leggy tomato seedlings due to inadequate lighting in the beginning. what do I do? start over? up-pot and fill soil to the leaves? anything helps, thanks!
I had the same exact situation a few weeks ago. Leggy Romas. They look GREAT now! Wait until they get another set of leaves, and pot the whole stem- it will grow roots.
Fluffy-Television431
Youre fine. Tomato plants are cool in the way that they have adventitious roots. If you replant them partway up to the stem (right before the leaves even), they will actually grow more roots from out of the stem and make the plant more sturdy. When repotting which I do a few times, I will trim the lower branch stems and plant them deep. Good luck!
bleenken
Tomatoes are the one type of seedling I can usually save from legginess.
At the point yours are at, what I would usually do is get them adequate light to stop them from getting more leggy, wait until they get the next set of leaves, uppot, but not fill the soil to the brim, and gradually fill the pot over a few weeks to the brim.
It’s possibly I baby them more than necessary, and you could uppot sooner and up to the leaves like others suggested. I’ve just never tried that myself.
spaetzlechick
I would think one to a cell fast. And get them as much intense light as you can. I prefer leggy tomato transplants because I trench plant them.
One-21-Gigawatts
Truthfully mine always start like this and then work out to be great producing plants once I repot
ExtraplanetJanet
Tomatoes love being mistreated when it comes to planting, tbh. The worse they get buried, the more their roots get messed with, the happier they are. Just make sure they get plenty of water because they are also dramatic little disasters when they are thirsty.
Comfortable-Way3646
Like many have said, they’re great and can be buried as their stems will form roots wherever. When the true leaves form, you can also gently blow a fan to help strengthen their stems 🙂 have fun with your maters
8 Comments
Pot up to the leaves. They will work it out.
I had the same exact situation a few weeks ago. Leggy Romas. They look GREAT now! Wait until they get another set of leaves, and pot the whole stem- it will grow roots.
Youre fine. Tomato plants are cool in the way that they have adventitious roots. If you replant them partway up to the stem (right before the leaves even), they will actually grow more roots from out of the stem and make the plant more sturdy. When repotting which I do a few times, I will trim the lower branch stems and plant them deep. Good luck!
Tomatoes are the one type of seedling I can usually save from legginess.
At the point yours are at, what I would usually do is get them adequate light to stop them from getting more leggy, wait until they get the next set of leaves, uppot, but not fill the soil to the brim, and gradually fill the pot over a few weeks to the brim.
It’s possibly I baby them more than necessary, and you could uppot sooner and up to the leaves like others suggested. I’ve just never tried that myself.
I would think one to a cell fast. And get them as much intense light as you can. I prefer leggy tomato transplants because I trench plant them.
Truthfully mine always start like this and then work out to be great producing plants once I repot
Tomatoes love being mistreated when it comes to planting, tbh. The worse they get buried, the more their roots get messed with, the happier they are. Just make sure they get plenty of water because they are also dramatic little disasters when they are thirsty.
Like many have said, they’re great and can be buried as their stems will form roots wherever. When the true leaves form, you can also gently blow a fan to help strengthen their stems 🙂 have fun with your maters