Tomato Seedlings - about 8" high - What to do now?

vicwatson

Not sure about Trusses and all that (don't even know what they are - perhaps branches?) but read about pinching out small leaves and stuff.

Seems difficult when you don't know.

Any help on what to do with my young plants at this point, what to watch out for? how to maintain etc? When to plant out into grow bags?

ellejay

Hi Vicwatson

Sorry I don't know the answer to your question, but I'm growing tomatoes from seed for the first time also.

When did you sow the seeds? how long did it take for to get to 8"

Thanks,
Lj

barry75

Hi if your tomato plants haven't been potted on to a bigger pot do this now,You can also pot it on a bit deeper than it was in its previous pot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtFnORJBQ90 thats a quick video on pinching out side shoots

redser7

What size pot are they in now and how long have they been in this pot?
What type of tomato plants are they? You don't sideshoot bush types, only cordons.

Oldtree

Cordons

pinch out/break off side shoots when they are about an inch long. They form on top of the joint where the leaves meet the stem.

The flower trusses form on the stem between leaf joints (internodal). It would be usual to allow 5 trusses to form and to then pinch out the top of the plant a further 2 leaves above that.

I still have my tomatoes in small pots in the polytunnel under a frost fleece.

I will plant them from the small pots into 20l ones once I am sure that the harder frosts are over, usually a week of 10 degrees at night. A handful of chicken manure on each pot.

I support the plants with a cane from then on, and string from the roof.

vicwatson

ellejay wrote: »

Hi Vicwatson

Sorry I don't know the answer to your question, but I'm growing tomatoes from seed for the first time also.

When did you sow the seeds? how long did it take for to get to 8"

Thanks,
Lj

Hi, I actually bought them as plugs in Aldi when they were about 2/3" high, transferred them immediately into 5" pots, have them on a windowsill in full sunshine (well !) and they are flying

barry75 wrote: »

Hi if your tomato plants haven't been potted on to a bigger pot do this now,You can also pot it on a bit deeper than it was in its previous pot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtFnORJBQ90 thats a quick video on pinching out side shoots

Thanks for that, have attacked my plants after seeing this video but didn't have that many side shoots but will keep an eye on them for here on

redser7 wrote: »

What size pot are they in now and how long have they been in this pot?
What type of tomato plants are they? You don't sideshoot bush types, only cordons.

5" pots and for about 3 weeks

They were from Aldi - 6 Mini Plum Tomato plants, they look really healthy, says on the packet that once you see roots out the bottom they are ready for their final growing spot in a large pot or grow bag (I'm gonna use grow bags)

I hope to plant them straight out to outdoors to grow bags so I guess that wont be till about Mid May or later (????)

Thanks to all for the advice so far.

PS - Anyone know where I can buy San Marzano seeds or seedlings?

vicwatson

Plants starting to flower but too cold possibly to put them out in grow bags ?????

They are about 18" plus now and will need support v soon.

Help!

Barnaboy

You guys have me worried. We only planted our seeds a few weeks ago, only just above ground in the last few days. Are we too late with our planting?

Supercell

Vic, where are you located? ,if near the coast the last frosts have probably been and gone by now. I've planted a few ones out already as i had no more space in the greenhouse and they are doing fine but obviously growing far slower. They will shoot up as soon as the nights warm up further and the soil stays warm.
I'd harden them a bit first though - put out the plants during the day and take in at night for a couple of weeks before planting.

martinn123

Hope it's OK to tack on a question here.

I put Tomato seeds in those individual little seed trays, 4 weeks ago, and in a Greenhouse.

So far they are only 1'' tall, with two leaves.

I water regularly, and they have got plenty of heat over the past weeks.

Is there a problem with these, as all my other plants from seeds are flying along.

I have Runner Beans, well estd, as well as Gerkins, Cucumbers, and various Salads

Will the toms take off, soon, or do I need to buy some established Plants.

They are Moneymaker, and Alicante, varieties.

redser7

It sounds like they should be further along by now. Have you been leaving them in the greenhouse at night without any heat? Are they still in the same 'seed trays'? What size are these?

martinn123

redser7 wrote: »

It sounds like they should be further along by now. Have you been leaving them in the greenhouse at night without any heat? Are they still in the same 'seed trays'? What size are these?

