Seedling Accident Advice

montyb · April 28, 2024

My tomato (and pepper) seedlings had an unfortunate accident. They were knocked off the shelf they were on and I don't think any are going to make it. I'm in Canada in zone 6b. It's only about 5 weeks before planting outside. It's too late to start more isn't it? I'm trying to find an online garden centre with something similar but I'm not finding anything that ships. Anyone know of a Canadian garden centre that will ship. The local garden centers might have a roma or san marzano but mine were Inciardi Paste and Andean. The peppers were albino white and poblano. Thanks.

VirginiaClay · April 28, 2024

You definitely can have tomato plants large enough to plant out in five weeks if you start the seeds today. The ones I planted on 4/5/24 are six to 8 inches tall already and would be bigger if I had thinned and repotted them. That's just a little over three weeks.

A heat mat will speed up germination. You could try pre-soaking the seeds as well. After they germinate, put them outside in the sun on warm days (but be sure to acclimate them to the sun first so you don't burn them). They'll grow much faster in the sun than indoors.

Are you sure the ones you have aren't going to survive? If the stems broke partially but not all the way through, just repot the plants with the broken part under the soil. If the stems broke completely, you can cut off the top part of the plant above the break, or cut off any suckers, and root them in water or potting mix.

Other ideas: do you have a farmer's market in the area, where vendors might sell tomato plants? Often they'll have heirlooms not carried by the big box stores. Also check whatever local social media you have, like NextDoor or Facebook marketplace or Craigslist. Around here, we have a lot of individuals selling vegetable plants online this time of year. Also look for fundraiser plant sales by schools or Master Gardener-type organizations. Those may have less-common varieties.

I think I'd try a combination of rescuing some of the damaged seedlings, planting some new seeds of Inciardi & Andean to be sure to have them, and buying some larger transplants of whatever you can find so you get some tomatoes earlier in the season.

jhp · April 28, 2024

I think it may be too late to start pepper seeds as they grow slower but I'm no pepper expert. I do think you could plant tomato seeds now and plant in 5-6 weeks. I have on occasion got my hands on some seeds of a variety I'd been interested in late in the game and started them anyway. I glanced through my notes and saw one that was started 44 days before plant out and to my recollection, it caught up with the others. I use a heat mat to speed germination. If I were in your shoes, I'd soak the seeds to jump start it a bit and then into cells with a heat mat going. I know I wouldn't be happy with any of the varieties available around where I live, so I'd rather just start over.

Good luck!

Jen

jhp · April 28, 2024

You could also try asking on a Canadian gardening reddit about finding local seedling options.

Labradors2 · April 29, 2024

I don't think it's too late for tomatoes either, and would start again right now. Maybe you could even rescue some of the fallen ones as they are quite resilient and might surprise you.

I would check out Facebooks Marketplace for seedling starts or visit the nurseries and big box stores early for the best choices of what's available, although you'll probably not find your favourites.

Good luck!

montyb · May 3, 2024

Thanks for the help. I replanted the seeds and a couple are even just poking out of the soil after just one week. Very excited. A couple of the ones that had the accident are hanging on so hopeful with those. Will keep you all posted. Again thanks for the help. Still going to look into Reddit and Facebook Marketplace as well.

MrsJustice · May 4, 2024

Hello Montyb

The Lord has Blessed me with my Tomato Plant Sale this year. So If you Pay for Shipping I will send you as many Plants as I can get in a Box. These are the Tomato Plants I have many of
1. https://www.angelfieldfarms.com/stor.../2/Plants.html
2.https://www.angelfieldfarms.com/stor.../Shipping.html
3.https://www.angelfieldfarms.com/stor...ato/Plant.html

