If things go well, they'll be a tad small and you'll be needing to harden them off still but all is not lost.

Better a little late the never, I think you will be fine.
Good luck!

Jmo,but I think holding off till they get a bit bigger would be best.What is your soil temp now?If you can wait,the seedlings after hardening off would be bigger and better able to stand the stress of plant-out.

They might be just fine tho the way they are.I'm just a worry-wart about such things:>).

Mike

May 15th is almost 3 weeks away. If conditions are right, those little plants will make great strides in that time, and I'll bet will be in fine shape to go in the ground.

Dee

Thanks for the information. I feel a little better now. Hopefully we'll be ok.

I'll bet they will be fine. Mine doubled in size in 2 weeks. They will work. If not wait one more week. They will catch up. You lots of good Cow Poo and amend and you will be fine. Good luck!!!!

Let me get this straight. You hired someone to grow you plants from seed? But to answer your ?? no they won't be ready by May 15 so just forget this year and start planning for next year. Or you can always go to the local pesant market (farmers market)

You should be fine. Pot up with good soil, get them outdoors(including nights when frost isn't a concern-so they have a chace to harden off), and a weak shot of fertilizer. They'll be rarin' to go in no time. They don't have to be huge before you put them in the ground, they just need to be acclimated to the outdoors. Meaning, gradually introduce them to full sun, and get them hardened off(which comes from leaving them outside). Just plant as deep as possible and keep them watered(but not overly so) on hot days until they get root established, they'll be fine.

These things are more hearty than people give them credit for! I've forgotten about seedlings left in the driveway that were hardened off, run over them with the car, and had most of them live. Not the prettiest plants in the world but they survived!

last year (and this year) I started my tomato seeds 'late' by common standards. First week in April both times. I repotted as soon as they had their true leaves and soon after put them outside to harden off. They looked pretty puny in the ground but you know what? I still got ripe tomatoes and one type of plant got 5 feet tall, required substantial staking and had plenty of freaky big maters on it. They take off once in the ground with warmth, sun, water and food.

If they are the size in the 3rd picture, they'll be perfect to plant 4 weeks from today (Memorial Day).Most of mine are exactly that size too, except for my early tomatoes I started a week sooner. I'll be planting out on Memorial Day.

If you don't want to wait, buy a few early varieties at a garden center to plant out on the 15th for some July picking. Yours should be ready to pick starting the first week of August.

mine are currently in between the third and fourth pic which means in a couple weeks they will be prime, and right on schedule.

Let me get this straight. You hired someone to grow you plants from seed? But to answer your ?? no they won't be ready by May 15 so just forget this year and start planning for next year. Or you can always go to the local pesant market (farmers market)

****

I'd just like to share with you that when we read what someone posts we don't know all that might be behind the question asked.

And I'm going to use myself as an example.

For many years I raised all my own plants from seed, up to 500 to 700 plants/year.

Then came Dec 12th, 2004 when I fell and severed all four quad muscles in my right leg. It's b/c my one hip went out and the quad surgery was followed by new left and right hips. And I'm still in a walker since only 3/4 quad muscles returned to function.

A good friend raises my few plants for me b'c I can send her the seed for what I want. She then ships them to me from VA. I pay shipping costs but if she weren't a good friend I wouldn't hesitate one minute to pay ( hire) someone to raise my plants for me.

I also have the option of buying plants online and Darrel Jones in AL I also know, but he does not and would not have the new varieties, that is new to all, that I want to grow.

I can't drive to a Farmer's Market, which you call a pe(a)sant market, b'c there are none around me at all, and even if there were it would be difficult to get such plants home.

I can't garden anymore b'c I'm not allowed on anything other than a paved surface and even that not in the winter and my loss of the ability to garden is a major change in my life. My cleaning lady is also my gardener and she does everything around here.

I never realized how difficult being physically disabled would be and having to rely on others for so much in terms of driving me here and there b'c the right leg will only allow me to drive within a 20 mile radius from where I live.

I was so very independent all my life until I fell and it's not just the current restrictions that I have, but loss of gardening which has been my lifelong love and my passion.

I didn't mean to type so much and I thought a lot about responding or not, but I do think it's important for folks who read here to realize that others might do things, like hiring someone to raise plants, for a variety of reasons.

I try to just answer questions when I can and not question the motivation(s)of the poster that might be left unsaid.

Thanks in advance for letting me express my feelings about this.

Carolyn

Wow. Sorry to hear about that Carolyn. I must admit many times I read things and ask, "What the heck were they thinking?" and judge unfairly. But I personally like stories behind people's action so I can get a better understanding of why they do things.

I think if people put a bit more information on why they did something, they will get more empathy and people would be more willing to help. Heck, I just stupidly chopped off the main stems from three plants trying to "prune the flowers" before I transplant.

I think if people put a bit more information on why they did something, they will get more empathy and people would be more willing to help. Heck, I just stupidly chopped off the main stems from three plants trying to "prune the flowers" before I transplant.

*****

johnny, I hear you but I used myself only as one example and I don't think folks should disclose their reasons for doing anything, as a general rule.

I know I'm notlooking for empathy/sympathy and I'm sure others aren't either.

I also think that folks should be willing to help without knowing anyones background and reason(s) for doing what they do.

