OK...........Newbie from NC here to worry ya'll!!!

[Gardening Grammy]

Tomatoville is the first website I visit every day!!! I am new to all of this. I've planted seeds this year for the first time. I've grown tomatoes, peppers, herbs, etc. from plants before, but this is my first year planting my own seeds.

On March 6, I planted Roma's, German Johnson's and Beefsteak tomatoes. The are the ones on the top picture. They're almost 3 weeks old. Shouldn't they be bigger??? I don't have GrowLites, so they have been sitting on my kitchen table near a south window. I even leave the light on over them. (My hubby turns the light off.....I go behind him and turn it back on.) I've kept the top on them. There are no signs of the 2nd set of leaves. I just don't know!!!

The ones on the bottom picture are Abraham Lincoln, Brandywine Red, Black Krim and Cherokee Purple. They were planted on March 15. They almost seem to be doing better than the first ones planted.

I have to admit that I read everything here and then try and do it. And you can't do everything that everyone suggests. Right now I've put the little darlin's on my screened porch. It's 72 here in Fuquay today. I'm paranoid about too much water and too little water. Too much light. One day I turned the fan on to let them wave around a little in the breeze. I know I should just chill about them. I think I'm over thinking it.

I've also planted some summer squash seeds and they came up in about a week and look great!!! But of course, shhhhh, I don't love them like I love my little tomatoes!!!

My main questions are:

When will the tomatoes get their second set of leaves?
Should I not water as much now that they've sprouted?
When should I transplant them?
Should I just leave them on the screen porch if it doesn't go below 50 degrees?
Do I need to fertilize them?

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grammy

[GManess]

Grammy,
Welcome to Tomatoville. Being a fellow Tar Heel, I hope I can do some justice to your questions. The seedlings look like they are starving for light, due to how leggy they are. Overhead house lights do nothing for providing the correct wave length of light needed by plants, plus the lights need to be within close proximity to the plants (6" or so). Best artificial light sourse (other than $$$ halide lights) are florescent lights of varying wave lengths. When they get their 1st true sert of leaves is variable, most within 2 weeks of sprouting. Seedlings need a constant source of water, but not to where they are soppy wet. Do not fertilize untill you get your 1st true leaves, and then normally I use only 1/2 the recommended amount. With the 70 degree day we had today, the screened porch would be a plus or outside in the shade. These seedlings are not beyond repair, but they need light! When you transplant them Plant as much of the stem as you can in the soil/growing medium, up to the 1st set of true leaves. Hope this helps. Hope to see and meet you at Tomatopalooza ! Best Wishes, Gary

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by Gardening Grammy

On March 6, I planted Roma's, German Johnson's and Beefsteak tomatoes. The are the ones on the top picture. They're almost 3 weeks old. Shouldn't they be bigger??? I don't have GrowLites, so they have been sitting on my kitchen table near a south window.

You have identified the problem right there.

Although to your eyes, it may appear fairly bright inside your house, in actual practice, it is only a tiny fraction compared to the amount of light provided by the sun. The light radiating from even fluorescent lights disperses rapidly even at 4". You want the plants as close as possible (almost touching) the lights. I have found that tomato seedlings grow best when they are kept no further than 1-2 inches away from fluorescent lights.

I use a Cool White 40W bulb ($4) and a Daylight 40W bulb ($7) with a 4' fluorescent light fixture ($20) and when my seedlings are 4" tall, they look like this:


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