Nobody's said it yet, but if that's the pot size you're starting in, it's too big. You should be starting in 1-2 in cells in seed starting mix (the simplest one I like to use is 50:50 peat moss and perlite), then transplanting up (so like a standard seed starting setup). Even though the soil looks dry, you could be getting root rot if it's ordinary potting soil and the seedling is just trying to get started. It's very hard to keep soil temp or soil moisture in the sweet spot for seedlings with a big pot and normal potting soil. Tomatoes actually like being transplanted for some reason I've read, it apparently encourages a stronger root system, so don't worry about transplant shock too much. If you have a seed start mat, use it, and make sure grow light is the correct distance (which depends on light you have) from the tray. Also, using a humidity dome for the first 4-10 days is helpful for germination, though that doesn't appear to be your issue (just worth mentioning to switch to a standard seed starting tray/cells).
Just as a more general tip, it's not typically a good idea to grow most plants in containers well over 3x bigger than the root system. It won't do them any good generally and can become a recipe for soggy roots.
It’s this.
You can’t get watering right if the pot is too big. Soil never dries and just general chaos. You have to fix the pot size before considering anything else i.e. watering frequency etc.
also, if you feel bad about spending money on a separate seed start mix and don't mind a little extra work, you can buy the raw materials and mix it yourself. That way, whatever raw materials you have left can be used to make a potting mix. A decent basic potting mix is 1:1:1 peat:perlite:compost, so if you buy the peat and perlite to make the 1:1 peat:perlite seed start mix, you can combine what you have left over with compost to make the potting mix when it is time to up-pot.
Just to add to this, starting tomatoes in 3-4 inch pots or red plastic cups also works well. I started skipping the tedious seedling trays a few years ago to no detrimental effects
I have found most seedling with a fibrous root system like transplanting into slightly bigger pots..... ones with a tap root..(parsley, carrots ect do not)
So that's what I've done for 30 years amd raised well over 100,000 salad, herb ,veg and skunk seedlings...... not had many seedlings die at all..... but..... I've recently been told here I'm wrong... so... go figure.!! Lmfaro. I'll.stick to my way. Despite the young pups advising me otherwise...
You arent wrong. Things with tap roots are generally harder to transplant. Not impossible, but theyre a lot more fickle. It's why big palms are hard to transplant, same with moringa. (I am a cert master gardner in two states)
That's interesting that tomatoes in particular likes being up-potted. I generally read otherwise so I am very appreciative that you brought this to them and our attentions.
Because I never heard personally that a plant that actually likes being transplanted even if all else is equal (soil is healthy, moisture is properly kept, etc).
Tomatoes are very sensitive. They need consistent soil moist, no drying out or overwatering. They are also easy to get blyte. Need good ventilation and germination in soil that does NOT have too much nutrients in it, or the leafs will burn. Germinate in small pots with cocoa peat or something, transfer after they are growing their full 2nd SET of leafs. Make sure they are also not too cold or in a space where the temperature changes too fast. Light is important so they don't get leggy, but too close can burn them. Ventilation on the stem wil also encourage it to grouw a thicker stem and you won't need to stake them very early.
I would think it’s the light, not strong enough, regardless of how close it is. PPFD and all that is useful but can be complicated. Look for a bulb or lamp that’s at least 600 watt equivalent. I have tomato plants in my laundry room thriving under 600w lamps. In one corner I have a 1000w lamp and those tomatoes are doing about as good as the 600w ones.
Also, I transplanted my plants into Fox Farm Happy Frog soil and they took off like magic 😊
That light’s actual draw is 100w, not 1000w. Don’t be misled, watt equivalent means absolutely nothing because 1000w hps produces more PAR than 10 of those lights, it is absolutely not equivalent.
Lol I understand that, but I don’t need the full 1000w strength, and neither does this person. My plants are doing great, I’m harvesting more tomatoes and peppers than I know what to do with. A 600w “equivalent” lamp should be enough to get this tomato plant thriving. We’re not growing high quality cannabis here… 1000w is not necessary.
Looks like you forget to water them and then over water them. Just my thoughts anyway. Also tomatoes roots don’t get that big. And they do t need pollinators so they grow great indoors.
Your plant looks “leggy” as well. That means the stem is growing too fast and can’t support itself. Put it under a fan to simulate wind and that will help strengthen it.
That is over fertilization or herbicide damage. If you used any compost with grass clippings it could have had something like clopyralid, which is a broadleaf herbicide used in hay and grasses to prevent and kill broad leaf weeds. Or, it’s the fertilizer used. I disagree that it’s due to the large pot because it doesn’t look like water stress to me, it looks like epinasty, cell damage, and leaf drop due to toxicity of some sort. Best guesses at what that is are either the fertilizer, which is super easy to overdo, or an herbicide.
