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Old March 17, 2016   #1
Rogue Seedling
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Default Tomato seedlings growing VERY slowly! Help please.

Hello, first time poster here. Sorry this is so long! I desperately need help with my sad seedlings. I planted them in mid January and 2 months later, mid March, they're all only 3 or 4 inches tall and rather spindly with a narrow main stem. Each has 2 to 3 sets of leaves; some only have one set of leaves still. These are a mixture of regular indeterminate and some indet. dwarf varieties, same problems for all.

The leaves they have are very small and seem almost to get smaller the older the plants get. Most plants have very pale leaves that slowly turn yellowish with dark/purple veins. I see other people's 2 month old seedlings, and they're much bigger and bushier with darker green leaves.

Here's what I did: Sowed seeds in Miracle Grow Potting Mix (NOT garden soil). Three seeds per small pot. It took between 5-10 days for most to germinate. For some varieties, all 3 seeds sprouted. For others, not a single one did. Cannot tell if this is the mix's fault or the seeds I had.

They looked good and healthy at first, albeit still slow growing at this point. I had them growing in the house under two 4-foot T8 fluorescent light tubes. Lights were about 1-2 inches away from the tops of plants; sometimes the plants got too tall and were touching the bulbs before I had a chance to raise the lights. Lights were on between 14-16 hours a day, left off at night.

Temperature usually in the upper 70s. I watered from the top every several days (later started bottom watering). It was hard to get the mix soaked because of the peat in it I assume; water would just bead up and roll off the surface unless I drenched the pot for a while. None of the plants ever wilted or showed signs of not enough water though. At no point did I give extra fertilizer because the potting mix contained a slow-release food and I assumed that adding more would be overkill.

When they had grown a couple of inches with a couple sets of leaves, I transplanted each seedling into its own much larger cup (32 oz yogurt containers) with fresh potting mix (same Miracle Grow). When I pulled the seedlings out of their little pot, I was surprised how small the root system was, especially for three seedlings to a pot. I was careful not to damage the roots and untangled them gently as I could, but still tore a few. Plants were about a month old when I did this.

I put them back under lights. They grew rather quickly at this stage, but then as I said, the growth seemed to stall almost completely and leaves turned yellow/purple veins. I doubt it's due to lack of food, because the Miracle Grow mix has fertilizer in it (I think the bag said it feeds for at least 3 months). I know yellowing could be a water issue, but I can promise they were not overwatered.

Another month later, and my plants are still stuck in time. I have been putting them outside to harden off for the past 2 weeks by moving slowly into full sun; I also have been leaving them out on warm nights. Putting them outside in natural light should have boosted growth a lot, you'd think, but the only thing I really noticed is the leaves getting a tiny bit bigger at a VERY slow rate. (For example a plant might take days just to grow one leaf to full size, then it won't put out another leaf for days after that, which seems wrong to me.)

Some of the leaves are also now curling under a bit, and a couple are turning crispy around the edges. A couple of days ago I decided to plant them in the garden just to see if it would help. The garden's a mixture of containers with Kellogg brand raised bed mix, and some raised beds containing compost/soil blend bought from the local landfill (native soil here is clay and unworkable).

At planting out time, once again, the root systems of each plant were surprisingly small and rather poor. After one month in their container, I expected there to be many more roots, but they barely filled the pot and definitely were not rootbound.

I have to know what's causing this. I have this exact same problem EVERY year no matter what I do! I typically use the Miracle Grow mix because it's been good to me before, but have also use Vigoro mix, Miracle Grow's organic mix, and various other soil-less mixes. Once I tried plain coco coir which gave even worse results. I strongly suspect my starting mix is to blame because when this happened last year, the plants perked up very quickly upon being put in the garden.

So if any experts have a clue what went wrong, I would be grateful for the advice. Thanks. (Oh and if you need photos, I can try to grab some.)
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Old March 18, 2016   #2
Johnniemar
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I had a similiar problem. Had a lot of fungus gnats and they were eating the roots it seems. I got mosquito dunks from home depot and put it in my watering can. Every time i watered i was killing the larvae from the gnats. It took about a month but now the gnats are gone and my plants are growing quickly. Putting them outdide on nice days made them take off and grow nicely also.
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Old March 18, 2016   #3
Starlight
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I know MG has a slow release fertilizer in it, but to me, it is not enough. The fertilizers in the bag will slowly dissolve over time, long time as plants are watered. The plants need nutrition. I water mine with MG all the time. Also if you do a search, look for the Tomato Tone threads. There is another type some folks are using too, but it is good stuff. I learned about it late in season last year, and it will make a big difference in growth and health of your plants.

Here is a link to a thread I started to learn how to use the TT with the small seedlings. Directions on how to do it from experienced folks are in the thread.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=40029

Last edited by Starlight; March 18, 2016 at 09:22 PM. Reason: add link
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Old March 18, 2016   #4
MissS
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I do not think that they are getting enough nutrients. I would feed them with a 1/2 strength solution of fertilizer and see if they perk up. The purple may be due to lack of phosphorous in the soil. The plants will out grow the purple that you are seeing no matter what the cause. If the plants do perk up as I think that they will, then put them on a normal feeding schedule.
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Old March 18, 2016   #5
PureHarvest
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1. Different soil mixes: same problem
2. Problem goes away some time after transplanting.

