How do the growers do it? my scraggly vines

tcarnahan · May 6, 2015

Hi,

I live in Northern Virginia in zone 7a. This is my second year to grow cherry tomatoes from seed. I always get “unrulely” vines (long and unable to stand up on their own) by the time of planting outside.

I have always wondered how the commercial growers are able to bring tomato plants to Home Depot in the condition they are in. They are always stocky and short in their small packs) and healthy). I start growing cherry tomatoes in the 3rd week of February. By the time the first of May comes around, my plants are 1 to 2 feet long and laying all over. They don’t stand up like the commercial ones. I don’t feed they anything … I just water them. I start them in peat pellets with growing medium (peat moss and perilight) and after the first true leaves show, I transplant them into 3 inch pots. I have them in a room that is 68 to 72 degrees. I have a fluorescent grow light that I have on a timer. I have the timer set to keep the lights on 8 hours a day.

I just don’t understand what I am doing wrong. The scraggly long vines I transplant outside are difficult to handle and break easily.

Question: what should I be doing in order to get stocky, short tomato vines?

Thanks,

Tom

May 6, 2015	#1
tcarnahan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 6	How do the growers do it? my scraggly vines Hi, I live in Northern Virginia in zone 7a. This is my second year to grow cherry tomatoes from seed. I always get “unrulely” vines (long and unable to stand up on their own) by the time of planting outside. I have always wondered how the commercial growers are able to bring tomato plants to Home Depot in the condition they are in. They are always stocky and short in their small packs) and healthy). I start growing cherry tomatoes in the 3rd week of February. By the time the first of May comes around, my plants are 1 to 2 feet long and laying all over. They don’t stand up like the commercial ones. I don’t feed they anything … I just water them. I start them in peat pellets with growing medium (peat moss and perilight) and after the first true leaves show, I transplant them into 3 inch pots. I have them in a room that is 68 to 72 degrees. I have a fluorescent grow light that I have on a timer. I have the timer set to keep the lights on 8 hours a day. I just don’t understand what I am doing wrong. The scraggly long vines I transplant outside are difficult to handle and break easily. Question: what should I be doing in order to get stocky, short tomato vines? Thanks, Tom