Maybe if you buy 1 it will cover the Shiping Cost
Farmer, Joyce Beggs

eyolf · May 6, 2024

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsJustice

Hello Montyb

The Lord has Blessed me with my Tomato Plant Sale this year. So If you Pay for Shipping I will send you as many Plants as I can get in a Box. These are the Tomato Plants I have many of
1. https://www.angelfieldfarms.com/stor.../2/Plants.html
2.https://www.angelfieldfarms.com/stor.../Shipping.html
3.https://www.angelfieldfarms.com/stor...ato/Plant.html

Maybe if you buy 1 it will cover the Shiping Cost
Farmer, Joyce Beggs

Please do not take this as a slam: shipping live material across the border is extremely chancy. You could try something sneaky: declare it as books or spare parts, but if either side's plant inspection service thinks something's up, it will never get there.

Sorry.

Sent from my motorola edge (2022) using Tapatalk

montyb · August 28, 2024

Sorry it's been so long since an update. Life gets complicated. Inciardi Paste has been doing very well and there's lots of tomatoes on the vines. Andean is still doing ok but no blossoms yet so not sure we'll get much off them. But I'm very hopeful. Managed to get 3 San marzano's that are doing well also from the garden centre. Peppers haven't fared well but am hopeful for next year. All the plants are a bit small though. They are maybe 3 feet tall. Healthy enough but not that tall. Some say that the ground around here where I live isn't all that good. Garden is about 40 feet long and 16 feet wide. We used 4 bags of compaost/manure from the garden centre. Was it maybe not enough? Or just the year and the weather?

VirginiaClay · August 30, 2024

Quote:

Originally Posted by montyb

Sorry it's been so long since an update. Life gets complicated. Inciardi Paste has been doing very well and there's lots of tomatoes on the vines. Andean is still doing ok but no blossoms yet so not sure we'll get much off them. But I'm very hopeful. Managed to get 3 San marzano's that are doing well also from the garden centre. Peppers haven't fared well but am hopeful for next year. All the plants are a bit small though. They are maybe 3 feet tall. Healthy enough but not that tall. Some say that the ground around here where I live isn't all that good. Garden is about 40 feet long and 16 feet wide. We used 4 bags of compaost/manure from the garden centre. Was it maybe not enough? Or just the year and the weather?

Glad to hear you were able to salvage something from your season. Did you fertilize with anything other than the bags of compost/manure? If not, your plants may have needed more fertilizer. Tomatoes are heavy feeders anyway and benefit from additional fertilizer at blossom time and again later in the season. Also, "compost" from garden centers sometimes isn't fully composted, which can tie up nutrients as it decays. Does your garden get full sun? How was the weather in your area this summer?

montyb · August 31, 2024

I'm using a fertilizer called Big A** tomato fertilizer every couple of weeks. It gets full sun for most of the day. The compost was bags bought from Walmart. Weather was nice not too hot but early to mid 20s mostly. Nights not too cold not too hot. Even the lettuce I planted early June is only an inch high still and carrots similar time are only 4 inches.

April 28, 2024	#1
montyb Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Canada Posts: 37	Seedling Accident Advice My tomato (and pepper) seedlings had an unfortunate accident. They were knocked off the shelf they were on and I don't think any are going to make it. I'm in Canada in zone 6b. It's only about 5 weeks before planting outside. It's too late to start more isn't it? I'm trying to find an online garden centre with something similar but I'm not finding anything that ships. Anyone know of a Canadian garden centre that will ship. The local garden centers might have a roma or san marzano but mine were Inciardi Paste and Andean. The peppers were albino white and poblano. Thanks.