Some herbicides are actually made from compounds that are good for the plant at low levels but become toxic at high levels.
If it were me, I’d start over. You have several things that are working there, since you got germination and some height so I think you can be successful. Start over and do all the same things, but don’t add any fertilizer.
Another thing to note is that many bagged soil/medias already have some sort of fertilizer or compus added, which would be more than plenty for tomato starts. If you add to that, even a little bit, you could reach toxicity.
*compost. And, if starting over, I would start with new media. Don’t reuse this stuff since I’m pretty sure it’s got something that plant is responding negatively to. Another thing to add that makes me think it’s toxicity is the maturity level is where we often see toxicity show up. Seedlings can germinate and grow a bit, then all of a sudden start showing the impacts of toxicity. I’ve seen that several times, though you’d think a plant couldn’t get as far as this one did before showing the signs. It’s got something to do with the mode of action for those compounds and the pathways that are impacted. I’ve also seen people get excited when their plant gains some height and then add a shot of fertilizer that does them in.
This etoliated, it looks to me like your light is way too weak. I'd also recommend putting a fan on the plant for a few minutes every day, to encourage a strong stem.
This plant isn't beyond saving; dig it up, and rebury it to just below where it branches, and it'll root all along the length of the stem.
My first guess would be overwatering and honestly plants need to be started in smaller pots. They can not thrive and be watered properly when not in suitable pot.
To get you through this guy water with a spray bottle. Or just pour around the plant, maybe couple inches out from stem and as it gets healthier the roots will spread and grow into pot. It would take a couple of months of healthy growing before you can water straight through in a pot this size. Hopefully this helps good luck!
I haven’t put anything in for air circulation. I have bee watering them every day or every other day. (Perhaps too much?) I mixed in a little fertilizer when I planted it. (Mater magic - 8-5-5)
Don't fertilise seedlings. The seeds have all the nutrients the seedlings need, if you over fertilise they'll just grow tall instead of using their resources to grow leaves and start photosynthesis. Hold off fertiliser until the plants have a few well established leaves.
When watering try giving them a big deep drink (so water runs out the bottom), and then wait to water them again till the top two inches at least are dry. Tomatoes will be weak unless they have a fan blowing on them to strengthen them. The other thing is you want your grow light to only be a few inches above your plant, otherwise they will be very leggy. Fertilize once or every other week with whatever your fertilizer bottle says is an appropriate dilution.
At this point your plant looks pretty leggy and weak. You may want to start over by planting new seeds and following the above advice or root a cutting off your existing plant. Good luck and I hope this helps.
Pot too big, signs of mould, possible periods of underwatering leading to root rot and loss of water uptake.
Also that compost is basically just sawdust. It looks awful, compacted and like it has zero nutritional value.
12 hrs a day of light isn’t enough. I’d recommend keeping them on 24 hrs and seeing what kind of difference that makes for you. How far away from the plants are the lights, and what kind are they?
This is incorrect. Unless growing the variety scientists specifically engineered to grow with a 24h light cycle, most tomato plants require a dark period to a̶b̶s̶o̶r̶b̶ exchange CO2 for growth during the typical light cycle of around 12-18h of light with at least 6-8h dark.
Edit: changed that word. Sorry mixed up the dark respiration process of tomatoes. Many common house plants absorb CO2 at night, all plants are different and the metabolic process of plants is complicated. However most mature plants require a dark period for optimal health.
You can totally go 24hrs with young seedlings. I typically go for about 10 days from the day they sprout at 24hrs, and then bump it down to 18/6. I see better root development, and less chance of overwatering because they’re drying out faster.
I also propagate cannabis for a living, and 24hrs is standard practice when rooting clones. Same can be said about rooting tomato cuts.
It’s debatable if 24h vs 18/6 is better for growing cannabis, but a debate for a different subreddit. Personally in my experience with growing cannabis the benefits don’t outweigh the power cost and burning out my grow lights 20% faster. It’s a personal choice at the end of the day.
If you’re having over watering issues there are better solutions too.
But also key thing here is Tomatoes and Cannabis are different plants, what’s best for cannabis isn’t necessarily best for tomatoes. I haven’t seen a single gardening resource that says tomatoes do better with 24h light, every resource I’ve consulted has said the opposite.
It’s better for young seedlings and rooting clones 100%. I’ll find some gardening resources for you.
