How to Care for Your Growing Seedlings - Gardening For Beginners

The best trick to see if lights are too hot is to hold your hand above your seedlings, and if it's too hot for your hand, it's too hot for your seedlings.

Yes, you can put your seedlings in a window, but it has to be a south-facing window and you need to have at least 12 hours of light on your plants through that window.

You can use common black trays, tin foil trays from the dollar store, or even big round saucers made for larger pots. For pots, you can use newspaper pots, solo cups, or any containers that have holes in the bottom for drainage.

You should repot or "up pot" your plants once they have their first set of true leaves, which are the leaves that appear after the initial seed leaves or cotyledons.

To determine if your seedlings need water, check the soil color (dark for wet, light for dry), the weight of the pot (heavy means moist, light means dry), and if the soil is pulling away from the pot edges. Water your seedlings thoroughly when required, but avoid overwatering.

It is best to fertilize your seedlings when they have their second or third set of true leaves using a diluted, organic fertilizer like fish fertilizer at quarter strength.

Common problems include stunted growth, which can be due to insufficient light or overcrowding, and leggy seedlings, which are usually a result of reaching for light. To fix these issues, provide adequate light, transplant into their own pots, and repot deeper if necessary.