OH NO! 😩 Our Tomato Plants Are Leggy!
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- Learn from our mistake! Watch as we discover the perils of leggy tomato seedlings and how to avoid this common issue in your own indoor seed starting setup. Don't let your tomato plants get leggy like ours did - subscribe for more gardening tips and tricks!
CHAPTERS:
0:00: ⚠️ Warning about leggy tomato seedlings and the importance of timely action to prevent legginess.
3:15: 🌱 Challenges with seed starting indoors leading to leggy tomato plants.
6:00: 🌱 Challenges and tips for successful seed germination and growth in a greenhouse setting.
8:58: 🌱 Challenges with plant growth and comparison of soil blocks to traditional seed starting methods.
11:46: ⏳ Efficiency comparison between soil blocking and seed starting trays for plant growth.
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#backyardgrocerystore #growyourownfood #vegetablegarden #sustainableliving #homesteading #homegrown #organicgarden #neverstopgrowing #sustainableagriculture
This gardening has gotten addictive. My greenhouse is full too, and I have 144 tomatoes in my spare bedroom under Harbor Freight shop lights hanging from craftsman saw horses.
Long time indoor seed starter here, having them under grow lights or sunlight from day one is a must. The dome makes absolutey no difference on leggy-ness. If It’s in the house, I wouldn’t use a heat mat at all unless it is for peppers.
I started my tomatoes and peppers inside the house. I started my peppers about four days earlier than the tomatoes. Peppers are up and in the barn under grow lights. I put them in there when they were about a half inch tall.
Tomatoes should be up today or tomorrow. They will immediately go to the grow lights.
Seedless watermelons will be started next.
By the way, I use my Ryobi, cordless hedge trimmer for grapes, muscadine, and sometimes blackberries. When I had 700 feet of blackberries, I figured out it was way too much to prune by hand. So, to keep them under control, (out of the walkways. Etc.) I started using the hedge trimmers.
Now, I have a lot fewer blackberry plants (all in containers). I still prune by hand mostly, but the hedge trimmers do a great job if I let them get away with me.
Using the cordless Ryobi hedge trimmer, there’s no noise, fumes, etc. Pretty nice.
Probably not as powerful as gas powered, but they do the job.
Thanks for the vid.
Good advice
Tomato seeds can really take off
I don't use a heat mat and they germinate in 4 - 5 days
Lower temps are your friend when growing seedlings. Most anything germinates fine at 70 degrees. Heat mats not necessary.
Ive never used heat mats. I would think they would grow too fast.
Exactly
@@christinadeckard2722They would. I only use the heat mat if the house is too cool and only if my lights aren't on. Even my peppers don't need the heat mats if I have my lights on overhead of my other seedlings that have already popped up.
Leggy or not, I am mostly impressed by your 3 day germination for tomatoes. Well done
Great video Travis! Love the Tallulah Gorge shirt👍 Beautiful place
Leggy tomato seedlings are primarily caused by insufficient light rather than humidity from the humidity dome. While humidity can affect overall plant health, legginess is more directly linked to a lack of light. Your grow lights should be on for 14-16 hours per day for your seedlings to grow strong and healthy.
While true enough, his plants grew legs overnight mostly because of the dome. DLI proved sufficient; otherwise they would not have grown.
@@cuznclive2236 The dome itself doesn’t directly cause legginess. Leggy seedlings primarily result from inadequate light, as they stretch to reach for more light when it’s not sufficient. The dome helps with humidity but doesn’t contribute to the leggy growth directly. The dome’s purpose is to regulate moisture levels, not light, so it doesn’t contribute to legginess.
@@jhorsch94 So, please explain why they grew overnight and in the dark.
Cannabis grower; I got legs down cold dude. In this case, it was from the dome. Otherwise, I agree, as mentioned previously.
