Grow question for the board

[SaberTooth]

I've been experimenting with some of my saved seeds. I'm trying to estimate my winter planting date so my plants will be ready to set out by the end of April.

After my seedlings developed their first true set of leaves, I transplanted them deep into 3" pots to stress them into developing a better root system. I've keep them under a flourescent light for a minimum of 16 hours a day in the house with an average temperature in the upper 70 degree range. It is week 7 and the tallest ones are 5" now.

My questions are these, would it be better to put the seedlings in the colder garage or my walk in attic or should I keep the plants inside? Does the cold help them to grow faster/develop thicker stems sooner? Does 5" sound right for a seven weekseedling?

[amideutch]

Saber, check out the following thread. Ami

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...Cold+Treatment

[TomNJ]

I keep mine in my cellar where the temperatures are in the 60s in the Spring. I've read that seedlings do better at these cooler temperatures.

I also use 3" pots (filled with MG starting mix), but do not pot-up, and keep the lights about 1" above the plants. For me, germination starts in 3-4 days with a heating pad, and my plants reach 10-12" in five weeks. This seems to be a bit faster than most people report - I'm not sure why but it is consistent.

TomNJ

[Stepheninky]

Originally Posted by SaberTooth

I've been experimenting with some of my saved seeds. I'm trying to estimate my winter planting date so my plants will be ready to set out by the end of April.

After my seedlings developed their first true set of leaves, I transplanted them deep into 3" pots to stress them into developing a better root system. I've keep them under a flourescent light for a minimum of 16 hours a day in the house with an average temperature in the upper 70 degree range. It is week 7 and the tallest ones are 5" now.

My questions are these, would it be better to put the seedlings in the colder garage or my walk in attic or should I keep the plants inside? Does the cold help them to grow faster/develop thicker stems sooner? Does 5" sound right for a seven weekseedling?

To answer your last question 5" seedling at 7 weeks sounds fine. with tomato seedlings size is not as important as healthy, as long as the plants are healthy they should do fine.