HELP! I planted my Romas (I have 3 flats of them) the day I left for a three day trip, not thinking they would germinate that fast. Well, they did. All 50 of them. And they weren't under lights. I have them under lights now, but they are so leggy. Are they ruined or is there anything I can do to fix them?
by Clean_Following5895
19 Comments
I’m sorry, but there is no way to save these. Replant and make sure they are under lights that are only a few inches above the soil.
Start again. I don’t see any ti. Seeds until last year’s germinate in the greenhouse soil. Years and years, they always ended up the same anyway.
Tomatoes are so forgiving. They can absolutely be saved just up pot them and bury them deeper. You can go all the way up to where the leaves are. They will sprout more roots all along the stem where they are buried.
Just start over.
I’d restart, and lower the lights.
I don’t mind leggy starters for tomatoes, you can just bury them deep. But I prefer them to get leggy towards the end when im starting to prepare them for outside life.
Few more weeks and I get to begin. Good luck to all the gardeners out there, let’s have a stellar season.
Need more light and move them closer to start.
I think you could technically save some by pricking them out and repotting them up to the leaves or as deep as you can get them, handling only by the leaves and being super gentle with the stems. Kinda hard to tell how tall they are; might not eat enough of the legginess without using some sort of tall cells. Definitely no way to “un-leggy” them as they sit. Even if you restart, it could be fun to try saving a few by repotting to see what happens. I’m often surprised at what tomatoes will tolerate.
Just plant them deep in the hole and they will grow roots?
Light up to high
My tomatoes did the EXACT same thing. If I keep lights on them close now will they be okay? Should I restart?
also put a light fan breeze on them to strengthen the stems
Give them more light. If they dont fall over, i think you can save them. Plant deeper when you transplant
Pot them up into larger containers being sure to bury a portion of the leggy stems and place the grow light much closer to the seedlings in the future. Also, turn off any heating mats under them once they germinate if you haven’t already (this can cause them to grow very quickly, and that seems like quite a bit of growth for 3 days).
OP you’ve already gotten great advice but I’m gonna echo the suggestion to drop the lights (even though I know the lights were out etc). Light carries for great distances but its strength falls off faster than you think.
I have my lights on ratchet straps from Amazon to raise and lower.
When I start my seeds, the lights are almost on top of the tray humidity dome (not touching of course). But very close. I can’t see what kind you have but the LEDs, clips, and ends look similar to mine.
Good luck!
Lower the light and they will be fine. Happened to me one year
Use a fan.
First, it’s not light that germinates tomatoes, it’s warmth. That’s why they sell heat mats. Second, put your light so close that they are practically touching. You don’t want the plants ‘reaching’ and growing taller.
Lastly, a fan on the same timer as lights (12-14 hours a day) should help them to develop thicker stems.
Get better lighting and bury them deeper when you can handle them.
your grow lights are too high
They’ll be fine if you give them the light they need.