seedlings growing so slowly

14 years ago

i don't know why my tomatoes are growing so slowly. my cherry tomatoes and green zebras germinated 35 days ago, and they are only 5 inches tal. they only have two sets of true leaves out.

i've seen pictures of other seedlings at the same time frame 1 foot tall. why is that? i've been growing them in peat moss and perlite, with some fertilizer.

they are in a plastic drinking cup on the window sill, and i water very infrequently, since i can see how moist the dirt is. i see root growth on the bottom, but they are growing so slowly! why?!

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Comments (9)

the_pumpkin_queen
14 years ago
Have you tried Super Thrive?
Helps growth a LOT!
robertz6
14 years ago
I use Seed Starter Potting soil, what did you use? A homemade type? Try both next year.

The Seed Starter Potting Soil isn't real cheap, I use two bags for a total of $10 for about forty seedlings. But I grow eight types from seed, and if I screw things up there would not be time to regrow them.
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I would like to know this as well. My peppers also stopped growing and some of them have lost their blooms. This is my first year of gardening also and I didnt have things set up before it got real hot. Will the Tomatoes and Peppers winter over and start blossoming again next spring? I converted the west porch into a garden area. I have the sides screened off and the top of the porch has 1x4's spaced every four inches and the entire roof has 1/2" hardware fabric to keep the birds out. The garden area gets sun starting at about 10:00am and gets sun or partial sun until sunset. Seems to work pretty well but because I started too late next spring will be a better judge. This site is wonderful. Thanks for everyones help. For soil misture in the containers I use the soil under the Blue Ice Arizona Cypress tree. Quail live in them and rabits visit everyday. I use the dirt in that area and mix it with the tree sheddings and dont bother taking out the seed balls that fall. Then I put steer manure and organic compose on top of that and mix it about 2 to 4 inches down depending on the size of the pot. I am learing not to water too much ! The east end of the porch that is connected to the house has a 1x15 (or so) strip of dirt that I have green onions growing in and strawberries and now some radishes are coming up too. But again I am starting late on things too. I am growing Amaranth and Quinoa in tires out in the direct sun and cover the top of the dirt with hay. They are loving life. No shade at all. I made cages around them to keep the grasshoppers on them and whatever is laying those green worms but did it a bit to late. The worms about devowered the grain but they are recovering. I highly recommend growing these two grains here in Arizona. They really do well. They seem to like fine sandy soil with little compose. And I water them every 3 days. The sand keeps the moisture in well so I dont water too much at one time. Maybe a quart or two per plant including the corn that is going nicely too. But back to the main question. Will my Tomatoes and Peppers winter over for next spring. Some of my Peppers havent even blossomed yet. The Chocholate Bell Pepper and the Sandia. What sould I do with them?
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@Ohiofem I'll try raising the temp, thanks. I don't have control of my thermostat since I'm in a dorm and with the insane weather we've been having the temp in my room has been swinging from low 60s to nearly 90, depending on the weather and sunlight. The last few days the temps in my room were about 60-65 average, but now with warmer weather they're hanging at 70. @dickiefickle I know my light is a POS, but I was hoping it would be sufficient for the purpose. My room faces south and has lots of ambient sunlight, but it's cloudy most days here and so not strong enough for seedlings, based on what I've read. @the0ry Well, since I can't get a good price reselling them, may as well make them useful! @Capoman It's a fluorescent. Model 7020 E GL, some googling of forum posts says it has about 1200 lumens. Is that enough for roughly 2 square feet of plants? If not, would it be better to buy an additional fixture or install a better bulb? @Dave I've read most of those posts already, and was hoping someone had an idea of what part of my setup was causing the most issues, since it's hard to diagnose without experience. Thanks for the link though, there were a few new reads.
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HoosierCheroKee
14 years ago
I you have seedlings 5 inches tall with two sets of true leaves grown on a window sill, with no auxiliary lighting, 35 days from sowing the seed, or even 35 days from emergence, then you are doing pretty damned good, in my opinion.

I wouldn't add fertilizer again unless you notice chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves). How soon can you plant them out? If the weather is warm in the daytime, take them out into dappled shade a little bit at a time and start hardening them off in preparation for planting.
HoosierCheroKee
14 years ago
Excuse me. I meant to say "If you have ..."

Also, make sure when taking them outside to harden them off that you shelter them from harsh sunlight AND wind. If the wind is too strong, it will dry out the tender leaves or whip them around and shread them.
struwwelpeter
14 years ago
If you are growing in peat moss and perlite without dolomitic lime and gypsum, you need a fertilizer with calcium, magnesium and sulfur. I use such a fertilizer designed for hydroponic use.
luv_figs
Original Author
14 years ago
thanks for all the messages! i checked, and my seed starting mix doesn't have ca, mag, or sulfur, so i'll add ironite as my fertilizer. i also supplemented it with dolomitic lime.

i am using the miracle gro seed starting potting mix.

the weather is warm outside, so i've started hardening them off. however, what about my other seedlings? my other seedlings are 2 weeks old and don't have any true leaves yet. should i take them out so they can enjoy the sun too? or leave them on the window sill, where they get around 3 hours of sun?

and yes, i have been noticing that my leaves are turning yellow, so i'm hoping ironite works.
catman529
14 years ago
This is just my opinion but I love the results I get from Miracle Gro potting mix. Super fast, lush growth. Only problem is that they just changed their formula to a 9? month slow release formula, I am only trying that on the peppers and eggplant this year, we'll see how it goes. I can still find the original formula in some places though.
southernorchidlover
14 years ago
Luvs figs, thanks for this post. Hoosiercherokee, thanks for response. I too have a few seedlings that are about a month old and I have wondered what I'm doing wrong. But now I will just be patient.

This forum is great!
taz6122
14 years ago
" Have you tried Super Thrive? "

LOL, Snake oil!

seedlings growing so slowly

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the_pumpkin_queen

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seedlings growing so slowly

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