When should I start feeding Drosera seedlings?

[pappydew]

I have some seeds sown about a month ago that have now germinated. Some of them appear to be making carnivorous leaves, but they're clearly too small still for solid food. I have some MaxSea on the way, but when is a good time to apply it and at what strength? I've read 1/4 tsp per gallon but unsure whether that is for larger seedlings than I currently have...thanks!

 

[hcarlton]

Depends on how meticulous you want to be. I use a small dropper and carefully feed the small leaves with fertilizer as soon as they show up, but many people will wiat until they gain a little size.

 

[SerMuncherIV]

Once the seedlings have around 3-4 carnivorous leaves, I mash up beta fish pellets into dust and use super-fine tweezers to give one or two specks to each plant. (This works best when it's somewhat humid, the moisture helps make the fish food dust stick to the tweezers.) If you accidentally drop some food on the soil, a careful watering will usually get rid of it. Meanwhile, I've had bad experiences with fertilizer, since it always seems to get into the soil somehow and encourage algae and moss that chokes the young seedlings. This method can take me over an hour to feed one little yogurt cup full of seedlings, but the results are amazing!

 

[pappydew]

Thanks guys, I think I might wait a bit myself just in case.

 

[bluemax]

I generally feed my sundew seedlings by having springtails living around them. I just bring in a small potful of garden soil and place it nearby. They will soon make their tiny presence known. There is a small risk of bringing unwanted insects in with them so I would point this out and you should keep an eye open for them. But it has never been a problem for me. They are small enough to feed the smallest carnivorous leaves without any effort from you.