Hope for Leggy Seedlings?

[AZGardener]

Hello- I have a flat of super leggy tomatoes,peppers and tomatillos that I'm trying to figure out if I can save... I think I will try to pot them up in 3 inch pots, super deep, and see if that helps?? It's bc my grow light arrived late so these poor seedlings have been reaching for light for about 8 days. Thoughts?? Thank you!!

AZGardener/Phx

[Father'sDaughter]

Yes, go ahead and plant them deep and they'll do fine.

[AZGardener]

Thank you!! I have such great varieties to just toss them so thanks!! Hopefully the stems will get thicker then once they are potted deeper bc right now they are super fragile and skinny.

[Doug9345]

If you don't already know this handle them with the leaves not the stem. They'll recover easily from a damaged leaf, they won't recover from a damaged stem.

[AZGardener]

Yes- I knew that, as fragile as they are... Thank you They are in those little jiffy pellets so really I don't have to handle the plant at all, just the pellet. I'm hopeful that they will pull through and not be soo leggy!?

[saltmarsh]

Also, if you can carefully pinch the first set of leaves off above the seed leaves, it will cause the stems to thicken. If the plants are too tender, allow them to grow a bit more then prune the lower leaves. Claud

[b54red]

If it is warm enough to get them outside for a little while each day that will help. Nothing makes plants leggier than too little light. Another benefit of putting them outside as much as possible is the wind helps thicken the stems. Just be sure not to put them outside in direct midday sun for very long or they will scorch. If weather permits I always try to set my seedlings outside for a bit as soon as possible because it hardens them off a bit and makes handling them much less damaging when potting them up.

[Father'sDaughter]

If putting them outside isn't an option, use a fan on low to give them gentle "wind" effects for part of each day. Between that and using your grow light they should get stockier after you transplant them.

[ljp]

I found I could wind leggy tomato stems around the inside of a pot when potting up. You can certainly place the stem diagonally in the pot. I didn't want to use 10" deep pots.

[KarenO]

sure you can salvage them just pot them up deep as you can. Plastic beer cups are deeper than most 3" pots and cheap. They will work fine for the first transplant from your jiffy pellets- just poke a few holes in the bottoms. Place them close (2 inches) away from your new lights for 16-18 hurs a day.

[AZGardener]

Wow- thank you guys and gals for the great info!! There IS hope!! Now lets see how this goes... Since we have about 6-8 weeks left before starting them in the ground (Phx AZ) I am trying to get as many great varieties as I can before it's GO time This forum is so informative!! Thank you all again!!

[Tracydr]

They'll be fine. When you put them outside, be careful not to give them too much sun at first. I had some very unhappy plants yesterday after two hours. It was too hot and windy for baby plants in direct sun. I'm going to give them indirect morning sun for less time for awhile.
If you need some replacements, I have tons of extras, including some nice dwarfs.

[AZGardener]

Thank you Tracydr!! My leggy guys are not so leggy now (yay!) and they will be visiting the outdoors over the next two weeks... Between my kids and my tomatoes, this is a full time job! I msg'd you too...