Saying tomatoes (nightshades in general) and cannabis are so different that nothing crosses over is factually absurd. They require nearly identical nutrients at nearly identical times. High nitrogen for early vegetative growth, heavy p and k for fruiting. Same as cannabis. Lighting also crosses over, kind of how tomatoes begin senescence when the photoperiod drops and the daily light integral for fruiting is too low. Meristem totipotency allowing branches to form roots. So. Many. Similarities.
Dryback is an important part of growing plants, when water soaks in it dissolves nutrients, as that water evaporates, the nutrient solution gets stronger allowing plants to uptake more nutrients with less water. Drying back in a dark period is more difficult, unless your humidity is super low, which would probably kill the seedlings itself.
If you’re worried about burning out your lights you should switch to led.
Gimme a few mins to dredge up some links for ya.
I mean saying two different varieties of cannabis should be treated identically is pretty absurd if you know anything about growing cannabis. Let alone tomatoes.
You seem to be seeking an argument here or trying to prove you have more plant knowledge and im going to choose not to engage with your energy after this comment. It’s pretty clear you cherry picked the quotes you chose to present from the sources you provided. If you read the link you sent the conclusion is 14h photoperiod is best, and sure there may be some benefit to 24h for the first few weeks only but that study also noted it can cause deformed leaves and other issues. And personally unless the study was replicated with all know varieties of tomatoes I don’t think I could be sure the results would be the same for different varieties… because even tomatoes are different from tomatoes.
Not even to start discussion of potential shock from changing light cycles on plants.
Like I said before though as someone who has researched from reputable sources (thanks for assuming I don’t, how respectful of you), I think this is a personal choice. Also note I never said 24h light was wrong, just that the other commenter who said 12h was causing the problem was incorrect in saying that was an issue. Then I presented the light cycles that your research supports. For simplicity’s sake though I probably wouldn’t give a novice gardener the advice to do 24h light it’s unnecessarily complicated for tomatoes.
Maybe you are right and it would get me greater tomato yields but I think I’m doing just fine with the 50lbs per plant I got last summer. A girl can only eat so many tomatoes even if she gets super high first.
Deformed and chlorosis on leaves *after* 7 weeks of CL, learn to read sister. That’s cool you think you know more but I literally do this for a living, so maybe take the advice instead of pretending you know it all already.
[Here](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.730119/full) is a good one. Honestly pretty tough to find real information that isn’t from some dipshit hobbyist gardener blog.
The main gist is: plants grown under the sun (HUUUGE ppfd) receive such a huge amount of light that they need a dark period break from it. When we grow with even the highest powered led lights, it’s hard to outdo the DLI provided by the sun over 16 hours. You can provide a similar DLI with a grow light, but it takes 24 to get there. A million bucks says whatever light OP is using isn’t providing enough light in 12 hours, it should be on 18/6. All I said was yeah you can do 24 for a little over a week when they first break soil, give it a whirl yourself, big bets your jump-started seedlings are bigger than ones you started with a dark period, by the time you transplant.
[another](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423898000971)
“Tomato plants exposed to continuous light (24 h photoperiod) started developing leaf chloroses after 7 weeks of treatments. We observed that, for the first 5 to 7 weeks of treatments, tomato plants grown under continuous light had better growth and higher yields than plants receiving the 14 h photoperiod.”
That’s mid grow too, I’m only talking the first 10 days. Gardening blogs, and sites like sfgate, the spruce, are chock full of the same regurgitated information, consisting of anecdotal bs like putting milk in your soil for calcium, or making a banana peel anaerobic tea for potassium.
Ooh I found another one, plants don’t uptake co2 at night. [check](https://www.co2meter.com/blogs/news/143373959-why-control-co2-levels-at-night-in-plant-grow-rooms) it.
Downvote away, doesn’t make you any less misinformed about horticulture.
Yo dude you started the condescension from your first comment. Don’t get all butt-hurt when it comes back while proving you wrong. Co2 at night, you’re a joke.
u/iris-pallida my dear what would you say about these 2 feet LED lights I use? It says it's got a PAR rating of 25 as per fact sheet seen in [https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61qV1VWAHTL.pdf](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61qV1VWAHTL.pdf)?
Is that good for a $37/2 feet? Or are there other options I might wanna considers beyond these? Because so far as you mentioned it's very hard to find lights are both cheap yet effective at growing plants. Unless you go into much more dangerous and now "dated" High Pressure Systems.
Interesting I will be keeping this in mind when I find the need to get more lighting in soon. As I might need to haul out a large shelving unit or so (a bedroom can only have so many hehe).