@@cuznclive2236 I just told you why, it’s from inadequate sunlight or uneven sunlight. The elongation of stems are in search of light so if the seedlings were completely deprived of light, they wouldn’t exhibit leggy growth because they wouldn’t be growing towards a light source. The same would happen to your cannabis seedlings if they received inadequate sunlight. Plants respond to changes in light conditions through a process called photomorphogenesis. It’s like Photoperiodic Cannabis Strains that require a change in light cycle (such as switching to a 12hr/12hr cycle) to induce flowering.
@@cuznclive2236 I just told you why, it’s from inadequate sunlight or uneven sunlight. The scientific term for leggy plants with long, spindly stems is called etiolation. Tomato seedlings or any other seedlings wouldn’t get leggy without light because legginess specifically refers to the elongation of stems in search of light. If seedlings were completely deprived of light, they wouldn’t exhibit leggy growth because they wouldn’t be growing towards a light source. Plants respond to changes in light conditions through a process called photomorphogenesis. It’s similar to how photoperiodic cannabis strains require a change in light cycle, such as switching to a 12hr/12hr cycle, to induce flowering
Have trays indoors with lights. No heat mats room at 72. Planning tomatoes . Great video thanks!
That’s a downside to diffferent varieties in one tray. I like to use smaller tray for each variety to allow moving those that germinate first while leaving others on the heat mat. When you can’t do that and have that large tray you can always get a light over while it’s still on the heat mat. Done that many times
Thanks for sharing the mistakes and successes. It helps us all get better when we get to see how others recover.
One of my 50+ cousins has a leggy daughter. It almost looks like her legs go up to her neck as she is so tall and skinny.
I stopped using those small cell type trays a few years ago. I use solo cups. I'm still using the same solo cups after 3 or 4 years.
Solo cups are bigger, so I don't ever have to up-pot my plants. I just grow the plants until they reach the size I want, then plant them in the garden.
The plants are easy to get out of the solo cups because I water them a couple of hours before I plant them in my garden.
I don't think I will ever go back to using those cell trays again.
Good showing of the varieties you are planting at the 7:16 mark. I'll order some Red Snapper and Roadster seeds and try those since you swear by those - instead of at them.
I'm switching to more earlier newer improved hybrid determinates, than my heirloom indeterminates, since blight has been devastating and terminating everything early in my far too wet garden.
In this case, the leggy seedlings are actually caused by the heat mat. They are trying to get away from the heat.They need the heat to pop open but not to keep growing. I fixed the leggy problem by only using the heat mat in the beginning to germinate the seeds and switched it off when they popped up out of the medium. At the time of planting, I keep the heat mat on during the day and turn it off at night to mimic what happens outside. When they pop up I turn it off because the heat inside the house is enough. And yes, I don't use a humidity dome once several have sprung up so I can get the light right on top of them.
Tomatoes under a dome will get leggy from lack of sufficient light. Throw away the dome and drop the light close to the tray. Leave the light on 12+ hours and only raise it as the plants touch the lights, if you're using fluorescent lights.
Pot up & deeply transplant, fixes leggy maters everytime. I actually don't mind leggy to plant deep upon up potting
I think if you take em off the bottom heat first sign of germination they might not go leggy. Feel like I read that somewhere. My favorite garden channel!
I grow indoors and use a heating mat for germination but I also keep light on them after a few days. I want light to hit them as soon as they crack through. I use 13w CFL bulbs for lights and keep them a couple inches above the plants. They make nice squatty plants. I take them outside as much as possible, to more or less keep them hardened off until I'm ready to plant.
Those plant are really leggy! LOL I would transplant them within a few days into slightly large cells. I'd coil the stem as I filled the cell leaving about a half inch of stem above the soil line. Otherwise they'll be flopping everywhere in that tray. Yes, I have experience with leggy plants too.
I've grown tomatoes from seed for quite a few years now, sometimes in a greenhouse and sometimes under LED's indoors, but they've never ever been close to being as weedy as those look. Are they growing in vermiculite? If so, I'd stop doing that immediately. It doesn't look like it's light that need so much as some nutrients. They look horribly week.
