Mercy -
It feels as if I have stumbled upon the Holy Grail of Seedling Care in this thread!
Thank you so much for your responses! No shame in milking this for all it's worth, so:
Because I've read where it is so important to keep new sprouts as close to my artificial light source as possible to avoid *leggy* stalks, and because my starter cups are so short, I've had to get creative on stacking items (boxes, even my kid's Legos) underneath them to maintain that 1"-2" distance under lights, as I did not have the foresight to affix the fluorescents by a chain to the shelving, and used plastic cable-ties instead.
Those sprouts that have already shot up heads and shoulders above the rest, and that are lanky and leggy early on - should I just take the scissors to their stalks now, putting them out of their misery, or is there a way to rehabilitate them, since they are so young (second leaves haven't even surfaced yet)? I've just now incorporated an oscillating fan to jumpstart their strength training.
Secondly:
To gain more space for more seedlings to grow, here's another conundrum.... My windowsills are sunny, but there is the factor of three rambunctious toddlers who would surely bull-in-a-china-shop their way to the plants, destroying the tender flora while using the soil as floor-paint.
The two high sills that are not in this danger zone are quite drafty. Would a makeshift, Saran-wrap mini cold frame be practical here?
There really should be some kind of warning label on seed packets cautioning how addictive this whole process is. I'm positive that when shopping for our little homestead a few months ago, had I known about my new obsession - we would have been scoping out properties with existing sun rooms or attached greenhouses.
I feel kinda like I'm overthinking the whole Grow Things operation sometimes. It just seems like your first year is bound to fail, and be chalked up to a learning experience. I would like to circumvent that whole stage, immerse myself in the science of it, and have a really epic, bountiful harvest on my first run.
Meanwhile, I guess I need to focus on more menial tasks, like poking large holes into my yogurt cups and lining the shelves with my husband's flannel shirts.
Thanks again, everyone!
