Slow seedling growth

10 years ago

This is my first year starting tomatoes from seed and my seedlings have been growing very slowly. It's been 4 weeks and my seedlings are only 2.5-4.5 inches in height and have 4-6 true leaves. I planted them in a Miracle-Gro potting mix and placed them in a west facing window. The temperature in my house is room temperature but I think the soil temperature is a bit lower. What could be causing the slow growth? Is it that they don't have enough light or aren't warm enough? We don't have a long growing season here so I'm worried that we might not have a good harvest.

Comments (4)

kevinitis
10 years ago
Sounds to me like they are right on track for 4 weeks. They will be fine once in the ground. Just be sure to place them after your average last frost date.
digdirt2
10 years ago
Agree that if they have true leaves they are doing fine. It is root development that is important at this time, not top growth. Just make sure you are not over-watering them as that can cause stunted/slow growth.

Plus it depends on the variety.

Dave
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speckledhound
10 years ago
I agree--that's about the stage mine were at after four weeks. Growth seems a little slow at first, but it won't be long till they growing like crazy and you can't keep up with them...which is where I am now.
SproutingLexi
10 years ago
hmm, this makes me wonder what's wrong with mine. Started from seed 5 weeks ago, sprouted in two days, but now they only have two true leaves each. They're SS100s.

I did transplant them a week ago, could that have caused them to focus on the roots for now?