Seedlings yellowing at the tops and shriveling up

julieann · April 3, 2014

i started multiple seeds, i tried the bag method. cut open the bag and panted rows right in the bag.. everything else i planted is doing great! but only the tomato plants are Yellowing and shriveling up and i am not over watering or at least i didnt think that i was.. they are Indoors and under two 4 ft shop lights with aquarium/ plant bulbs.. i am very concerned as i really want my tomatoes to do well this year! i planted 2 new kinds. please help

Doug9345 · April 4, 2014

Any chance of posting pictures.

julieann · April 4, 2014

here is the photo i had to crop it quite a bit

ginger2778 · April 4, 2014

Hi Julieann,
Welcome. If you can post a few close ups, we have a better chance to tell you what is wrong.

Marsha

nnjjohn · April 4, 2014

YOU ONLY GET HELP IF YOU ASK QUESTIONS

bag of what? DID YOU USE A QUALITY SEEDLING MIX? ..WHAT KIND OF SEEDS? ARE THEY HYBRIDS OR HOW OLD ARE THE SEEDLINGS.. PICS ARE A GOOD IDEA TO SHOW WHAT IS GOING WRONG.

julieann · April 4, 2014

I am sorry i am new to the Forum and i am having trouble uploading photos..
i dont mind if you use Facebook if you come find me.. im struggling with the upload system..
ill try to describe in much detail.. how and what i used.. I used Miracle Gro soil just the standard stuff.. in the yellow green bag.. the tomato seeds i planted are Hybrid Early girl.. and another row is Pineapple tomato Heirloom.. and its only the tomatoes that are experiencing the Yellowing .. i am not Fertilizing or anything.. i had been watering them about 3 times a week. as i had them covered lightly with thin plastic sheeting to give the plants a green house effect.. My Facebook contact below and i can send photos.
https://www.facebook.com/Sweetone33

If there is anything i forgot please forgive me.. as i get used to this format here

julieann · April 4, 2014

not sure if the photo comes through

nnjjohn · April 4, 2014

I think you should tell us what seedling mix your seedlings are in... pictures show it looks like too rough for seedlings. from the looks of those seedlings, i'd try a second seed start asp just in case they don't make it out alive. you need to be sure and use seedling mix mg makes seedling mix that won't do that to seedlings.. what I see in the photos looks more like mg potting soil (regular)mix.. i never had good luck trying to use regular potting mix.. you made the mistake i made when i was starting out with seeds. Start over and just buy a 4 dollar 8 lb bag of miracle grow seedling mix.. mash it with filtered water to be sure it is fully soaked,, fill loosely your seedling tray cells and reseed. use a heatmat and keep the mix moist daily..not soaking wet but never dry.. i water almost every morning and night.

julieann · April 4, 2014

I used Miracle Gro soil just the standard stuff.. in the yellow green bag..

RayR · April 4, 2014

The picture is pretty blurry and I can't see where the the stem meets the soil line, but I see some brown grunge on the cotyledons. I'm thinking a damping off pathogen, if the stem at the soil line is brown and thinner than the rest of the stem, then you can bet it's a damping off infection.

lexusnexus · April 5, 2014

Have you tried using a photo hosting site like photobucket? That way you don't have to upload pictures here at all. You can just link to them. If you have questions about doing that please don't hesitate to PM me.

Dan

macmex · April 8, 2014

Julianne,

I bet it is damping off. But the soil mix can also contribute to the problem. I have had this problem, real badly, this year, and I used very high dollar seed starting mix. Watering occasionally with a roughly 10% mix of hydrogen peroxide seemed to help. But once the plants show since of this problem it is pretty much better to start over. I've tried to coddle some to recovery, and they simply languish, dying a couple of weeks later.

Once I can get my trays outside and into some real sunshine, I see much better growth in my tomatoes, and the damping off problem ceases.

George
Tahlequah, OK

April 3, 2014	#1
julieann Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indiana Posts: 6	Seedlings yellowing at the tops and shriveling up i started multiple seeds, i tried the bag method. cut open the bag and panted rows right in the bag.. everything else i planted is doing great! but only the tomato plants are Yellowing and shriveling up and i am not over watering or at least i didnt think that i was.. they are Indoors and under two 4 ft shop lights with aquarium/ plant bulbs.. i am very concerned as i really want my tomatoes to do well this year! i planted 2 new kinds. please help

April 4, 2014	#5
nnjjohn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: northern new jersey Posts: 683	YOU ONLY GET HELP IF YOU ASK QUESTIONS bag of what? DID YOU USE A QUALITY SEEDLING MIX? ..WHAT KIND OF SEEDS? ARE THEY HYBRIDS OR HOW OLD ARE THE SEEDLINGS.. PICS ARE A GOOD IDEA TO SHOW WHAT IS GOING WRONG. __________________ john

April 4, 2014	#8
nnjjohn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: northern new jersey Posts: 683	I think you should tell us what seedling mix your seedlings are in... pictures show it looks like too rough for seedlings. from the looks of those seedlings, i'd try a second seed start asp just in case they don't make it out alive. you need to be sure and use seedling mix mg makes seedling mix that won't do that to seedlings.. what I see in the photos looks more like mg potting soil (regular)mix.. i never had good luck trying to use regular potting mix.. you made the mistake i made when i was starting out with seeds. Start over and just buy a 4 dollar 8 lb bag of miracle grow seedling mix.. mash it with filtered water to be sure it is fully soaked,, fill loosely your seedling tray cells and reseed. use a heatmat and keep the mix moist daily..not soaking wet but never dry.. i water almost every morning and night. __________________ john Last edited by nnjjohn; April 4, 2014 at 08:49 PM.

April 5, 2014	#11
lexusnexus Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: MD Suburbs of DC, Zone 7a Posts: 500	Have you tried using a photo hosting site like photobucket? That way you don't have to upload pictures here at all. You can just link to them. If you have questions about doing that please don't hesitate to PM me. Dan __________________ Dan

April 4, 2014	#2
Doug9345 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Durhamville,NY Posts: 2,706	Any chance of posting pictures.

April 4, 2014	#4
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	Hi Julieann, Welcome. If you can post a few close ups, we have a better chance to tell you what is wrong. Marsha

April 4, 2014	#10
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	The picture is pretty blurry and I can't see where the the stem meets the soil line, but I see some brown grunge on the cotyledons. I'm thinking a damping off pathogen, if the stem at the soil line is brown and thinner than the rest of the stem, then you can bet it's a damping off infection.

April 8, 2014	#12
macmex Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Tahlequah, Oklahoma Posts: 102	Julianne, I bet it is damping off. But the soil mix can also contribute to the problem. I have had this problem, real badly, this year, and I used very high dollar seed starting mix. Watering occasionally with a roughly 10% mix of hydrogen peroxide seemed to help. But once the plants show since of this problem it is pretty much better to start over. I've tried to coddle some to recovery, and they simply languish, dying a couple of weeks later. Once I can get my trays outside and into some real sunshine, I see much better growth in my tomatoes, and the damping off problem ceases. George Tahlequah, OK