For me I like my tomatoes to get a bit leggy, since I bury all but the top 3-4 inches when planting. I also use soil blocking since I’ve had great luck with it, but I don’t start nearly the number of plants that you do. They do have larger step blockers that I’ve seen market gardeners use and it definitely takes less time compared to my handheld blocker that I use. You seem to have your seed starting process down pat so it makes sense to stick with what works for you. Can’t wait for my fig trees to arrive!! 🌲
EVEN Experienced Gardners can mess up from time to time. We all make mistakes. Best to learn from it and move forward.
I never use a dome or heat mat. I start my seeds under lights. T5 lights. The heat from the lights is plenty of warmth. Never have I had leggy seedlings.
That is what happened to my bush green beans 2023. Terrible..I had to plant them deeper than normal! Did not produce well at all. Will direct sow from now own. I did not have a dome over mine at anytime!! So not sure that was the problem. Over cast less light may have hurt mine. Not sure.
When my seedlings get leggy, I just replant them into a deeper cup. They are fine.
Same results first try of 2024! Wasn't focused. Better germ 2nd time outside in protected area. Never go all in, save some for second run is my new theory.
Give them a bit of water soluble silica if they don't beef up. Works great for those Colorado weeds.
Leggy? ZZ Top sang a song about those tomato plants! HA!
Yeah, my tomatoes suffered from “damping off.” The trick I learned was to transfer or start them in a bigger pot. Fill it only 1/3. Then add soil as they grow to support that skinniness. TRY THAT YET! I also learned to start my seeds inside the house. They won’t geminate if you put them outside if the temp is cycling cold to warm. In the house, reliably in about 3 days, then move them outside.
Show love to grapes! They are so good. A couple handfuls of organic fert goes a long way. You can mulch those too. Maybe a shot of liquid fert in the summer? We take perennials for granted.
I have a small greenhouse with no heater so I’ll start some tomato and peeper seeds indoors. I’ve used shop lights with the more blue color spectrum. I tend to get some leggy plants. This year I tried a light my friend had. It’s one of those grow lights with the red and blue led lights. My seedlings have never looked so good. Not leggy at all and grew from penetrating the soil to 4 to 5 inches in just a few days. I’m starting another round tomorrow to see if it was a fluke or if it actually made that big of a difference.
I had the same issue last growing season , but this season I used vermiculite instead of perlite to top off seeds. Seems to work better.
Have you looked into dwarf tomatoes? Growers are saying that some varieties are more productive than regular determinents.
I've heard a lot about them, but haven't tried them.
I'm giving a few a trial this year. I've heard from several others how pleased they are with the plants and harvest.
Travis,how do you not have deer,rabbit and ground squirrel pressure in South Georgia?frank from northern Michigan.
That little patch of pine trees beside the garden doesn't hold any deer. We do get a rabbit every now and then that we have to go Elmer Fudd on. And barn cats keep the squirrels away.
I would like to know what to actually do with the leggy plants should that happen to me this year. Are they salvageable? Im so new at this. I start seeds indoors and put them under lights when they pop.
Just gently put them in a larger pot and bury most of the stem. We'll be doing this on a video next week.
What do you need to do for leggy tomato plants? I have some that I started in my kitchen under a fluorescent light and heat mat underneath. Thanks
Gosh Dawg, Travis!! I ordered from Johnny's this year as I didn't have good result with "G" seeds last year. These seeds are popping everywhere. So lucky you got those leggy ones so you can tell us what to do!! God Bless!! 😊
I've been there many times, but with not enough light. They were just a hair after germination. So the dome was taken off. Happy homesteading! 👩🏼🌾
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Yep I got the same thing going on with my tomatoes, but I think I've solved the problem. Setting the trays in the sun as soon as it gets above 40 outside has made a big difference in how mine looks. I have a small green house in transit, that will hopefully be the solution in future..
Travis, dome looked awful tall even if light was close.
