never used a heat mat to start zinnias,I do start them under lights inside so its nice an warm anyway,but they take off quickly.im going to start some outside in flats soon,didnt have room inside this year.Good info on the temps they like.Thanks
I start my zinnias indoors without a heat mat, too, but as soon as they are up they go into a cool greenhouse, that is only heated when the temps fall below 50 degrees inside. They do just fine and are nice and stocky.
Thanks for the replies. Your zinnias look awesome. Nothing like mine. The few I have left are OK but they aren't growing fast, even outside. I'm wondering if they are staying to moist because I water the other seed areas in the bed that haven't come up yet.
