growing under grow lights

looks like a bit of a struggle there... yes a bit leggy... do you have lights over them?.. might want to try potting them up deeper.. it helps ... I usually TRY to pot them deeper 3 times before they go out

onewish1 - I do have grow lights right on top of them, you can see it that picture. I wasn't sure if I could pot up just yet as their only 8 days old but I can try some ans see what happens, thanks. I've attached another side angle as well.

you might want to move the lights closer then.. 2 or 3 inches from the tops.. they might have been reaching for it if you had it set at that height all along

if you pot them deeper they develop roots along the stem.. always makes for better plants later on.. and it will slow the top growth down a bit to hopefully have a stockier plant

I wonder if having the lights on them from seed instead of waiting for them to break the surface would have anything to do with it? In the long run what does this legginess do to them or problems does it cause? While I had the domes on them the light was probably 6 inches away but as of today (in those pictures) even thought it don't look like it I have move the light down to around 2-3 inches. Will potting up and keeping the lights close now resolve the legginess or is the damage already done?

I would start by running an oscillating fan for several hours during the day when the lights are on for about a week. Once they form their 2nd set of leaves, then transplant them deep, up to 1st set of leaves. Fertilize with a diluted fish emulsion fertilizer. Since they are quite tall, I would put them in a plastic drinking glass. Don't forget the drain holes. Provide cool nights

forgot about the fan... good teamwork!!

1scottU1, don't worry too much about your plants beign leggy now, what I would do is as soon as you see a couple of the true leaves forming go ahead and transplant them to a bigger cup size , bury as much of the leggy stem as you can this will form roots as well, so the more you bury the more roots the plant will have. I usually transplant mine in one of those disposable water cups the tall ones and then you can label them right away, then once they have practically outgrown those pots, transplant them again in a bigger pot and then into the ground when it is time.

Dividensky you have described my problem exactly in growing the basil, I started a new batch that I have under the lights but will not let them be there too much longer, I will probably move them to a sunny window instead and see if this will be better, my last resort is to plant the seeds outside when the weather warms out if this does not work either.

that's a great thread!!!.. good job!!

Joanna what a great thread! Love your maters and the finnal results are very nice too. I wish I had a greenhouse, but I just don't have the space plus we might be here just temporarily, are the maters you grow OP or are they Hybrids?

Just wanted to say thanks to all, Joanna, I just got back, I'll go check out those pictures now, thanks.

I have a bunch of those round 3 inch peat pots that I had planned to transplant them into, will that work versus the water cups? Also, I've heard a lot of bad things about the root not penetrating through the peat pots so I plan to remove the plant from the pots before planting outside?

I personally don't like teh peat pots for tomatoes, expecially because you have to transplant them so much before placing in the garden, plus just like you mentioned they don't break in the ground as easily, I like to use those peat pots for seed or plants that don't need transplanting to other pots, and therefore can go direactly in the ground like maybe cucumbers and such.
I tend to reuse a lot of yogurt cups as well for my tomatoes so maybe you can use them instead of the water cups.

I'm new to all this so I'm sorry for all the questions but I have another question regarding what you said, "because you have to transplant them so much before placing in the garden", what does that mean? I was thinking I now have them as they are in the pictures, those pre-packaged soil pods and about 3 inches tall, I thought I could transplant them to the peat pots and from there they would be ready to go into the ground, is that not so, do you again transplant them to something bigger prior to the ground(I plan to take them out of the peat pots when I put them into the ground)?

I guess you can do that just make sure the peat pots are big enough to hold the whole plant, it is recommended to plant them outside when they are 6 to 8 inches minimum, some of mine are already 9 and 10 inches tall, but those I started a little earlier than recommended.

See, I start my small seedlings in small yougurt cups, then I transplanted them in the water cups and then about a week ago I saw that the plants were too big for the cups so I transplanted them again into even bigger yogurt containers or even potting containers. I guess the 3rd transplanting is not necessary but remmember that the stem will grow roots therefore making stronger and healthier plants with stockier stems that is why I decided to transplant a third time, but like mentioned before it is not necesary as long as you provide a good enough container for the plants to grow.

Hope this helps, I am definetely not an expert either but read a lot of books in the subject since my past attempts of growing tomatoes were not very good ones, maybe someone with more knowlege can tell you better info than me.

One of the best books on Tomatoes is: Lois Hole's Tomato Favorites, printed by Lone Pine. It has great instructions and tips on how to sow and grow tomatoes.

re-reading the posts, I also keep a radio on in the room where my babies are growing, heard somewhere the sound vibrations are good for them.

Huh.... well, sure can't hurt!

Has anyone tried to use newspaper pots to pot up their tomatoes? I started tomatoes in the 55 slot Styrofoam (as have many others) on a heating mat with lights. I have one of the newspaper pot-makers ( about 1 1/2 inches in diameter) and potted them up into those from the styrofoam tray. I had read where folks were having problems with the pots breaking up so I experimented and cut my newspaper about an inch taller than they recommended and used the full length of the newspaper. This made the pot have two full layers of paper on it. The roots were coming right on through the paper without a problem. I am still about 3 weeks from being able to plant them so I made an even larger paper pot (about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and 5 inches tall with a glass Prego spaghetti bottle. I put a small piece of tape on the side and bottom seam). I still made the pot with two full layers of newspaper before I potted them up and placed them into a tray. I have learned not to move these pots once they are full of planting medium and get damp until I am ready to put them in the garden. So far this system has served me well. Have posted a photo of the tomatoes I planted this year. They will stay in these pots for another two or three weeks until the weather settles. Hope this helps folks looking for a larger yet cheap container to plant in.

nini, what a great idea, I personally have never used the paper pots but I really think it would not hurt to use it. I am thinking I might try in the future with thinks like peppers and cucumbers and squash since they don't have to be transplanted and moved so much from one container to the next. But please let us know how the tomatoes do in your paper containers once you transplant them.

I used tons of paper pots ... all is good unless you get heavy rains when hardening off... had to slide a trowel under them and carefully pick them up ... or the whole thing fell apart... and the reason I switched to cow pots... I actually like them for starting my begonias

and I added collars of newspaper around the top of the cow pots if the tomatoes got too leggy... called them my cow pot turtle necks

LOL!

I gotta get one of those paper pot makers. Do you find that you have to water a lot more with those?

nah... I don't think so.. but I am OCD about watering.. usually check everything a few times a day anyway

It does seem that I have to water very regularly. I don't let my pots dry out and like the other poster, I check them once or twice a day. I don't let them stand in water, but when I water, I do give them and hour or so to absorb all the water I have put in the tray. The little wooden pot maker is nice, but it takes a little practice to make them so they will hold up. I think I said this before, but I use more newspaper than the pot-maker recommends. I make my strips about 3/4 inch wider than the directions so I have more overlap on the bottom and I use a full length strip of Newspaper so there are a little more than two wraps around the wooden part. When I made the large pots I use a Prego bottle and put a piece of tape on the side and bottom. Hope that helps.

oh yes I forgot about that.. I too made them longer & wider... when made to the size they suggest they didn't hold together well