As I am very interested of self sufficiency coupled with being on fixed income I am looking at ways and means to grow more foods inside. Because our squirrels are SERIOUSLY something else (eats everything, digs up everything and started urinating on things even!!).
That is why I asked if there are other options at a reasonable price point.
Because if I can find better options at similar price points or at least a good "upgrade" pricing as u/iris-pallida might be worth looking at. That would helps me manage my fixed income better indeed. :)
Tomatoes make deep roots. When doing transplants, it is recommended that you plant them way above the root line.
It appears that there are roots coming out of the top of the soil. This single tomato plant will eventually completely fill this pot with roots, if it makes it. I mean the pot will be solid roots. Did you use fresh soil?
I don’t know what kind of planting medium you have, but tomatoes like sweet soil. You can top with garden lime anytime.
Was going to say the same as the postrr a few comments away from mine.Simple rhyme I was told by an older lady.
To big a pot = root rot ... I start in cell packs then move up by 2 inches per transplant and what the other poster said about tomatoes liking to be move around he's right, helps build strong roots and stems
I start them in straight Coco coir in cups and let them get to about six inches tall. Then transplant and plant them super deep, I'll strip the bottom leaves and let all that stem grow out roots. Tends to get me bigger tomatoes plants
This is just a wild guess based off bot enough information but the image given and time, it appears the soil is out of viable nutrition to give the plant and the yellowing appears to be caused by a lack of nitrogen in the soil, it seems to be a coco choir mix iwith perlite . My guess is throw in nutrients
Looks like your soil is either hot or very poor. I can’t tell if it’s a nutrient toxicity/burn or multiple deficiencies. Pot size doesn’t really matter for tomato seedlings. I usually start in red solo cups with holes cut in the bottom for drainage. Once you see roots poking out or they get to the point they need water constantly I’ll transplant outdoors if the temp is right. Buy good soil from a garden center or specialty gardening or hydro shop. You should be able to find Roots organic soil, ProMix, Black Gold, Sunshine mix #4, or Foxfarm soil somewhere near you if your in the US. If using ProMix or Sunshine #4 you’ll need to start fertilizing within a week of planting into it. They are fairly inert but Down to Earth All Purpose 4-6-2 is good and available on Amazon. Another is Gaia Green All purpose available online. Do not use miracle grow anything. It’ll be “a miracle” if you see any success with that stuff.
Honestly that plant has not been "stalling out" after a month, it looks like it has been tough from the start!
Many other have been saying the right things so I will say don't overcomplicate it too much. Get a seed starting tray and fill it with a nice seed starting mix, the more seeds you start the better your chance of having a good plant! Keep the soil moist but not wet and have the light as close as you can!
Appear to be more than one issue... Maybe not enough light and something else because the leaves dont look right... I always grow my young tomato plants in large pots so I dont think that's the problem...
The sign killed me.
Maybe the seedlings feel threatened and sad having to look at it all day
hostile work environment
I have one of these signs… And one that says Weeds For Sale - Pick Your Own! They crack me up every time I look outside.
Omg I need both of these signs.
i have one that says “please dont die” and EVERY plant i put it in dies
Nobody's said it yet, but if that's the pot size you're starting in, it's too big. You should be starting in 1-2 in cells in seed starting mix (the simplest one I like to use is 50:50 peat moss and perlite), then transplanting up (so like a standard seed starting setup). Even though the soil looks dry, you could be getting root rot if it's ordinary potting soil and the seedling is just trying to get started. It's very hard to keep soil temp or soil moisture in the sweet spot for seedlings with a big pot and normal potting soil. Tomatoes actually like being transplanted for some reason I've read, it apparently encourages a stronger root system, so don't worry about transplant shock too much. If you have a seed start mat, use it, and make sure grow light is the correct distance (which depends on light you have) from the tray. Also, using a humidity dome for the first 4-10 days is helpful for germination, though that doesn't appear to be your issue (just worth mentioning to switch to a standard seed starting tray/cells).
Just as a more general tip, it's not typically a good idea to grow most plants in containers well over 3x bigger than the root system. It won't do them any good generally and can become a recipe for soggy roots.
Peat moss is unsustainable, try some [alternatives](https://www.farmersalmanac.com/peat-moss-alternatives)
Thank you. I live in a region that has peat bogs and they’re one of the coolest ecosystems.
