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| Hi, I live just outside of San Francisco, and just transplanted my tomato seedings about 2 weeks ago into 15 gallon pots (2 of them are cloth pots). Since transplanting, the plants haven't grown all that much. The new leaves are staying very small, and the plants don't look very robust. Is this transplant shock? Do I need to add fertilizer? Will they snap out of it and start getting stronger/bigger soon? I've used really good soil with compost, they get plenty of sun....just not sure what else these plants need. Any comments welcome, thanks!! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by Whosurtomato 6a Southern IN (My Page) on Thu, Jun 13, 13 at 15:05
| It certainly could be transplant shock and if it is you should be towards the end of that soon and see improvement. One other factor could be the weather. I understand that it can be rather cool around SF in the summer and the containers would lose heat rather quickly after sundown. If the weather has been good and you don't see any improvement in a week or so I would give them some fert and see if they respond. |
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| What is in your containers? Soil and compost are not recommended for containers because they tend to get compacted and don't drain well. A soil-less mix that drains rapidly is a better choice. Container tomatoes do need regular fertilizing. The compost can't provide nutrients to the tomatoes unless there is an active "micro herd" of soil organisms that break down organic materials to their basic chemical elements. That micro herd has a difficult time surviving in a container. |
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- Posted by dickiefickle 5B Dousman,Wi. (My Page) on Fri, Jun 14, 13 at 4:31
| Bad soil mix and do you have drain holes in the containers? |
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| Transplant/root shock will hold them back for a while, it depends on how bad the root structure was. Another sign of transplants with bad root structure is having plants wilt in the heat of the day, then perking back up at night. But i agree with what everyone posted above, lack of oxygen flow in a compacted potting medium will stop plants from growing. It needs to be a potting type mix. They may linger in their stunted form for a while, put out a few "survival" tomatoes, then yellow up and die a few weeks ahead of your other tomato plants. Hopefully that's not the case, but two weeks without growing is a long time imho. |
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