The leaves on my 6 week old plants are not hearty

pinklady5 · May 7, 2012

Ok this is my first year growing tomtoes from seed. Had great success with germination and transplanting up, however, the leaves just seem too delicate and not hearty or strong at all. I stopped by a local nursery to compare and noticed that the leaves on their seedlings are much darker and stonger in thickness. Now of course I am comparing to a pro gardner but why are leaves on my plants so much weaker? I have not fertilized anything yet. Should I give up on these plants? It's almost time to plant them out in the garden.

kath · May 7, 2012

Hi, pinklady! Don't give up on them! What varieties are you growing? Some kinds are supposed to have the type of leaves you describe. They seem very fine and/or droopy and sometimes the stems are thinnner than others but they will grow and produce tomatoes just fine. Often these wispy leaved plants produce paste or heart shaped fruits. Can you post a picture?

Crandrew · May 7, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinklady5

Ok this is my first year growing tomtoes from seed. Had great success with germination and transplanting up, however, the leaves just seem too delicate and not hearty or strong at all. I stopped by a local nursery to compare and noticed that the leaves on their seedlings are much darker and stonger in thickness. Now of course I am comparing to a pro gardner but why are leaves on my plants so much weaker? I have not fertilized anything yet. Should I give up on these plants? It's almost time to plant them out in the garden.

Pictures please.
Fertilizer regimen

Also please note that nurseries expose their plants to colder temps to create a hardier plant.

PA_Julia · May 7, 2012

Hi!

This is the first time for me to grow tomato's from seed as well.
My plants are also around 6 to 7 weeks old.
Some of my varieties are much weaker looking than others.
They are growing just the same.
I've done everything by the book including fertilizing with a diluted fish emulsion.
Some varieties grow at different rates and appear different at the same stage of growth than others.
I'm not worried and I don't think you should be either.
Like others have asked could you show us a photo of the issue?

Addendum; I just added a photo I took earlier today of some of my tomatoes.

Julia

pinklady5 · May 7, 2012

When I can, i'll take some photos. I have NOT fertilized. Since I have yellowing leaves and the lower leaves have fallen off, I am quite sure I have overwatered everything. I'm growing Cuostralee, Marianna's Peace, Earl's Faux, Black Cherry, KBX, Barlow Jap. They all have the same delicate leaves so it has to be something I'm doing wrong. I used the same mix that this nursery uses.

babice · May 7, 2012

Hi pinklady5 - I'll be eager to see your pics too. I am also a first-time-tomato-from-seed-starter (

that was a mouth full!). I had some concerns/issues too and posted a couple threads about that with pics. From the advice I've gotten from these great people on this site, I've picked up on a few things: (a) give them a chance because once you've hardened them off and gotten them out in the sun they'll probably start doing really well, (b) tell us about your growing conditions: what temp(s) have you been keeping the room at and do you have any fans blowing?, (c) how are you watering them (bottom-up or top-down), (d) what kind of pots do you have them in? (peat? coir? cups? etc.). There are some great ideas that have helped mine either improve or at least not get any worse looking such as giving them a diluted shot of fish emulsion (as PA Julia mentioned) or a spritz of aspirin water. But I think it's a good idea to give us more info and pics if possible. If you're like me and reading up helps you relax while you're worrying about your babies, do a search and read up on things like "aspirin water", "yellow spots on leaves", "fish emulsion" or anything like that.

babice · May 7, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinklady5

Since I have yellowing leaves and the lower leaves have fallen off, I am quite sure I have overwatered everything.

p.s. when you say the lower leaves are falling off, are you talking about the cotlyedons? (the first ones you got that don't look the same as their "true leaves"?) If so, it's normal for those to yellow and eventually fall off.

Sun City Linda · May 7, 2012

I grow a lot of tomato babies every year. Good light and some breeze helps them develop into strong plants.

venturabananas · May 8, 2012

This was my first year starting from seed, too. Mine didn't look very impressive at 6 weeks either, but once I got them outdoors and started feeding them dilute fertilizer, they got going. Now they are all big, stocky, healthy plants that are flowering and starting to set fruit. Like Linda said, lots of light and breeze seems to do wonders.

FILMNET · May 8, 2012

julia these look OK so far, but you need a tiny stick for each pot now. nothing fancy. I buy the thin bamboo bag of 6" poles from HD only 2-3$ each bag with 6 in each. Cut 1 to 12" long, each one can be cut again to 3 bamboo sticks and put 1 in each pot. This all 11" high but really small to hold the plants up.

PA_Julia · May 8, 2012

Thank you!!

I have these bamboo stakes and will do just that.
Thank you for the info!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by FILMNET

julia these look OK so far, but you need a tiny stick for each pot now. nothing fancy. I buy the thin bamboo bag of 6" poles from HD only 2-3$ each bag with 6 in each. Cut 1 to 12" long, each one can be cut again to 3 bamboo sticks and put 1 in each pot. This all 11" high but really small to hold the plants up.

