apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have exactly the same problem. I'd love to know what's up.
Katya

The soil looks really moist....

Are you fertlizing? At what what rate and which kind?

How much sun is it getting?

Did you slowly introduce outside or did you just bring it outside?

it looks like they weren't getting enough light as young seedlings (which happens if you start them too soon in the year or if the window where you started them didn't get enough direct light). basically, what happens is this: the plants sprout because it's warm enough in your house and you water them and there is some light. however, once they emerge, there isn't ideal light conditions. they put wll of their energy into growing tall hoping to find some light (whereas plants grown with proper light condtions remain more compact). their stems don't thicken as they grow because they're putting their energy into growing up, not wide. then they become top heavy and fall over. some plants can recover some if placed in better light, (I have some seedlings that were a bit leggy to start that are now filling out on my balcony), but they won't be ideal. one concern in this situation is that when they fall over, the stem can get a kink (like in a hose) and cut off water to the rest of the plant and it will die, or cause that spot to weaken and break off. you can tell it's lack of light because the stem is so long before their are any leaves.

sorry, but you might want to start over at this point rather than watch them struggle.

Yeah, usually any plant that gets real leggy like that is not getting enough sun.

I concur

Yep... it is growing out to try to reach the light. More sun, please!

Actually, I'm pretty sure the problem is your soil. Nasturtiums like POOR soil. Start over with dirt from the ground and not from a bag.

they do look like they need more light; also let them dry out more between watering & now that they are getting the sun they need, pinch them back to encourage them to bush out (harvest a few of the leaves & toss in a salad), they will perk up but it will take a few weeks; don't fertilize or you will get more green & no flowers

The problem is inadequate light. Don't change anything else you are doing - just get them to a brighter spot or buy a full spectrum bulb and put it in a lamp over the plant. If that doesn't work, you can try some of the other stuff suggested here.

But it will.

What variety did you plant? Are they climbing nasturtiums?

Thanks everyone for all the tips! I started the seeds in March and put them in a south-facing window sill, so I though that would be enough sunlight, but perhaps it was too early in the season. The pot has been outside for about 3 weeks now, again with a lot south facing sunlight, so hopefully it will get better. I'm going to pinch some back too, because there's a lot of stems. I'll let you guys know if there's any improvements!

adiaphane - no I haven't been fertilizing, just sun and water. Do you suggest fertilizer??

randomplanter - I'm not sure what variety they are, it came as a kit and only said Nasturtiums... Would this make a difference in whether they should be growing like this are not?

It does kinda look like a climber (could also be leggy). The runners look like they are getting too heavy and then getting pinched/kinked on the lip of the pot?

You could try putting it next to a trellis and encouraging the stems to climb on the first couple of rungs, or re-plant into the ground, or use a pot with a curved lip? I'd be tempted to seed up some more just in case.

Nasturtiums have a trailing/climbing habit by nature. If the sprawl bothers you, they can be trained to a trellis-- the one I had in my office lived for years and entirely took over my mini-blinds. They look best, though, in massed plantings trailing over a deck rail. They will lose leaves near the root end of the stem and start to look straggly after a while, but they can be cut back almost to the root and still recover. If you bring them indoors before the frost and cut them back, you should be able to keep them going through the winter.

DON'T fertilize them. They actually prefer poor soil. Although I periodically watered mine with leftover coffee, and it was quite happy.