I start 100's of plants in a spare bedroom. I use no heat mats or humidity dome at all, ever except your plastic wrap trick on watermelon. House is kept at 69, so I do have an electric heater during germination in that room. I use the same Proptek trays, Promix BX, and perlite setup you do. My lights are cheap, Walmart 5k 4 foot shop lights, which I use 3 side by side per shelf. I use 2 x 4 scraps on edge to make sure I have 3.5 inches from top of perlite to bottom of light. And have never had leggy starts. I also turn lights on as soon as seed goes into the tray. If you use cheap lights, the light needs to be no more than 4 inches above plant ever. Now, if using a Mars or Viparspectra type light, it changes all that
Chad, I know you don’t use old or used starter soil. So yes you had a light issue. However, dapping off looks the same but not recoverable because it’s a disease in the contaminated potting soil.
Even in colder climates, seeding at the proper time is critical and prevent all those issues, after all, if you let some tomatoes dry up in your garden, you ll get dozen of small tomato plants the following spring....those are never ever leggy, there is a natural growing rate, patience is the mother of all virtues.
I never had this I just put in dark place ffrist days and plactic wrap than in two days they under shop light ! Yes I wait for them come up take plactic off than leave then with fan and light 16 hours
Id pull those leggy plants and sow again.
Mine get leggy even in my greenhouse and the greenhouse gets a lot of sun too. So I added a light over them and they did better but my worst problem is that I work and can't get out there every single day and things tend to get too warm on nice days. I just do the best I can and plant the ones I do get. Some of them look sad but they usually do fine once in the garden.
I start mine always indoors. You need a lot of light! I use a grow light almost right on top of them and a hobby flood light on top of that (so they don't 'reach' towards the grow light). This is in my office that I am in with light on for over 12 hours a day. One of the best tricks I have found was what is mentioned by@THERUSTEDGARDEN in one of his videos. That is to turn on the lights as soon plant and you leave them on 24 hours a day even once they sprout for the first couple of days before switching to only 14-16 hours a day of grow lights (I tend more towards the 16 hours). This 24 hours light for a few days seems to prevent that leggy growth in the first couple of days. Once they are out of the reaching stage and toward the stage of putting on their true leaves, they are not as sensitive to becoming leggy --- though they still need tons of light. This is why I don't understand videos saying "Seeds don't need light to sprout". That statement is true, but they need as much as you can give them the moment they do sprout because they are looking for the surface. I have not found any consumer grade lights that work as well as the sun (even indirect sunlight); no matter what they box says or how they rate the intensity relative to the sun. I went to a fish/aquarium plant breeding company one time in Vietnam. The light they used were so bright you had to wear sun glasses in doors ---- they said it was the only way for them to really mimic the sun to get fish breeding and plant multiplication they needed.
I start most everything indoors due to being in AZ. I use 24 cell trays with domes from Hoss. I use cheap heating mats and cheap full spectrum lights from Amazon. I start tomatoes the week after Christmas. I put the lights on the trays the day start the seeds. I take them off once about half the plants have sprouted. Leggy seedlings are not a problem I have anymore.
Order the really leggy seeds again. Been there too many times and wasted too many days on waiting for them to recover. If you don’t, keep us updated on what happens to them.
Leggy seedlings are from a lack of light. When seedlings don’t receive enough direct light, they can become leggy as they stretch and reach for any available light source. Providing adequate light helps prevent this leggy growth and promotes healthier, more compact seedlings.
You can't compare any seed tray to soil blocks. You can leave a seedling in a soil block til its over a foot tall and still not have any issues with being root bound. Just because you do something the way you do it doesn't make it right. I think you've proven that in many of your videos with other topics. Respectfully
Hey Trav always ice to see that country boy smile❤
In my case when I get leggy it's too much heat and not enough light.
OH No I might would pull the leggy ones and put in some new seeds.
Hey,... I've got a couple bags full of "round tuits" if ya need any... they come in handy.
😂
Question? I just moved my pepper seedlings under the grow light. How long do I leave the light on them? Is it all the time or do I need to turn it off part of the dsy?
I'd try to simulate your natural daylight hours outside.