May 4, 2024	#7
MrsJustice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Hampton, Virginia Posts: 1,489	Hello Montyb The Lord has Blessed me with my Tomato Plant Sale this year. So If you Pay for Shipping I will send you as many Plants as I can get in a Box. These are the Tomato Plants I have many of 1. https://www.angelfieldfarms.com/stor.../2/Plants.html 2.https://www.angelfieldfarms.com/stor.../Shipping.html 3.https://www.angelfieldfarms.com/stor...ato/Plant.html Maybe if you buy 1 it will cover the Shiping Cost Farmer, Joyce Beggs __________________ May God Bless you and my Garden, Amen https://www.angelfieldfarms.com MrsJustice as Farmer Joyce Beggs

April 28, 2024	#2
VirginiaClay Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 139	You definitely can have tomato plants large enough to plant out in five weeks if you start the seeds today. The ones I planted on 4/5/24 are six to 8 inches tall already and would be bigger if I had thinned and repotted them. That's just a little over three weeks. A heat mat will speed up germination. You could try pre-soaking the seeds as well. After they germinate, put them outside in the sun on warm days (but be sure to acclimate them to the sun first so you don't burn them). They'll grow much faster in the sun than indoors. Are you sure the ones you have aren't going to survive? If the stems broke partially but not all the way through, just repot the plants with the broken part under the soil. If the stems broke completely, you can cut off the top part of the plant above the break, or cut off any suckers, and root them in water or potting mix. Other ideas: do you have a farmer's market in the area, where vendors might sell tomato plants? Often they'll have heirlooms not carried by the big box stores. Also check whatever local social media you have, like NextDoor or Facebook marketplace or Craigslist. Around here, we have a lot of individuals selling vegetable plants online this time of year. Also look for fundraiser plant sales by schools or Master Gardener-type organizations. Those may have less-common varieties. I think I'd try a combination of rescuing some of the damaged seedlings, planting some new seeds of Inciardi & Andean to be sure to have them, and buying some larger transplants of whatever you can find so you get some tomatoes earlier in the season.

April 28, 2024	#3
jhp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Danbury, CT Posts: 492	I think it may be too late to start pepper seeds as they grow slower but I'm no pepper expert. I do think you could plant tomato seeds now and plant in 5-6 weeks. I have on occasion got my hands on some seeds of a variety I'd been interested in late in the game and started them anyway. I glanced through my notes and saw one that was started 44 days before plant out and to my recollection, it caught up with the others. I use a heat mat to speed germination. If I were in your shoes, I'd soak the seeds to jump start it a bit and then into cells with a heat mat going. I know I wouldn't be happy with any of the varieties available around where I live, so I'd rather just start over. Good luck! Jen

April 29, 2024	#5
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,895	I don't think it's too late for tomatoes either, and would start again right now. Maybe you could even rescue some of the fallen ones as they are quite resilient and might surprise you. I would check out Facebooks Marketplace for seedling starts or visit the nurseries and big box stores early for the best choices of what's available, although you'll probably not find your favourites. Good luck!

May 3, 2024	#6
montyb Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Canada Posts: 37	Thanks for the help. I replanted the seeds and a couple are even just poking out of the soil after just one week. Very excited. A couple of the ones that had the accident are hanging on so hopeful with those. Will keep you all posted. Again thanks for the help. Still going to look into Reddit and Facebook Marketplace as well.

August 28, 2024	#9
montyb Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Canada Posts: 37	Sorry it's been so long since an update. Life gets complicated. Inciardi Paste has been doing very well and there's lots of tomatoes on the vines. Andean is still doing ok but no blossoms yet so not sure we'll get much off them. But I'm very hopeful. Managed to get 3 San marzano's that are doing well also from the garden centre. Peppers haven't fared well but am hopeful for next year. All the plants are a bit small though. They are maybe 3 feet tall. Healthy enough but not that tall. Some say that the ground around here where I live isn't all that good. Garden is about 40 feet long and 16 feet wide. We used 4 bags of compaost/manure from the garden centre. Was it maybe not enough? Or just the year and the weather?

August 31, 2024	#11
montyb Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Canada Posts: 37	I'm using a fertilizer called Big A** tomato fertilizer every couple of weeks. It gets full sun for most of the day. The compost was bags bought from Walmart. Weather was nice not too hot but early to mid 20s mostly. Nights not too cold not too hot. Even the lettuce I planted early June is only an inch high still and carrots similar time are only 4 inches.