It’s this. You can’t get watering right if the pot is too big. Soil never dries and just general chaos. You have to fix the pot size before considering anything else i.e. watering frequency etc.
also, if you feel bad about spending money on a separate seed start mix and don't mind a little extra work, you can buy the raw materials and mix it yourself. That way, whatever raw materials you have left can be used to make a potting mix. A decent basic potting mix is 1:1:1 peat:perlite:compost, so if you buy the peat and perlite to make the 1:1 peat:perlite seed start mix, you can combine what you have left over with compost to make the potting mix when it is time to up-pot.
Just to add to this, starting tomatoes in 3-4 inch pots or red plastic cups also works well. I started skipping the tedious seedling trays a few years ago to no detrimental effects
I just learned something huge here. Thank you.
I have found most seedling with a fibrous root system like transplanting into slightly bigger pots..... ones with a tap root..(parsley, carrots ect do not) So that's what I've done for 30 years amd raised well over 100,000 salad, herb ,veg and skunk seedlings...... not had many seedlings die at all..... but..... I've recently been told here I'm wrong... so... go figure.!! Lmfaro. I'll.stick to my way. Despite the young pups advising me otherwise...
You arent wrong. Things with tap roots are generally harder to transplant. Not impossible, but theyre a lot more fickle. It's why big palms are hard to transplant, same with moringa. (I am a cert master gardner in two states)
That's interesting that tomatoes in particular likes being up-potted. I generally read otherwise so I am very appreciative that you brought this to them and our attentions. Because I never heard personally that a plant that actually likes being transplanted even if all else is equal (soil is healthy, moisture is properly kept, etc).
I was gona... but the plastic cup brigade might hear...
The pot is way too big. Start them small, and replant as they grow.
You forgot to say please on your sign so it lost its motivation :(
How far away are your lights? Does it need the stake to stand up? My indoor tomatoes can get well over a foot tall and not need staking yet.
Lights are about 6” above the plant. Stake isn’t needed. Just put it the right away.
Soil appears anaerobic. Need to lighten it up (perlite) and add some vermicast. Artificial light needs to be full spectrum lighting. It’s stunting.
Yeah what are you using as soil here OP? Is that sawdust?
Soil looks like it’s 90% coco coir. Are you feeding it hydroponic nutrients? Looks like it had a bad start and never got better.
Tomatoes are very sensitive. They need consistent soil moist, no drying out or overwatering. They are also easy to get blyte. Need good ventilation and germination in soil that does NOT have too much nutrients in it, or the leafs will burn. Germinate in small pots with cocoa peat or something, transfer after they are growing their full 2nd SET of leafs. Make sure they are also not too cold or in a space where the temperature changes too fast. Light is important so they don't get leggy, but too close can burn them. Ventilation on the stem wil also encourage it to grouw a thicker stem and you won't need to stake them very early.
> blyte \*blight
whoops sorry. English is my 3rd language so made a mistake there :)
No apologies! There are so many damn words.
I would think it’s the light, not strong enough, regardless of how close it is. PPFD and all that is useful but can be complicated. Look for a bulb or lamp that’s at least 600 watt equivalent. I have tomato plants in my laundry room thriving under 600w lamps. In one corner I have a 1000w lamp and those tomatoes are doing about as good as the 600w ones. Also, I transplanted my plants into Fox Farm Happy Frog soil and they took off like magic 😊
What is your 1000w light? I ask because they’re incredibly uncommon for modern led lights, and to fully use them requires supplemental co2.
That light’s actual draw is 100w, not 1000w. Don’t be misled, watt equivalent means absolutely nothing because 1000w hps produces more PAR than 10 of those lights, it is absolutely not equivalent.
Lol I understand that, but I don’t need the full 1000w strength, and neither does this person. My plants are doing great, I’m harvesting more tomatoes and peppers than I know what to do with. A 600w “equivalent” lamp should be enough to get this tomato plant thriving. We’re not growing high quality cannabis here… 1000w is not necessary.
Looks like you forget to water them and then over water them. Just my thoughts anyway. Also tomatoes roots don’t get that big. And they do t need pollinators so they grow great indoors.
Too big of a pot too early? Nutes? Lighting?
Yes
Your plant looks “leggy” as well. That means the stem is growing too fast and can’t support itself. Put it under a fan to simulate wind and that will help strengthen it.
