Post by kevin1962 on Feb 25, 2012 12:01:16 GMT -5
Hello,
Last year, I started my tomatoes out in standard seed trays under "daylight" fluorescent bulbs, situated just above the surface of the soil. The trays were on heat mats to aid germination. Once the seeds began to germinate and grow, I kept raising the lights so that they were usually no more than 2-3 inches above the leaves. I transplanted the seedlings in to 20oz Styrofoam cups when they had a good set of leaves. I purposely set them deeper in the cup than what they had been in the seed trays in the hopes of making them sturdier and to foster a larger root system. I used very little fertilizer, (fish emulsion, one cap full to two quarts of warm water, and fed this every other week. Eventually, it became necessary to move the lot out of the basement and in to our greenhouse. My question is, why did my tomatoes get so leggy? Some of them were every bit of 36" in height by the time I could get them in the garden? Seeds were started around the 20th of March. A 36" tall tomato vine wasn't as bothersome as was the fact that the diameter of the vine was no more than a pencil. Ultimately, they produced well enough, but i really did not like how the seedlings progressed. Any hints on how I can slow down their growth to focus more on stem strength and a more robust leaf?
Thank you.
Regards,
Kevin
Last year, I started my tomatoes out in standard seed trays under "daylight" fluorescent bulbs, situated just above the surface of the soil. The trays were on heat mats to aid germination. Once the seeds began to germinate and grow, I kept raising the lights so that they were usually no more than 2-3 inches above the leaves. I transplanted the seedlings in to 20oz Styrofoam cups when they had a good set of leaves. I purposely set them deeper in the cup than what they had been in the seed trays in the hopes of making them sturdier and to foster a larger root system. I used very little fertilizer, (fish emulsion, one cap full to two quarts of warm water, and fed this every other week. Eventually, it became necessary to move the lot out of the basement and in to our greenhouse. My question is, why did my tomatoes get so leggy? Some of them were every bit of 36" in height by the time I could get them in the garden? Seeds were started around the 20th of March. A 36" tall tomato vine wasn't as bothersome as was the fact that the diameter of the vine was no more than a pencil. Ultimately, they produced well enough, but i really did not like how the seedlings progressed. Any hints on how I can slow down their growth to focus more on stem strength and a more robust leaf?
Thank you.
Regards,
Kevin