Yes, left in the Greenhouse at night.

The seed tray, is 14'' X 8'' and 2'' deep.

It has 60 individual compartments.

I sewed one seed in each compartment, and 75% have grown.
Good quality Compost/ Peat mix.

Macy0161

Barnaboy wrote: »

You guys have me worried. We only planted our seeds a few weeks ago, only just above ground in the last few days. Are we too late with our planting?

Not really - depends on where they are ultimately going (inside or out). It won't effect the plants, it may mean less trussess/ fruit ultimately, but there's lost of other factors even in a greenhouse/ polytunnel like what sort of summer we have.

The weather can still be pretty cold - a week or so ago, they were forecasting this week to be cold and frosty with a risk of wintry showers on high ground! Too early can be a pain with trying to protect them if the weather does turn cold, and trying to get the protection off early enough the next morning.

redser7

martinn123 wrote: »

Yes, left in the Greenhouse at night.

The seed tray, is 14'' X 8'' and 2'' deep.

It has 60 individual compartments.

I sewed one seed in each compartment, and 75% have grown.
Good quality Compost/ Peat mix.

The nights have been way to cold for them to be out. So they have stalled. Also those cells are too small for them at this age. The roots have nowhere to go and the compost has probably run out of steam. Did you use seed compost or general purpose? Seed compost is only meant to get the seedling going, then you need to pot up to a bigger pot and use general purpose which is higher in nutrients.
What works - germinate the seeds indoors, preferably in a propagator. Unless you have a greenhouse with a heater or are using a heat mat/cable in the greenhouse, raise the seedling indoors on a warm window ledge with plenty of light (preferably south-facing).
Once the first true leaves form pot the seedling into a 3 inch pot of general purpose potting compost. They should be ok to go to the greenhouse during the day if the temps are 6 plus. They will not appreciate temperatures below 6 degrees and this will slow them down. So if the forecast is for less than that you should bring them in the house at night or else use a couple of layers of fleece. Ideally nights will be consistently 10 degrees before you can leave them out without fleece.
You should sow some more seeds now for a late-ish crop. But pot your existing seedlings into bigger pots and give them some TLC by taking them in at night. They might recover. Don't water them too much either, they don't like their roots sitting in soggy compost. Always water from the bottom by sitting them in a tray of water. When the top of the compost glistens it has taken up what it needs, Let the pot drain of excess water and you should be good for a few days.
Other option is to buy in some plants from the garden centre/Aldi/Lidl.

martinn123

redser7 wrote: »

The nights have been way to cold for them to be out. So they have stalled. Also those cells are too small for them at this age. The roots have nowhere to go and the compost has probably run out of steam. Did you use seed compost or general purpose? Seed compost is only meant to get the seedling going, then you need to pot up to a bigger pot and use general purpose which is higher in nutrients.


You should sow some more seeds now for a late-ish crop. But pot your existing seedlings into bigger pots and give them some TLC by taking them in at night. They might recover. Don't water them too much either, they don't like their roots sitting in soggy compost.
Other option is to buy in some plants from the garden centre/Aldi/Lidl.

OK thanks for the advice so far.

I have potted some of them on to bigger pots, and have cut down on the watering.
They have progressed a little, in so far as I now have 3 or 4 leaves at the top of the plants.
The last week, has been a mixture of heat/cold, do you think they are about to take off?, or is a trip to Lidl due.
Everything else is growing great, I have Salad, from seed, plus Gerkins/ cucumbers, again from seed, and some flowers which are flying along.

Its just the Toms I am struggling with, I have the area ready to plant them in the ground, in the Greenhouse, at what stage should they be to plant on.

redser7

8 1- inches high would be fine to plant them out. Key thing is too watch the forecasts. I'll be biting the bullet and planting most of mine in the tunnel next weekend. You should see them fly along once the night temps stabilise and they start to stretch their roots.
Did you know you can nip out the sideshoots, pop them in a glass of water, wait for roots to form and then pot them up in compost. Free plants! It's a great way to get a second batch going for mid-late cropping. Sideshoot should be about 4 or 5 inches in length before you take it off.