So I started my tomatoes almost two months ago and they look pathetic.
They haven't grown since the first week or so…what's going on?!? Last year by this time they were quadruple this size and way healthier looking!! Here's what is different from last year:
1. Used seeds from last year that were kept in the fridge
2. Started in seed starting mix and never transplanted into soil
3. Temp might be cooler in the house this year?
4. Used biodegradable pots instead of plastic cups (I'm starting to think this plus the soil is the culprit!)
They've been watered frequently and kept under grow lights. What do you think happened? They aren't even strong looking enough to transplant so we're gonna have to buy plants. Maybe I'll just say a prayer and stick them outside. I have nothing to lose at this point, right?
My sweet potatoes slips and bell peppers look a little better than the tomatoes, but not much:
On a more positive note, my strawberries are growing well and even have blooms! Hopefully we'll be getting some berries this year:
The corn and potatoes are also growing fast:
What are you growing right now?
My tomato plants look about the same... :( Did you grow your strawberies from seed?
ReplyDeleteI have never had luck growing things from seed and transplanting them, so I couldnt offer any advice, sorry.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, we have jalapeno's started from seed (only because we had to - they take forever). I will try to transplant them in a couple of weeks. I tried to plant spinach outside, but it didnt come up at all. I planted onions outside just last week (seed), so those havent come up yet. But the pea pods are doing great!!
Looking forward to seeing your garden in the upcoming weeks! :-)
I am starting my very first garden this year! I am very excited :) I am planning to grow burgundy okra (seed), broccoli (seed), beets (seed), celery (regrowing from a stalk), garlic chives (seed) & tomatoes (not sure what kind yet)!
ReplyDeleteLast year I tried growing a few things from seeds and failed. This year I tried again, and it's gone MUCH better. I planted my seeds, watered well, and kept them under a regular fluorescent light. Last year I think it was lack of light that kept them fairly small, and other than having lots of light available this year something I read is to try to strengthen them. What you do is every time you water, or walk by, run your hand over the plants. Or keep a fan blowing by them. This strengthens the stems and leaves. So maybe doing that would help? Last year any that grew were very spindly. The only other thought I have is maybe they need some type of nutrition? I hope they make it though! ((Sorry this is so long!))
ReplyDeleteI had tomato seeds in plastic jars and in the ones you have. The plants in the plastic ones are really big now and the other ones look the same as above. Maybe the jars suck to much water of the plant.
ReplyDeleteI also have a question: I tried to grow sweet potato by laying it for 1/3 in water, but it did't work. I did it twice, bought one at an organic store.... Any idea what went wrong?
Greetings,
Annemieke
Eize en Annemieke -Maybe you are right, I used plastic cups last year. Maybe the biodegradable cups are sucking my plants dry.
ReplyDeleteI've only grown sweet potato slips once. I just put them in water and one sprouted like crazy and the other one didn't so I'm not much help. Sorry! I did use sweet potatoes from my garden last year though.
Ok...I had the same problem, but only with one batch of seedlings - the other batch grew, fast, bright green, and sturdy (same variety)(do the brushing-it works!)and was several inches taller. Here was the difference-I used a different brand of potting soil for each batch.
ReplyDeleteMy garden book said that a stunted,darkish purple tomato plant with no growth meant a lack of phosphorous.
You could easily rescue the whole project by transplanting your tomatoes in a different soil ("schultz (sp?)" was a winner here)apply manure tea and watch the them improve in a few days. They will take a bit to completely recover.
I firmly believe that some potting seed start mixes are lacking in certain nutrients that tomatoes and peppers need, and squash couldn't care less!
Too bad about your tomatoes! We're trying them for the first time this year and are happy to say our starts are doing well. I've got lettuce, spinach, and pumpkin starts ready to be moved out to the garden. Here in the Pacific NW we're really just starting to get warmer weather; it won't be time for planting warm weather crops like corn and beans for a few more weeks.
ReplyDeleteHappy gardening! ~Lisa
Jessica - Makes sense! Thanks! I'll have to try new soil.
ReplyDeleteMissy, I'm sorry to hear your plants are not thriving like they should be :-( Always a disappointment when this happens. I think the cups may be the issue, but because of heat. Plastic traps heat better than the peat moss cups, so they probably thrived in the plastic environment. Couple of suggestions...
ReplyDeletePlace them all on a baking pan with sides or better yet, one of those black garden trays if you have them. Add water to the bottom of the pan/tray and let it soak up the water from the bottom and saturate the peat moss cup and soil. Also, place the entire tray on a heating pad covered with a towel OR pull out some Christmas lights , plug them in and place the tray on top. This should create some heat to get them going. If it's been more than two weeks, mix a bit of Fish Emulsion with water and give it to them as well (water from the top gently). You'll need to leave them somewhere that the smell won't be offense (not your dining room!). In about 2 days the smell will be gone.
Hope this helps!
Amy
i've never grown tomatoes from a seed just gotten the starts at the hardware store or nursery.
ReplyDeleteMy vote is the soil as the culprit. Seed starting mix is good for just that, starting seeds, but once they've sprouted it's possible that they have used all the nutrients from the seed starting mix just to sprout and now the mix has no nutrients left to feed them to grow further. We started our tomatoes from seeds indoors and they did great. But when we transplanted them outside to our raised beds they quickly stopped growing altogether. An inexpensive soil test kit from Lowe's has been our best friend. We tested our outdoor soil (that was sold to us as the "perfect mix of soil and compost for vegetables gardens") only to find that it was completely depleted of all nutrients. No wonder our little tomatoes didn't make it. We lost the crop for this year, but are wiser for next year.
ReplyDelete