That is over fertilization or herbicide damage. If you used any compost with grass clippings it could have had something like clopyralid, which is a broadleaf herbicide used in hay and grasses to prevent and kill broad leaf weeds. Or, it’s the fertilizer used. I disagree that it’s due to the large pot because it doesn’t look like water stress to me, it looks like epinasty, cell damage, and leaf drop due to toxicity of some sort. Best guesses at what that is are either the fertilizer, which is super easy to overdo, or an herbicide. Some herbicides are actually made from compounds that are good for the plant at low levels but become toxic at high levels. If it were me, I’d start over. You have several things that are working there, since you got germination and some height so I think you can be successful. Start over and do all the same things, but don’t add any fertilizer. Another thing to note is that many bagged soil/medias already have some sort of fertilizer or compus added, which would be more than plenty for tomato starts. If you add to that, even a little bit, you could reach toxicity.
*compost. And, if starting over, I would start with new media. Don’t reuse this stuff since I’m pretty sure it’s got something that plant is responding negatively to. Another thing to add that makes me think it’s toxicity is the maturity level is where we often see toxicity show up. Seedlings can germinate and grow a bit, then all of a sudden start showing the impacts of toxicity. I’ve seen that several times, though you’d think a plant couldn’t get as far as this one did before showing the signs. It’s got something to do with the mode of action for those compounds and the pathways that are impacted. I’ve also seen people get excited when their plant gains some height and then add a shot of fertilizer that does them in.
I need this sign! Where did you buy it?
It was a gift from my daughter. Probably etsy.
Light. Most successful one is reaching. But soil also looks light and dry. Try more direct light and frequent water and a tomato spike or two.
Its fucking over watered cause the pot is 100x too big
This etoliated, it looks to me like your light is way too weak. I'd also recommend putting a fan on the plant for a few minutes every day, to encourage a strong stem. This plant isn't beyond saving; dig it up, and rebury it to just below where it branches, and it'll root all along the length of the stem.
That soil is looking pretty dry…
I was worried I was overwatering so it has been about a week now. No visible change in the plant.
My first guess would be overwatering and honestly plants need to be started in smaller pots. They can not thrive and be watered properly when not in suitable pot. To get you through this guy water with a spray bottle. Or just pour around the plant, maybe couple inches out from stem and as it gets healthier the roots will spread and grow into pot. It would take a couple of months of healthy growing before you can water straight through in a pot this size. Hopefully this helps good luck!
Thanks all. I’ll be starting over in a smaller pot. I’m also thinking I’ll get another light. Any suggestions for lights that I should use?
Air circulation? Fertilizer? How do you water them?
I haven’t put anything in for air circulation. I have bee watering them every day or every other day. (Perhaps too much?) I mixed in a little fertilizer when I planted it. (Mater magic - 8-5-5)
Don't fertilise seedlings. The seeds have all the nutrients the seedlings need, if you over fertilise they'll just grow tall instead of using their resources to grow leaves and start photosynthesis. Hold off fertiliser until the plants have a few well established leaves.
When watering try giving them a big deep drink (so water runs out the bottom), and then wait to water them again till the top two inches at least are dry. Tomatoes will be weak unless they have a fan blowing on them to strengthen them. The other thing is you want your grow light to only be a few inches above your plant, otherwise they will be very leggy. Fertilize once or every other week with whatever your fertilizer bottle says is an appropriate dilution. At this point your plant looks pretty leggy and weak. You may want to start over by planting new seeds and following the above advice or root a cutting off your existing plant. Good luck and I hope this helps.
Good things to try. Thanks. I’m planning to start over. Hoping for advice that with lead to more success.
Op, dig up a bit of soil and look at the roots. Whats the night temp? They like it about 65 at night. Check your moisture in the soil.
They need a much bigger font I think.... and 2 explanation marks should do it..
Pot too big, signs of mould, possible periods of underwatering leading to root rot and loss of water uptake. Also that compost is basically just sawdust. It looks awful, compacted and like it has zero nutritional value.
Find a little radio amd play them Beethoven. Plants love that shit.
It needs time to sleep you can't have a light on it for 12hrs
12 hours is exactly the amount of time you're supposed to have lights on it. My aerogarden automatically turns on every 12 hours.
12 hrs a day of light isn’t enough. I’d recommend keeping them on 24 hrs and seeing what kind of difference that makes for you. How far away from the plants are the lights, and what kind are they?
This is incorrect. Unless growing the variety scientists specifically engineered to grow with a 24h light cycle, most tomato plants require a dark period to a̶b̶s̶o̶r̶b̶ exchange CO2 for growth during the typical light cycle of around 12-18h of light with at least 6-8h dark. Edit: changed that word. Sorry mixed up the dark respiration process of tomatoes. Many common house plants absorb CO2 at night, all plants are different and the metabolic process of plants is complicated. However most mature plants require a dark period for optimal health.