FILMNET · May 8, 2012

Here they are, i split them in half or 3 pieces, and save them for next year. They are very light , Also no fertilizer till in ground i even put mine on the floor to slow down less sun less water. Before going outside for a few hrs in 10 days here May 24 -31stI make sure they drint water heavy from bottoms now, never water from top. That why i don't use the paper cups anymore drinking from the bottom. This green pots you can get free, and use them ever year.

BigBrownDogHouse · May 8, 2012

Using the wood skewers for BBQ works great too! $1.00 for a bag of 100 from Wal-Mart.

I honestly feel there is no need to worry. The same thing happens to mine. Let them get some wind, some sun, put them in the ground and watch them take off.

I'm still a novice but I encounter the same thing every year.
Wow! Some of these plants don't look so good.....then they get planted and reach for the sky!

FILMNET · May 8, 2012

Julia if you have any of the dirt left you used to start these, fill the cups up.

PA_Julia · May 8, 2012

Yes I need to do that.
I'd say another week and a half and I'm transplanting them.
Most will be at a minimum of 6" and some at 8".

Quote:

Originally Posted by FILMNET

Julia if you have any of the dirt left you used to start these, fill the cups up.

May 7, 2012	#1
pinklady5 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Central NJ Posts: 234	The leaves on my 6 week old plants are not hearty Ok this is my first year growing tomtoes from seed. Had great success with germination and transplanting up, however, the leaves just seem too delicate and not hearty or strong at all. I stopped by a local nursery to compare and noticed that the leaves on their seedlings are much darker and stonger in thickness. Now of course I am comparing to a pro gardner but why are leaves on my plants so much weaker? I have not fertilized anything yet. Should I give up on these plants? It's almost time to plant them out in the garden.

May 7, 2012	#6
babice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Alabama Posts: 643	Hi pinklady5 - I'll be eager to see your pics too. I am also a first-time-tomato-from-seed-starter ( that was a mouth full!). I had some concerns/issues too and posted a couple threads about that with pics. From the advice I've gotten from these great people on this site, I've picked up on a few things: (a) give them a chance because once you've hardened them off and gotten them out in the sun they'll probably start doing really well, (b) tell us about your growing conditions: what temp(s) have you been keeping the room at and do you have any fans blowing?, (c) how are you watering them (bottom-up or top-down), (d) what kind of pots do you have them in? (peat? coir? cups? etc.). There are some great ideas that have helped mine either improve or at least not get any worse looking such as giving them a diluted shot of fish emulsion (as PA Julia mentioned) or a spritz of aspirin water. But I think it's a good idea to give us more info and pics if possible. If you're like me and reading up helps you relax while you're worrying about your babies, do a search and read up on things like "aspirin water", "yellow spots on leaves", "fish emulsion" or anything like that. Last edited by babice; May 7, 2012 at 10:40 PM. Reason: grammar

May 8, 2012	#13
BigBrownDogHouse Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Northern Illinois ZONE 5a...wait now 5b Posts: 906	Using the wood skewers for BBQ works great too! $1.00 for a bag of 100 from Wal-Mart. I honestly feel there is no need to worry. The same thing happens to mine. Let them get some wind, some sun, put them in the ground and watch them take off. I'm still a novice but I encounter the same thing every year. Wow! Some of these plants don't look so good.....then they get planted and reach for the sky! __________________ Brian

May 7, 2012	#2
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Hi, pinklady! Don't give up on them! What varieties are you growing? Some kinds are supposed to have the type of leaves you describe. They seem very fine and/or droopy and sometimes the stems are thinnner than others but they will grow and produce tomatoes just fine. Often these wispy leaved plants produce paste or heart shaped fruits. Can you post a picture?

May 7, 2012	#8
Sun City Linda Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SoCal Inland Posts: 2,705	I grow a lot of tomato babies every year. Good light and some breeze helps them develop into strong plants.

May 8, 2012	#9
venturabananas Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ventura, CA Posts: 142	This was my first year starting from seed, too. Mine didn't look very impressive at 6 weeks either, but once I got them outdoors and started feeding them dilute fertilizer, they got going. Now they are all big, stocky, healthy plants that are flowering and starting to set fruit. Like Linda said, lots of light and breeze seems to do wonders.

May 8, 2012	#10
FILMNET Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: North Charleston,South Carolina, USA Posts: 1,803	julia these look OK so far, but you need a tiny stick for each pot now. nothing fancy. I buy the thin bamboo bag of 6" poles from HD only 2-3$ each bag with 6 in each. Cut 1 to 12" long, each one can be cut again to 3 bamboo sticks and put 1 in each pot. This all 11" high but really small to hold the plants up.