Stunted Tomatoes

[neddaisy]

I raised tomatoes from seed this year (various types) but they are certainly not thriving. Some are only 2" tall and have not really moved on for some time now. I think I could have started the hardening off too early and regularly forgot to bring them in at night but there seems very little recovery.

Should I:
abandon them
re-seed (or is it too late)
trawl the garden centres for plants.

We eat a lot of tomatoes and I thought I had the volume angle covered.

Thanks

[Heidi]

We've got the same problem.

We sowed several varieties back in Feb, but cos we haven't got a greenhouse or warm conservatory after the initial seedling stage they haven't gained much height or size.

We did put some back on the windowsills with bottle clouches and that seemed to help but once they out-grew the clouches we've had to put them in the not at all sunny conservatory and they haven't really done much since.

Am hoping this warmer weather will mean they can go back outside and then they'll pick up, but will be interested to see what other grapes suggest.

[tinyvine]

I've had a similar problem, most of my toms are fine and have been growing too fast, but my Black Russian ones are still quite small and I have no idea why as they have been in the same plastic greenhouse as the other varieties.

[OverWyreGrower]

I had to re-pot some of my toms, as they weren't growing as well as they should be. I just moved them into larger pots (as they're not ready to be planted into final places)

They had very compact root-balls, and I wondered if they had used all the goodness from the compost up?

They seem to be doing better now. The really weedy ones I have either moved into the spare room, or discarded (since I planted enough seeds to feed a few hundred people)

[SarzWix]

I raised tomatoes from seed this year (various types) but they are certainly not thriving. Some are only 2" tall and have not really moved on for some time now. I think I could have started the hardening off too early and regularly forgot to bring them in at night but there seems very little recovery.

Should I:
abandon them
re-seed (or is it too late)
trawl the garden centres for plants.

We eat a lot of tomatoes and I thought I had the volume angle covered.

Thanks

I think you've maybe started putting them outside too soon - I usually wait until they're a bit bigger than that, and have a sturdy stalk, then start very gradually putting them out i.e. only for an hour to begin with, then working up to a full day over 2 weeks or so.
As to what to do now, erm..
I'd try potting up the bigger ones, planting them a bit deeper than they are now (as tomatoes can grow roots from the stalk, this can make them a bit sturdier) and start the hardening off process again - try not to leave them outdoors overnight yet tho!

The smaller ones could probably do with a bit of nursing indoors til they get going again, then do the same with them.

In the meantime you could pick up a few garden centre plants to fill the gap as they will probably fruit a bit earlier (might be a good idea to check with staff if they're ready to be outside yet, they may need careful hardening off too).

Re-seeding is a possibility, but only if you've got somewhere warm to keep them at the end of the season, or some fleece to cover them with as they probably won't ripen outdoors at this late stage.

A good tip that I was given last year is to spray the foliage with seaweed foliar feed a few times before/during hardening off, as it helps to 'toughen up' the leaves and they can cope with wind etc a bit better.

Good luck!

oh, tinyvine, your Black Russian - mine were very slow last year, but they did catch up eventually. We didn't get many fruit from them, but I am in the damp North West and they maybe could have done with more sun and/or some wind protection?!

[vegman]

Tomatoes dont like changes in temperature so 'hardening off' too early could be the problem.

I still think you stand a chance if you sow some more now and if you are growing in a greenhouse then stop at four trusses instead of the usual six or eight. You will then have time for the trusses to ripen before the end of the season. Any unripe trusses and be cut off and put in a drawer. They seem to ripen better than leaving them exposed. Its something to do with the type of gas they imit which helps them rippen.

Id also liquid feed when they have the first pair of true leaves so there is no risk of a slow down due to exhausted compost.

[queen of the cobs]

you can definitely sow a few more seeds now, especially as the sun looks like it's back for a while.

If you leave the side shoots rather than snapping them off and then snap them off when they are an inch or so long, you can root these in compost as well and get more seedlings from your seed! You could also pull off a few of the early main side branches and root these.

One year my dad pulled off all the side branches and just left the top trusses - he got heaps of toms on both the original plants and also the ones he rerooted - I was going to have a go at this myself but have currently got about 60 tomato plants so can't face any more.

[eskymo]

I would do as queen of the cobs suggests and use the side shoots - it's worked for me in the past and it's quicker than planting seeds now.

[iceplusplus]

The size of your seedlings doesn't matter...

I see people worried about their seedings quite often. They are just too small they say. But tomatoes mature when it is time.

You can stimulate this with a greenhouse or other artificial environment, but that can get expensive. But that is how the garden shops make their plants look so attractive and bait you into paying $2.50 to $10.00 a plant for what started as a seed worth a fraction of a cent.

Your plants are fine. Worry only if they are showing signs of illness. Do not fertilize them yet either, it seems to hurt seedlings more than help.

The more light and warmth they get, the better, but realize that not everyone has a greenhouse and not everyone has a total southern exposure into which to plant their greeneries.

And allowing them to get sun outdoors does not keep them from growing. The thought that this could be causing them to stunt is nonsense. I have numerous tomato plants, and the only ones that surge are in a greenhouse or window with constant sun all day. In the end though, the surge doesn't matter. They all appear to catch up in the garden.

I always tell people that buy plants to not worry about their size either. Youc an buy a six pack of 2" plants or a single 6" plant for the same price. By the time they yield fruit, you won't remember which was which. I had several I purchased last year that already looked like mature plants, with flowers, etc. and were at least five times the size of my own home growns.

My home growns outlived them, outproduced them and did not succumb to disease like the overdeveloped plants did.

YMMV, but honestly, if it ain't broke don't fix it. And being a tad small prior to planting is nothing to worry about.

[Sanjo]

Welcome to the vine iceplusplus. See you mention dollars and cents. Could you put your location on as we are a nosey lot on here!!
Hope you enjoy our company. Sanjo