Yellow Bottom Leaves

whoose · April 15, 2021

Strange yellowing of bottom leaves. Too much or not enough of something? Appear only to be in the Big Beef f1 and 4th of July types. Otherwise they look fine. Suggestion?

ScottinAtlanta · April 15, 2021

Happens to mine all the time when they get as big as yours. Just pinch them off, and for goodness sake get them outside and harden them off.

whoose · April 19, 2021

Tough to harden off 4 inches of snow and 20f last night 30f high today.

zipcode · April 20, 2021

It is nutrient (mostly nitrogen) deficiency. Probably root bound, or simply out of food, or too cold, and of course could also be due to high EC due to too much fertilizer. In these situations one usually does a test, fertilize one and see how it responds.

KarenO · April 20, 2021

They are struggling. Losing older leaves in favour of new ones in crowded low light conditions. Over and under watering can also contribute.
Can you raise the lights? If they were mine, I would remove them one at a time, assess each individually, remove all lower yellowing foliage, fertilize with 1/2 strength soluble, apply a fan for airflow and do all I could to acclimate them to natural light ASAP. They mostly were just planted too early but they look salvageable to me. I hope your forecast weather improves
KarenO

Gardeneer · April 21, 2021

I think in small cells as the seedlings get bigger they try to shed lower leaves sooner. But to me

that is not an issue. I would pinch them off when I plant them anyway.

Milan HP · April 22, 2021

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

I think in small cells as the seedlings get bigger they try to shed lower leaves sooner. But to me

that is not an issue. I would pinch them off when I plant them anyway.

I fully agree. The causes are probably a complex of not enough nutrients, excess of water (strangely enough not so much water deficiency unless it's extreme), insufficient light down there (no help to increase the intensity as they are shaded by the tops), high humidity and/or the "capacity" of the root system. It seems to me that the bottom leaves are of no priority (or even use) to the plant. Dispensable. Similarly to cotyledons.

I usually ignore these symptoms and plant the affected seedlings as if they were okay. It has never happened to me that they weren't.

Milan HP

April 21, 2021	#6
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,909	I think in small cells as the seedlings get bigger they try to shed lower leaves sooner. But to me that is not an issue. I would pinch them off when I plant them anyway. __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !

April 15, 2021	#2
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	Happens to mine all the time when they get as big as yours. Just pinch them off, and for goodness sake get them outside and harden them off.

April 19, 2021	#3
whoose Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Bozeman, Montana Zone 6b Posts: 333	Tough to harden off 4 inches of snow and 20f last night 30f high today.

April 20, 2021	#4
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	It is nutrient (mostly nitrogen) deficiency. Probably root bound, or simply out of food, or too cold, and of course could also be due to high EC due to too much fertilizer. In these situations one usually does a test, fertilize one and see how it responds.

April 20, 2021	#5
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,922	They are struggling. Losing older leaves in favour of new ones in crowded low light conditions. Over and under watering can also contribute. Can you raise the lights? If they were mine, I would remove them one at a time, assess each individually, remove all lower yellowing foliage, fertilize with 1/2 strength soluble, apply a fan for airflow and do all I could to acclimate them to natural light ASAP. They mostly were just planted too early but they look salvageable to me. I hope your forecast weather improves KarenO