|
Sun, Mar 23, 14 at 14:07
| I've got some tomato sprouts that have been up for about two weeks going on three. I keep them in a closet with grow lights a few inches above them and a fan that comes on and off to simulate wind. On the few nice days we've had I put them outside for the day. The last time it was two days in a row. The first bottom leaves on all of them are turning brown and I don't remember that happening last year (my first year). The upper newer leaves on most of them are a deep green with sort of reddish veinlike markings on a lot of them, and I don't remember that either. They are Rutgers. Is it normal for the bottome leaves to turn brown like that, and should they be clipped off? On one or two of the plants parts of some of the upper leaves are brown, sort of like blight. Could they be getting too much sun on the nice days, or what? Thanks for any help! |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| Perhaps the the 2-day outdoor event was excessive? Let us see a picture, please. What potting mix are you using? |
|
- Posted by cold_weather_is_evil Tucson AZ Desert (My Page) on Sun, Mar 23, 14 at 15:43
| Zone? Where are you? Ayers' Rock? Namibia? The Florida mountains? What are they growing in? |
|
| Could they be getting too much sun on the nice days, or what? Easily. Not to mention wind and temp exposure problems. And for the whole day rather than just a hour or so in the shade? 99.9% chance doing what you did will damage the plants. You can't just move young seedlings in and out and in and out of drastically different environments and not expect them to get damaged or even killed. Research about how to properly harden off plants. Dave |
|
| I'm about 50 miles north of Atlanta. The plants are still in little cells in Miracle Grow potting mix. I water them twice a week and gave them their first Miracle Grow fertiliser the other day, planning on giving them that one week, nothing the next week, tomato tone the following week, then nothing the next. That's what I did last year and it worked great. I have been leaving them out all day on nice days until today when they were only out for about 3 hours. |
|
| That is a very unusual approach to growing tomatoes from seed. And it has lots of potential problems in it, as you have now discovered. But they are your plants to do with as you wish. Good luck. Dave |
|
| Water them when they are dry and not on a schedule. Miracle Grow potting mix has fertilizer in it already. If you do fertilize dilute it a lot. What the direction say I think it may be a tablespoon per gallon is for grown plants not little seedlings. My tomato plants are three or four weeks old and I haven't fertilized them yet. I may when they get a little bigger but so far the potting mix is fertile enough. I am surprised your plants are still alive after being outside all day. Maybe you are putting them in the shade and out of the wind. Did the brown show up after the fertilizer or before. Your lights in the closet are not the same as the sun so when you put them in sun just do it very gradually. |
|
| It sounds strange. You hardening off tomatoes while they are in those small starter cells !!! I am not saying it is wrong. Can you post a picture ? |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Growing Tomatoes Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