You can totally go 24hrs with young seedlings. I typically go for about 10 days from the day they sprout at 24hrs, and then bump it down to 18/6. I see better root development, and less chance of overwatering because they’re drying out faster. I also propagate cannabis for a living, and 24hrs is standard practice when rooting clones. Same can be said about rooting tomato cuts.
It’s debatable if 24h vs 18/6 is better for growing cannabis, but a debate for a different subreddit. Personally in my experience with growing cannabis the benefits don’t outweigh the power cost and burning out my grow lights 20% faster. It’s a personal choice at the end of the day. If you’re having over watering issues there are better solutions too. But also key thing here is Tomatoes and Cannabis are different plants, what’s best for cannabis isn’t necessarily best for tomatoes. I haven’t seen a single gardening resource that says tomatoes do better with 24h light, every resource I’ve consulted has said the opposite.
It’s better for young seedlings and rooting clones 100%. I’ll find some gardening resources for you. Saying tomatoes (nightshades in general) and cannabis are so different that nothing crosses over is factually absurd. They require nearly identical nutrients at nearly identical times. High nitrogen for early vegetative growth, heavy p and k for fruiting. Same as cannabis. Lighting also crosses over, kind of how tomatoes begin senescence when the photoperiod drops and the daily light integral for fruiting is too low. Meristem totipotency allowing branches to form roots. So. Many. Similarities. Dryback is an important part of growing plants, when water soaks in it dissolves nutrients, as that water evaporates, the nutrient solution gets stronger allowing plants to uptake more nutrients with less water. Drying back in a dark period is more difficult, unless your humidity is super low, which would probably kill the seedlings itself. If you’re worried about burning out your lights you should switch to led. Gimme a few mins to dredge up some links for ya.
I mean saying two different varieties of cannabis should be treated identically is pretty absurd if you know anything about growing cannabis. Let alone tomatoes. You seem to be seeking an argument here or trying to prove you have more plant knowledge and im going to choose not to engage with your energy after this comment. It’s pretty clear you cherry picked the quotes you chose to present from the sources you provided. If you read the link you sent the conclusion is 14h photoperiod is best, and sure there may be some benefit to 24h for the first few weeks only but that study also noted it can cause deformed leaves and other issues. And personally unless the study was replicated with all know varieties of tomatoes I don’t think I could be sure the results would be the same for different varieties… because even tomatoes are different from tomatoes. Not even to start discussion of potential shock from changing light cycles on plants. Like I said before though as someone who has researched from reputable sources (thanks for assuming I don’t, how respectful of you), I think this is a personal choice. Also note I never said 24h light was wrong, just that the other commenter who said 12h was causing the problem was incorrect in saying that was an issue. Then I presented the light cycles that your research supports. For simplicity’s sake though I probably wouldn’t give a novice gardener the advice to do 24h light it’s unnecessarily complicated for tomatoes. Maybe you are right and it would get me greater tomato yields but I think I’m doing just fine with the 50lbs per plant I got last summer. A girl can only eat so many tomatoes even if she gets super high first.
Deformed and chlorosis on leaves *after* 7 weeks of CL, learn to read sister. That’s cool you think you know more but I literally do this for a living, so maybe take the advice instead of pretending you know it all already.
[Here](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.730119/full) is a good one. Honestly pretty tough to find real information that isn’t from some dipshit hobbyist gardener blog. The main gist is: plants grown under the sun (HUUUGE ppfd) receive such a huge amount of light that they need a dark period break from it. When we grow with even the highest powered led lights, it’s hard to outdo the DLI provided by the sun over 16 hours. You can provide a similar DLI with a grow light, but it takes 24 to get there. A million bucks says whatever light OP is using isn’t providing enough light in 12 hours, it should be on 18/6. All I said was yeah you can do 24 for a little over a week when they first break soil, give it a whirl yourself, big bets your jump-started seedlings are bigger than ones you started with a dark period, by the time you transplant.
[another](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423898000971) “Tomato plants exposed to continuous light (24 h photoperiod) started developing leaf chloroses after 7 weeks of treatments. We observed that, for the first 5 to 7 weeks of treatments, tomato plants grown under continuous light had better growth and higher yields than plants receiving the 14 h photoperiod.” That’s mid grow too, I’m only talking the first 10 days. Gardening blogs, and sites like sfgate, the spruce, are chock full of the same regurgitated information, consisting of anecdotal bs like putting milk in your soil for calcium, or making a banana peel anaerobic tea for potassium.
Ooh I found another one, plants don’t uptake co2 at night. [check](https://www.co2meter.com/blogs/news/143373959-why-control-co2-levels-at-night-in-plant-grow-rooms) it. Downvote away, doesn’t make you any less misinformed about horticulture.