I would say it is the water out of your tap maybe.
Once they are outside they get rain water. Even if you irrigate with the same tap water, your soil can buffer that much better than in a tray or small pot.

Nutrients could be it too, but what's your water like?
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Old March 18, 2016   #6
Al@NC
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A lot of people give 1/2 strength fert when transplanting to help with the shock. Also be careful with the watering.

Pics say a lot..

It's easy to post pictures, upload them to a free site like this one below and then paste the link on your post using the little yellow button above.

http://postimage.org/

Al
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Old March 19, 2016   #7
Father'sDaughter
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I pretty much ignore all claims made on potting soil/mix bags about included nutrients. Once I see true leaves, seedlings start getting fed every 2-3 waterings with diluted liquid fertilizer.
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Old March 19, 2016   #8
bower
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Leaf symptoms can be hard to read even with a picture. Much harder without.
Purple stems and undersides of leaves are problems with Phosphorus availability. But other mineral imbalances - including toxicity of one metal or another - can also produce that yellow/purple combination, it becomes complex and you need to also figure out whether the new or the older leaves are first affected.
It doesn't sound like you watered so heavily as to cause a pH imbalance. Unless there's a really high level of dissolved minerals of the type that would bind and immobilize the P your plants needed. And it doesn't sound like it was cold enough to cause purple leaves and stunted roots and shoots. I wouldn't discount the damage that fungus gnats can do either! If you've seen any tiny gnats around your plants, say no more. The larvae eat roots and I've seen them kill pepper plants outright by devouring the root system. And sometimes they come with the potting soil.. ! Mosquito dunks - or planting out - are the cure.
Personally I start my plants with a potting mix with compost in it, and I add a few grains of bone meal for each plant so I don't have to bother with liquid ferts, or water too much when it's cold. I never have a problem with roots they are always excellent, so this is what works for me in my conditions - cold. and alkaline water.
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Old March 19, 2016   #9
Barbee
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Was your mg soil wet when you purchased it?
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Old March 19, 2016   #10
b54red
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I grow all my tomato seedlings in egg cartons filled with DE which I get from Auto Zone under the name UltraSorb. I feed them with half strength Urban Farms liquid fertilizer by bottom watering til they are about 6 inches tall. I then transplant them into Styrofoam coffee cups with potting soil and water them in good with a dose of full strength Urban Farms fertilizer. Once they are potted up into the coffee cups they stay outside until I transplant them.

I personally am not a big fan of MG potting mix but do use it when it is the only one available. I try to mix in some other brand that is lower in peat and add some larger grain DE to the mix so it is more welcoming to watering and root growth. I fertilize my plants at least once a week with half strength fertilizer once they are outside hardening off.

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Old March 19, 2016   #11
Cole_Robbie
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Overwatering and creating a mix that is too mucky is a common problem. The roots rot, and the plant displays nutrient problems, even when it is getting enough. The issue is uptake.

I never water unless the plant is literally beginning to wilt, or the container feels like air when I pick it up. If there is any weight, or detectable moisture at all in the media, I wait. Then when I do water, the peat mix floats like a boat as I bottom-water, but I dump water on top, too, and give it time. I want it to be not floating any more before I take it out of the bin.
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Old March 19, 2016   #12
SueCT
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I have used MG potting mix since I began starting my own seeds, but never to germinate the seeds in. I start the seed in a peat based seed starting mix in little 3 oz plastic cups. I had heard that fertilizer too early could actually hurt the delicate early roots. But after they had several sets of good sized true leaves they would get transplanted into a larger solo cup with the MG with fertilizer, the kind with the moisture granules just because I could easily find it locally. They usually do great. If the water is beading up and rolling off, it sounds like they are not getting enough water. Maybe not enough to make them wilt, but peat based mixes are hard to re-wet when they get too dry. For me that is a sign that I let them get too dry. Plus, isn't the fertilizer activated or released by water? I try to keep mine lightly moist, when they start to feel light when I pick them up and the top looks dry I give them a little water. But if you have funus knats those are usually a sign of too much water instead of too little. These were getting a little leggy because they needed to be planted out, but they are growing in MG mix and are about 2 months old. So I really don't think the potting mix is your problem, now that the seedlings are older and should have sufficient root development to handle the fertilizer.

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Old March 20, 2016   #13
loulac
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I would suggest heat + water + some fertilizer. Do you use your own seeds ? If they come from a sick tomato plant, an unripe fruit, results are usually disappointing.
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Old March 20, 2016   #14
Locomatto
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Purple leaves and small roots are the result of not enough phosphorus. Adding a bit of calcium phosphate (bone meal) will fix this issue ... just be careful that you don't over do it. A little bit will go a long way.

Considering that we are talking about seedlings which can be badly burned by imbalanced soils, I suggest that you start watering them with "hardened" water. Get a bag of bone meal and add some granules to an empty milk jug filled with tap water. Let the water sit with the cap off for at least a day before using it on the seedlings.

Be sure to use the "hardened" water in small amounts until you know how the plants react to it.
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