I assume I should thin but should I consider uppotting now? Additional details in body
I got some basic grow houses with lights but I think the lights weren’t putting out enough so got the T8s you can see in the photo that are much brighter.
It’s only been 2 weeks since they were planted.
by snidemarque
16 Comments
RibertarianVoter
Definitely not enough light. I would repot and bury as much of the stems as possible.
Vegetable_Bedroom_40
yes. they could do with a transplant into like a solo cup with holes for drainage. bury them as deep as you possibly can. Pick the strongest one and pinch out the others. Feed mild nutrient, keep close to lights and add a fan to beef them up and keep feeding as they continue to grow
Cali_Yogurtfriend624
Looks like the row directly under the lights are in pretty good shape.
Next set: Have seedlings closer to light, directly under, from ‘pop up’.
Almost touching. Then adjust as they grow.
ok_heat5972
Sorry but they are way too leggy you need a stronger and wider light ratio
Gold_Draw7642
A great thing about tomato seedlings is that you can repot leggy ones deeply (as has been recommended in your comments) and they will likely do great. If you don’t go the fancy growlight route a shop light in the neighbourhood of 5k lumens will absolutely do the trick.
SillyPop8171
Better throw and plant again with 3x time the light. You lose 1 week but plants would be stronger and heltier
Davekinney0u812
I rarely ever thin them out – I separate & upsize the pot – rarely ever lose one. Ya, you need more light. Not sure who’s made thinning tomato seedlings popular but many experts I follow/trust scatter a bunch of seeds across some seed starting soil to get them started and then separate when they get a little established.
baccabia
What zone are you?
feldoneq2wire
As others said, need more light and closer. You can carefully replant at this stage. Bury as much of the stem as you can. Tomatoes unlike other plants can root along the stem and so benefit from being buried deeper.
Ineedmorebtc
mo light, much mo.
speppers69
How many tomato plants did you eventually want to transplant into your garden?
The general rule of thumb for tomato plants…is 3 seeds for every plant you want in your garden. So if you want 12 tomato plants in your garden…you should star 36 seeds. 18 seeds for 6 plants. Anything more than that is a waste of seeds and soil.
Just based on this cell flat…you are planting 19 tomato plants in your garden. You have at least 57 seedlings.
Lonely_skeptic
Always keep the light just above, but not touching your plants. I use 2 rows of lights per tray.
Rough-Brick-7137
Move light closer
Carlpanzram1916
What’s the intensity of your lights? The cheap Amazon lights marketed as grow lights are nowhere near sufficient for healthy growth. There’s some good online sources for how much growing power you actually need and how close the lights should be to the plant. It’s a lot of light, really close to the plant.
juryjjury
More lights. I use many led shop lights. Cheap and no heat at the plant tops.
And too crowded. They should be transplanted when they get their first set of true leaves but you planted way too many seeds per cell so you can’t wait. Some may need to die. If you don’t need them all I’d recommend just thinning in place instead of trying to transplant them at this stage.
brittneyrosegiguere
Just take a chopstick and slowly push the stem back down into the soil. Then lift them up closer to the light
16 Comments
Definitely not enough light. I would repot and bury as much of the stems as possible.
yes. they could do with a transplant into like a solo cup with holes for drainage. bury them as deep as you possibly can. Pick the strongest one and pinch out the others. Feed mild nutrient, keep close to lights and add a fan to beef them up and keep feeding as they continue to grow
Looks like the row directly under the lights are in pretty good shape.
Next set: Have seedlings closer to light, directly under, from ‘pop up’.
Almost touching. Then adjust as they grow.
Sorry but they are way too leggy you need a stronger and wider light ratio
A great thing about tomato seedlings is that you can repot leggy ones deeply (as has been recommended in your comments) and they will likely do great. If you don’t go the fancy growlight route a shop light in the neighbourhood of 5k lumens will absolutely do the trick.
Better throw and plant again with 3x time the light. You lose 1 week but plants would be stronger and heltier
I rarely ever thin them out – I separate & upsize the pot – rarely ever lose one. Ya, you need more light. Not sure who’s made thinning tomato seedlings popular but many experts I follow/trust scatter a bunch of seeds across some seed starting soil to get them started and then separate when they get a little established.
What zone are you?
As others said, need more light and closer. You can carefully replant at this stage. Bury as much of the stem as you can. Tomatoes unlike other plants can root along the stem and so benefit from being buried deeper.
mo light, much mo.
How many tomato plants did you eventually want to transplant into your garden?
The general rule of thumb for tomato plants…is 3 seeds for every plant you want in your garden. So if you want 12 tomato plants in your garden…you should star 36 seeds. 18 seeds for 6 plants. Anything more than that is a waste of seeds and soil.
Just based on this cell flat…you are planting 19 tomato plants in your garden. You have at least 57 seedlings.
Always keep the light just above, but not touching your plants. I use 2 rows of lights per tray.
Move light closer
What’s the intensity of your lights? The cheap Amazon lights marketed as grow lights are nowhere near sufficient for healthy growth. There’s some good online sources for how much growing power you actually need and how close the lights should be to the plant. It’s a lot of light, really close to the plant.
More lights. I use many led shop lights. Cheap and no heat at the plant tops.
And too crowded. They should be transplanted when they get their first set of true leaves but you planted way too many seeds per cell so you can’t wait. Some may need to die. If you don’t need them all I’d recommend just thinning in place instead of trying to transplant them at this stage.
Just take a chopstick and slowly push the stem back down into the soil. Then lift them up closer to the light