I had them growing under lights and with fans, but had to put them in the window because they were growing past the lights. The stocks are thick and sturdy, but they just keep shooting up. They did have lower leaves but they yellowed and fell off. If anyone has any insight as to what is going on, I would greatly appreciate it.
by FryTheSpaceGuy
14 Comments
They look very leggy compared to mine – a symptom of not enough light.
I would stake those babies so they don’t blow over and get them outside if it’s warm enough.
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Just plant the roots/stem deeper or lay stem on its side. The roots will grow out of the stem making a stronger plant.
I find that my tomatillos grow much taller than any of my tomatoes under grow lights as well. I potted mine up recently and they’ve been growing larger leaves rather than going up as much. Might be worth a shot.
Not getting enough direct sunlight.
So the cool thing you can do with tomatillos that get leggy is plant them sideways in the ground and pinch off the bottom leaves. If you leave just a few leaves exposed, the parts that used to be leaves with become roots, and your whole plant will grow more over the season. I did this last year with my leggy tomatillos.
Repot them in bigger pots and stake them. When you set them outside they’ll flop a bit like wet spaghetti but they’ll grow. Looks like you have peaty soil there. They grow huge in that kind of ground. You’ll be sick of them by the time fall frost comes.
Don’t let this little warm spell fool you. We can still have snow. Don’t get in a hurry and harden them off carefully. You can set them outside on warm days. They like the cool foggy damp clammy weather but don’t hold up well in frost. Based on the grass and trees in that photo I would say you are about a week behind us. So I would hold off on putting them in the ground til the first of June at least. Just pot them in bigger pots and set them out when the weather is decent and bring them in if it starts snowing…. again. Cause you know it ain’t gonna let go early this year.
Put them in a bigger pot. Bury everything up to the last set of leaves. Put them outside then need more light.
Mine also look this leggy
How are yours standing? Mine just want to eat the ground. And yes they are leggy
They are getting too little light. Windows let in a lot less light than you think. The need to be under grow lights with the light 1-2 inches above the plant.
It’s OK. You can bury tomatoes deep and they will root all along the stem.
These guys thrive in hot weather. If these don’t work out, plant some more when you can sow outdoors.
They’re looking longingly at the patch of light outside.