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| I think I may have sunburnt my tomato seedlings... The plants are 2 and 3 weeks old do they look ok and will they be alright to plant in garden in about two weeks? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by themilkdud05 none (My Page) on Mon, May 5, 14 at 12:29
| Here is another side picture of them any suggestions would be appreciated thanks! |
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| They look ok to me and I wouldn't worry. I don't know where you are, but if you can put them in a shady spot, for a few hours each day, it would help them to acclimatize before taking full sun. Linda |
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| If you would include your location or your garden zone at least in the blank provided for it when you post it would make it much easier to answer your questions. The white patches could be caused by several different things depending on where you are located. Most likely cause is sun scorch and wind burn. If that is the cause the damaged leaves will usually fall off within a few days. They are still awfully small so there's no way to know if they will be ready to plant in 2 weeks without more information. You'll need at least a week to 10 days just to harden them off first. Dave |
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- Posted by themilkdud05 NH Zone 4 (My Page) on Mon, May 5, 14 at 16:17
| Zone 4 |
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| Are they growing indoors or out? Under what kind of lights if indoors? How did they get burned? What growing media are you using? Have you fed them? If so, what and how often? Would 2 weeks be your normal plant-out date? Most of us are running one to 2 weeks later this year due to weather. I see some Big Beef pics in the photo and they are small and young yet for even hardening off much less planting. But with feeding and careful hardening off maybe 3 weeks. Dave |
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- Posted by themilkdud05 4b (My Page) on Mon, May 5, 14 at 18:13
| They are indoors under a cheap fluorescent light I got at Walmart... I put them outside when I can... Have had a lot if rain and cool weather here in NH. I used fox farm ocean earth potting soil. I know your not supposed to use potting soil but the package says you can. It has a mix of everything from earthworm castings peat moss seaweed etc. |
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| I'd keep them indoors under lights until they get bigger. In your zone the end of May would be more likely. Only start hardening off at least one week to ten days before planting out. You'll just stress them bringing them in and out at this stage. I'm no expert. |
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| I had that problem when I grew plants under indoor lights the first year. You have to be really careful when you introduce sunlight to them. That to me definitely looks like sun scald. I avoided it by getting them as much direct sunlight as soon as possible after germination, and as often as possible thereafter. When I had plants like that, I recovered them by placing them under some clear Tupperware totes propped up by a 2x4 to allow circulation. That shaded them enough to protect them but also allowed enough sun to toughen them up. |
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- Posted by williammorgan 6b (My Page) on Tue, May 6, 14 at 21:18
| Last year I had a lot of that cheap weed block around and it served well to cut out the sun and harden off plants in a hot greenhouse. Most definitely on their "virgin flight" place your seedlings in the shade or out on a cloudy day. Even on a cloudy day I'd place them where the shade would be. The sun can be brutal. Gotta introduce em a bit them bring em in....always indirect light at first.... |
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| The white patches (for seedlings grown under light, indoor) can be cause by : ---- The light sources being too close. And if it happens to be on the side where the ballast is located, it can get quite hot. This in combination with LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY, can aggravate the situation. --- Another possibility is splashing fertilizer on the leaves or even water droplets that can burn as it magnifies the light energy like a magnifying glass. JUST MY OPINION. |
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| So when are your seedlings too small to plant outside? I have lots of seedlings that seem to be stalling out inside... granted, this is the first year I've tried growing from seed and I don't have all the proper tools like fluorescent lighting, etc. I think they aren't getting quite enough light inside so I would like to move them out as soon as possible. I've been setting them out in the late afternoon / early evening for sun exposure. They all have just started their second set of leaves and they are pretty small. I do have other plants already in the ground, but I just wonder if these seedlings might just do better outside or if they are still too fragile. I'm hoping maybe another week of hardening off... sorry I don't have pics handy. Thanks! |
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| Daisyjoy, I don't think seedlings are ever too small to be planted outside! After all, they often manage to sprout all by themselves in people's veggie gardens (if left to their own devices). As long as your air and soil temperatures are warm enough, and you are there to water and protect them, I think they will do better outside. Linda |
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