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| My tomato seedlings are about 4 weeks old. I started them in my cool basement under a shoplight with a fan running over them lightly. They germinated great and have been doing very well. I potted up about a week ago to small plastic cups with good drainage holes poked in the bottom. When I transplanted, I used a mix of mediums that I had lying around--two seed starting mixes comprised of peat and vermiculite, I added some perlite and (here may be my mistake) some potting soil with slow-release fertilizer pellets. I figured that if the fertilizer was slow-release and if I was diluting the concentration my mixing with other mediums, it wouldn't be a problem for my seedlings. Another change that recently happened after I potted up: I no longer had enough surface area under my shop light to effectively grow them without them getting leggy, and our weather warmed up significantly and it's been rather sunny and breezy. Therefore, I started moving them up and out to my patio during the day to get some natural sun and air. The other times I've started tomatoes, this hasn't happened. I cannot remember what kind of medium I used before. This morning they looked like perfectly normal little seedlings just thinking about getting their second set of leaves. Tonight when I moved them back in, the leaves looked like these fat purply things and all curled up. Am I crazy? Or should I panic? Any advice is welcome. Thank you in advance. |
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| I think they are ok. The bottom of seedling leaves are often purple. The tops look green. Sometimes my leaves point up or down depending on the time of day. They still look sturdy. |
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- Posted by speckledhound none (My Page) on Mon, Apr 15, 13 at 22:10
| This is reassuring. Thank you. I kind of knew the bottoms were purple, but these seemed PURPLE, ya know? I think I had a panic attack when I saw all of my little plants folded up like this. |
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- Posted by Raw_Nature 5 OH (My Page) on Mon, Apr 15, 13 at 23:44
| When I see plants reaching for the light, folding it's leaves, reaching for the sun like it's "praying", i think, they are very healthy.. That's how i judge plant vigor... Altough there could problems associated with folding/curling leaves, spider mites for example well spin a web and fold the leaves, almost choking the leaves.. Looks kind of like a funnel.. To me, your plant looks healthy.. Remember keep a fan on them and bright light.. Also, let the soil dry out in-between waterings.. The soil should be like a rung out sponge, most of the time.. Water thoroughly, dry out, water thoroughly,dry out.. No worries, looks great! |
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| I've noticed my young seedlings kind of "fold up shop" during the night, when the flourescent lights over them go off in the evening and only the distant room light is on. Could it be that your lights aren't strong enough? Betsy |
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- Posted by speckledhound 6 (My Page) on Sat, May 4, 13 at 22:57
| I'm happy to report that I was just having a panic attack as a result of being an overprotective seedling mom. All of these plants were perfectly fine, and in fact, I am flabbergasted at how enormous they are now. I'm such a worrywart! Thanks everyone. |
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| Plants rest...how many hours a day do you have the lights on? looks like a typical reaction to more light than the plant needs in a day. |
This post was edited by pasco on Sat, May 4, 13 at 23:34
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