Here is the line up, from shortest through tallest:
The very sturdy and stubby #21 opens the row at 15/16 of an inch:
#30 stands at 1 1/4 inches tall. It also now has a well developed second generation needle core:
#15 has been accelerating its growth standing at 1 and 3/4 of an inch:
Finally, the current leader is #4 at 1 7/8 inches:
Since #15 started catching up with #4 it's just a matter of time before it takes over the lead. The second generation needles are already more developed than those of #4.
Today also was the first time I applied feeding material in the form of liquid "Fish feeder", which is 2-4-0 for all seedlings still standing above ground. The two tallest ones got 40ml each and the rest got about 10-20ml.
Again, I had concerns that the seedlings did not have enough water judging by the dry appearance of the top level of soil at mid day. I dag into free space of #24, removing about an inch of soil. Two things: first, there was definitely some remaining moisture in the soil at that level, so the seedlings are not in the danger of dying from lack of water. Second, I noticed that the #24 root was not going directly down into the ground as I was thinking the roots are doing at this stage. Instead, it was curving around almost to the container wall. This gave me a big pause, because I was routinely checking the feel of soil in the past by sticking my finger about an inch into the ground for several samples. This now looks like a bad idea, because the roots could be anywhere in the container and not immediately under the seedling. It would be exceedingly easy to damage the roots in such a fashion. I also now understand why transparent containers are highly recommended in favor of non-transparent PVC. It would be much easier to judge the moister levels had I been able to see through.
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