As I had mentioned in previous posts, I am starting Swiss chard seedlings indoors before I transplant them into a container outside. Two days ago, my chard seedlings went from bright and healthy to pale and droopy.
I think the Aerogarden may have created too ideal light conditions for them and they grew too tall and the leaves too heavy for their slender stems to hold up. The only other mention I could find on the internet about 
droopy Swiss chard seedlings was in this post. The picture is almost exactly the same as my picture. Some of the comments suggested that this means the chard is screaming to be moved to its permanent home outside, so this is what I did this afternoon.
Although I swore I would not add another container to my patio this year… I have… added two. My Swiss chard container 
is one of them. It is 24″ diameter by about 26″ tall.
I mixed together Sea Soil, some small aquarium gravel and eggshells for increased drainage, and bone meal and organic fertilizer. All five peat pots with chard seedlings were planted with only their leaves popping up above the soil. This means the pots were about one inch below the soil surface.
Usually, you would let the transplants get used to ‘living’ outside over the course of a week by gradually increasing the amount of time the plants are set outside. This way they can slowly get used to the wind, direct sunlight, and changing temperatures. I had set out the larger seedlings yesterday and today, but didn’t feel I could really wait much longer because they were so floppy.
Now I wait and see how they do. If they all survive the transplanting, I will eventually have to thin each clump to the strongest plant.
2 replies on “Drooping Swiss chard seedlings”
Cool info. People who are new to organic gardening often think that organic gardening fertilizer is just another form of fertilizer in a bag. From my perspective, it is a little more involved than that, and if you are thinking that you are lacking the point.
Thanks Reginald. I don’t have room for a compost bin on my patio, and our condo board will not allow a common compost bin for our building. I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of worm composters (I am squeamish about worms… hahaha… ironic that I like gardening then!) and the indoor automated composters still cost too much for me to purchase. So, I am left with the option of purchasing organic fertilizer in a bag from the garden store. When I have a larger space, I will definitely make my own compost, however it’s not possible yet. I do use various cover crops and dig them in as ‘green manure’ when my containers are not in use, so I do try. If you have any other ideas for organic fertilizer in my small space, please feel free to share your ideas!