Squash and courgette seedlings problem

Greatexpectations_2

I have quite a few squash and courgette seedlings growing in my kitchen. I realise that I probably started them a bit too soon (in my defence the seed packets said sow in March!) and they have gone a bit leggy in some cases but now I am really worried as the leaves on many of the plants have started to go yellow round the edges, in some cases quite mottled and some of the leaves have shrivelled up. In many cases, the plants are still producing new leaves though.
In some cases it is the seed leaves that have gone a bit brown and translucent in patches round the edges, before shrivelling. As some of the seedlings are in direct sunlight, I thought perhaps they were getting too hot and that the translucent patches were where I had splashed them when watering? But now some of the other seedlings which sit in the dimmer part further away from the windowsill seem to show the same symptoms. I did find a brown insect munching on the edge of a leaf (and squashed it) that I thought might be the culprit but that was at the weekend and more seedlings are looking poorly now.

Have I overwatered them? Also I did give them a drop of dilute ‘fertiliser’ so could that have done it? Or is it a disease? As several of the plants with these symptoms still appear to be growing new leaves ok, I am reluctant to throw out my squash babies if they can be saved. However as I am about to sow more courgettes and cucumbers, I don’t want to keep diseased plants around, especially if it could spread to other things eg tomatoes. They are taking up a lot of space as well!

I really need some advice please – as you can tell I am a newbie and don’t know what I am doing!

Sally_A

What size pots are they in?, and where do you intend to move them next? Outside or to an unheated greenhouse.

Pictures would be nice.

Zazen999

I imagine they have run out of goodness in the compost and need repotting. Have you checked the roots, are they struggling and look like they need more space?

What are you going to do with them in between now and Mid Mayish when the last frost date is due? That's another 4 or so weeks [depending on where you live]

Greatexpectations_2

Thank you for your responses.
Ah I didn’t think of pot size. They are in those black square shaped pots – a mix of 9x9x10cm and 11x11x12cm. The seedlings looking poorly are not just limited to the smaller pots. I’ve had a quick look and can’t see any roots poking through, though they do seem quite wet.
At the moment I have more seedlings of each type than I need, so I was planning to select the best and plant into bigger pots (maybe 20cm) before putting outside into my plastic growhouse affair or cold frame to harden off a bit before going into the garden proper mid May or so. Will this work? I am based on the sunny south coast.
I will try and sort out some pictures.

Sally_A

I should pot them on if I was you, keep them moist but not overly wet; they require more watering when they are fruiting. It is quite usual for the seed leaves to go yellow and drop off.

I sowed Marketmore, an outdoor variety, several weeks back, and although I know it's a bit risky have put it into a large flower bucket in the unheated greenhouse, but have constructed a wigwam for it to grow up, and protected it using that polystyrene fleece fabric that sofas come wrapped in. The greenhouse can get as cold as 3C overnight, but at the moment it seems to be thriving.

Greatexpectations_2

I've tried to add some pictures which might give an idea but I've never done this before so hope it works ok.

Sally_A

I think the first and easiest option in the rescue mission, is plant them in to bigger pots, plant them a bit deeper, but as a rule, stems of the cucurbit/squash family don't like being wet, so place on a tray or similar and water from below. Use water that has got up to room temp, or use lukewarm water. Seedlings should be watered with tap water, rather than rain water until they are bigger to avoid viruses, bugs etc.

Greatexpectations_2

Thanks for your advice Sally A. I'll re-plant into bigger pots and use a watering tray and we'll see what happens....