I have good luck with tomatoes without heat - peppers are another story.
Agreed
Peppers like the heat but only for a week. Tomatoes do fine without a heat mat
Been atarting seeds for the last two years or ao.... Finally someone has spelled it out why my seedlings are so leggy. THANK YOU for that!
They aren't leggy because of the dome, he left them out from being under a light and left on the heat mat. They need strong enough light, or close enough light to not become leggy. If your lights aren't strong enough, they will reach and get leggy, so you have to put something under the tray to get the plants closer to the light, a few inches below the lights. When they grow up to the lights, you lower the plants a few more inches. I've been doing this for several years, made lots of mistakes to know these things very well. 😂 Happy Growing.
Hi. When should I fertilize the multiplying onions please?
Anytime you want.
I am having good luck with a dome indoors under LED lights set at 320ppfd (limited by an 85 deg temperature). The dome requires more light to compensate for the light it blocks
Oh, Travis! Luckily they can be buried. Soil blocking is first big investment and blockers are not cheap. Soil blocks also use less space and produce lots of plants but they can dry out faster. I played with the idea many years ago but never pulled the trigger. You can also use square containers with a bolt screwed on top. No plunger so you have to shake it out (Eliot Coleman).
I get really good results with the proptek trays but only have 1 tray because they just don't fit my setup so I'm currently using 50 cell standard Greenhouse mega store trays. I do plan to buy 10 of the never sink air prune trays to try this year if they arrive in time, if not I guess I will try with fall crops. I have never tried soil blocks looks like to much work for little to no difference in starts.
If you use grow lights to start seeds indoors, lowering the light closer to the top of the plants, will prevent them from "reaching for the light" and getting leggy. A bit cooler temp once the seeds pop, will slow them down a bit too. Thankfully, you can bury tomatoes almost as low as you like when you transplant them to make up for the height differences.
Travis, how about testing some 'fully charged biochar blend' in one raised bed versus another? I am trying 'Organic Mechanics' but don't have a bed to compare against.
Usually it's not the dome causing the leggy, it's the heat mat. Usually as soon as they pop you want to turn off the mat, and turn on a light. Leaving the dome on too long usually results in your seedlings getting mold or fungus disease, damping off.
But tomatoes are a vine so as long as you don’t let them get too far gone, you should be able to save them and just plant them a little bit deeper as you pot up. That I did learn on this channel.
I start in solo cups 3/4 full of soil with a 13w grow light and heat pad on a timer with the plants in a dome and the heater under that with a towel inbetween the mat and the bottom of the dome bottom (towel helps to diffuse hot spots in the mat) ,, if the seedlings do get leggy you can fill the solo cup with a little more soil to help that.
Anytime they get leggy, I simply rooting hormone plant deep. I was told to put a light close and watch the moisture.
Is your greenhouse heated? If not do you take the tray in the house at night?
So why can’t you keep and plant the leggy tomatoes?
You can. Just plant deeper. As long as they stay up right it doesn't matter.
@@eddybrown3212 that’s what I always believed. All those hairs become roots. Probably can do the same with any leggy plant.
Those maters look like mine so how do I fix em I don't have a green house
Make sure your seedlings are getting enough light to avoid legginess. A strong light that uses between 5000 to 6500 Kelvin are ideal, as they mimic natural daylight and promote healthy growth. Also aim for around 2000 to 3000 lumens per square foot for optimal growth too. You’ll also need to have the lights on for 14-16 hours per day to grow strong and healthy seedlings.
Also since they’re tomatoes, you can pot them up in a larger pot and bury the stem of the tomato seedling so they’re not so leggy. You could also lower the lights closer to the seedling to avoid the seedlings from getting leggy again, especially if you’re using LED lights.
@@jhorsch94 Yes. Transfer to a bigger pot and add soil as they grow. Or plant them in bigger pots 1/3 full. You are going to bury tomatoes deep anyway.
Looks like mostly 1 variety🤷♀️
When they break ground if the light is not on them you will be replanting