i started these tomato seeds the last week of March (granted I don’t have a proper setup with lamps or warming pads, they’re just in a sunny window and i bottom water every 3 days or so). They are beginning to show true leaves but very slowly !
Do you think they’ll keep growing without all the fancy equipment, or should I just buy starts and try again next year with lights , warming pad etc?
by girlnamedave
12 Comments
I would say get some starts otherwise you might not be able to guarantee a crop by the end of a PNW summer. But if it’s no love lost to you, keep trying with these and once they’re a bit bigger, you can take them outside for stronger UV.
They look like this because you didn’t buy the “fancy equipment” that is actually the bare essentials* for seed starting successfully indoors. You can buy lights now if you don’t want to give up on these and pay for starts.
I understand not wanting to buy lights, seems like your options are either cheap Amazon fake lights with low PPFD or the $$$$ lights cannabis growers use. There are a few in-between options, just know that you get what you pay for with grow lights.
I genuinely don’t mean to sound like an ass I promise, I have also gone through trying to start seeds without wanting to spend money on equipment that I didn’t think was “necessary,” only to realize that yeah, you can technically germinate some seeds indoors, but you likely won’t see much success after that.
Think of the lights as a long term investment, yeah you may pay for lights this year than you would for starts, but in the years to come you can save $$ by seed starting instead of buying starts.
* depending on how much natural light your home gets, your geographic location, etc…
You could try a light addition of nitrogen liquid fertilizer to your next watering.
Are you using a fertilized soil starter? Because your soil looks chunky and that usually means the nitrogen is locked in the chunks.
My peppers were like that and I pulled them, NO ROOTS to speak of. Don’t know why. Get some starts, I had to the last two years. Don’t know what is going on with seeds nowadays, I’ve done this successfully for decades and now things go wrong.
They have small led lights at Walmart for $10. You don’t need to have sunco farm blaster 5000s.
I’d buy starts and try starting from seed again next year. It looks like they need a lot more light.
Last year none of the seeds I started made it to my garden, and I had to get starts for everything. I learned a lot, got a couple grow lights, and I’m on track to transplant tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers this year. I’m just starting hardening off, and it looks like all my herbs are really struggling, so I might need to get starts for those.
It’s a learning experience!
Those biodegradable pots are awful unless you’re growing something like squash or pumpkins.
They actually leech moisture away from the soil and evaporate it faster
I guarantee you they’re not getting enough light and heat.
Doubt your house is 78°ish and 75ish percent humidity.
so you have a lot of things working against you
I’d definitely say get some starts or reach out to your local gardening groups for free plants. If you were close to me, I would give you my extras. I was reluctant to get lighting and all the other things, but decided I did not wait all winter not to give my tomatoes the best shot they had. One of my plants was started a week later, but has caught up.
I’d say get lights, heat mat, and make your own starting mix. I only used coco coir and perlite.
My seeds germinated March 22 and here they are as of May 5; 6 weeks. I fertilized at ¼ to ½ strength every 3-4 days.
https://preview.redd.it/s6qpihk9xyzg1.jpeg?width=3694&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=068b4aa68df4a76674bd6bcf01fc40d9a53ff9c0
I say I can’t give the next advice as I am first year doing it, and honestly doing it with like little to nothing in terms of inside set up lol, but as the little plaque says my Cherry’s popped out on 4-25 but I had sprouted in papertowl and put in dirt soon before. We had a warm spell in Ohio that week then it’s been freezing so they been inside suffering since sadly 😔
https://preview.redd.it/euu1a5mvzyzg1.jpeg?width=1236&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=95f99b96fab78217e585dda8d6d24223b0467240
I would get new tomatoes asap. In our area, they should be going in the ground in the next couple of weeks.
For future reference, basic grow lights are less than $30 at Harbor Freight. They will help a lot more than you think.
Do you move them out of the window at night?
Need that humidity covering