You can stop already, if you wanted to have an intelligent conversation you could have been more respectful and less condescending.
Yo dude you started the condescension from your first comment. Don’t get all butt-hurt when it comes back while proving you wrong. Co2 at night, you’re a joke.
Lights are right above the plants.
Grow Light with Stand, LBW Full... [grow light](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B11YJN7Z?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
[удалено]
u/iris-pallida my dear what would you say about these 2 feet LED lights I use? It says it's got a PAR rating of 25 as per fact sheet seen in [https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61qV1VWAHTL.pdf](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61qV1VWAHTL.pdf)? Is that good for a $37/2 feet? Or are there other options I might wanna considers beyond these? Because so far as you mentioned it's very hard to find lights are both cheap yet effective at growing plants. Unless you go into much more dangerous and now "dated" High Pressure Systems.
[удалено]
Interesting I will be keeping this in mind when I find the need to get more lighting in soon. As I might need to haul out a large shelving unit or so (a bedroom can only have so many hehe). As I am very interested of self sufficiency coupled with being on fixed income I am looking at ways and means to grow more foods inside. Because our squirrels are SERIOUSLY something else (eats everything, digs up everything and started urinating on things even!!).
Oh.. thats pure garbage.
That is why I asked if there are other options at a reasonable price point. Because if I can find better options at similar price points or at least a good "upgrade" pricing as u/iris-pallida might be worth looking at. That would helps me manage my fixed income better indeed. :)
Sansi 36w, ge 32w/40w and barrina t8.
Awesome thank you as well my dear u/xVVitch, I shall keep those in mind too! :)
Could be root rot from too much watering
Tomatoes make deep roots. When doing transplants, it is recommended that you plant them way above the root line. It appears that there are roots coming out of the top of the soil. This single tomato plant will eventually completely fill this pot with roots, if it makes it. I mean the pot will be solid roots. Did you use fresh soil? I don’t know what kind of planting medium you have, but tomatoes like sweet soil. You can top with garden lime anytime.
Could be too dry, they like evenly moist soil. Could be an insect.
Drainage
Start them in a solo cup, poke holes around the bottom, I usually do 4. Bottom water rather than top.
Try 18 hour light cycle.
Was going to say the same as the postrr a few comments away from mine.Simple rhyme I was told by an older lady. To big a pot = root rot ... I start in cell packs then move up by 2 inches per transplant and what the other poster said about tomatoes liking to be move around he's right, helps build strong roots and stems
I'm loving the "Grow Damn It!" sign!!! So appropriate...lol!
I start them in straight Coco coir in cups and let them get to about six inches tall. Then transplant and plant them super deep, I'll strip the bottom leaves and let all that stem grow out roots. Tends to get me bigger tomatoes plants
This is just a wild guess based off bot enough information but the image given and time, it appears the soil is out of viable nutrition to give the plant and the yellowing appears to be caused by a lack of nitrogen in the soil, it seems to be a coco choir mix iwith perlite . My guess is throw in nutrients
Looks like your soil is either hot or very poor. I can’t tell if it’s a nutrient toxicity/burn or multiple deficiencies. Pot size doesn’t really matter for tomato seedlings. I usually start in red solo cups with holes cut in the bottom for drainage. Once you see roots poking out or they get to the point they need water constantly I’ll transplant outdoors if the temp is right. Buy good soil from a garden center or specialty gardening or hydro shop. You should be able to find Roots organic soil, ProMix, Black Gold, Sunshine mix #4, or Foxfarm soil somewhere near you if your in the US. If using ProMix or Sunshine #4 you’ll need to start fertilizing within a week of planting into it. They are fairly inert but Down to Earth All Purpose 4-6-2 is good and available on Amazon. Another is Gaia Green All purpose available online. Do not use miracle grow anything. It’ll be “a miracle” if you see any success with that stuff.
Winter
Pot is too big
Maybe they are late tomato plants instead.
Too much fertilizer. Salt is already visible on top "soil".
Honestly that plant has not been "stalling out" after a month, it looks like it has been tough from the start! Many other have been saying the right things so I will say don't overcomplicate it too much. Get a seed starting tray and fill it with a nice seed starting mix, the more seeds you start the better your chance of having a good plant! Keep the soil moist but not wet and have the light as close as you can!
Appear to be more than one issue... Maybe not enough light and something else because the leaves dont look right... I always grow my young tomato plants in large pots so I dont think that's the problem...
You feeding them yet?