There are so many reasons, for instance, why someone might pay someone else to raise plants for them:

1) Accepting the fact that seedlings don't do well with just window light.

2)The cost of a good commercial light setup is getting out of sight.

3)Not being able to construct a home shoplight set up for many reasons.

4) Not having alternative places to buy plants from such as local nurseries or farmer's markets.

5)Not being aware of those places online that sell plants at a reasonable cost.

6)Wanting specific varieties that aren't available online.

.....and I suppose there are many more reasons I can't think of right now.

Fianlly, how could you prune off the main stems when trying to remove those itty bitty blossoms? LOL

So it's the old adage, judge not lest ye be judged the way I see it. QED

Carolyn

I started 750 plants for a local market gardener this year. Some people don't want to start their own.

I don't see much of a difference between paying someone to start seedlings for you and buying seedlings from a store or online. Well, other than you know they won't be out of the varieties you want.

Igomo, I think you'll be fine. As long as the ground is warm enough and they have at least one set of good leaves on them, they'll survive and grow tomatoes for you. They probably won't be ten foot tall monsters, and your tomatoes might be a little bit behind the neighbors, but they'll give you homegrown tomatoes just fine.

A local garden stand sells tomato plants for $1/each (including tax)...all sorts of varieties. I don't see how they do it for that...or even anything close to that.

I think the plants will be fine by your planting time, especially if they are in a warm greenhouse environment(which you didn't specify). I have some plants at that stage, and some that I started even later, that just emerged from the soil. These later ones of mine might be later ripening, but hopefully I'll get to taste these varieties I'm curious about.
One positive to these smaller plants is that they may not be as rootbound and may take off sooner in the garden. It's amazing how fast tomato plants can grow in two weeks. If they are a little small at planting time, keep them watered well early on, and I think they'll catch up.

Really it's just a matter that drtomato posted a rude response that has absolutely no value to the original poster or anyone else reading this thread. And although Carolyn and others subsequently offered good ideas, no response whatever was needed for drtomato's dreck ... as it deserves no more attention that a gnat on a donkey's tush.

Igomo, I planted some very late seeds ... whatever the last full moon was ... and they are up with true leaves flourishing. I hope to have them ready to put in the ground by mid-May or late May ... which is late for me, but I wanted to grow a few later ones. In fact, I may start a few outside next week or so just to see how fast I can get them up and flowered. Good luck with your tomatoes. Enjoy!

The origional poster could have asked their question without mentioning who actually started the seeds. It does not affect their present size or condition. Based on how my plants grow I think that late May may be a better target to get them in the ground. I plant out with the seedlings being 8 to 12" tall. Hard for me to see the one in photo 3 being that developed in 2 to 3 weeks. Just me $.02.

The ideal seedling to go in the ground is about 6 to 8 inches tall and should not be more than 12 inches tall. Contrary to other posters beliefs and opinions, larger plants ALWAYS incur tradeoffs in either total production, potential growth, or required maintenance in the form of potting up to larger containers.

This year, I grew about 30 varieties from seed for specific requests. There is a huge advantage to the buyer because I have a greenhouse and am set up to produce seedlings in volume. It is very simple for me to add a few more cells of seedlings to the overall process of growing 30,000 or more seedlings per year.

Based on the pictures and descriptions of the original poster, 3 weeks of good care and sunshine will produce ideal size seedlings to set out.

As for new varieties, I try to introduce 20 to 30 new varieties per year. The reality is that out of 200 varieties grown this year, only about 50 are popular sellers. The rest of the seedlings I grow sell only on a limited basis.

DarJones

OK OK ENOUGH ALREADY- GEEEZE. I'm sorry I offended everyone. I guess next time I'll throw in a LOL or LMAO. I was making light of someone hireing someone to put a seed in the ground to gow a plant, which I see as trivial. I know not everyone is as blessed as I, who has a vast agricultural background and look at things differently.

I won't do it anymore, or do any grandstanding to the soapbox crowd.

ps- when are we getting spellchecker -peasant hahahalol

I don't know what happened to mine this year; last year I had no trouble at all getting seeds started and had about 10" high plants to transplant. I started this year's seeds the exact same way and at the pretty close to the same time as I did last year. I had some varieties not come up at all (including my beloved ML's and I haven't a clue how to tell my uncle - any ideas?), I've lost all of another variety's seedlings to damping off and the rest are stunted. They're the same size as igomo's and we transplanted them from seed starter to a MiracleGro/regular potting soil mix almost a month ago. I could just cry... (Thank goodness I ordered some of Fusion's plants or we probably wouldn't have any tomotoes at all this year!) I'm going to retransplant them all into just MiracleGro potting soil this weekend, I am thinking maybe the other potting soil is not helping. It's the Lowe's brand, and looked more like gray clay. So, igomo, thanks for starting this thread, I thought I was the only one with little transplants!

ediej,

The problem you are having is from using potting SOIL. You should be using potting MIX instead, which is peat based and very light. I use the Miracle Grow potting mix, and have used Promix, and never have damping off problems.

Oh dear. I won't be able to get anywhere to get potting mix anytime soon (oh, the joys of living 30 miles from anywhere with gas prices like they are!) I still have some of the soil-less seed starting mix, can I mix that with the potting soil to lighten it up?

Thanks for your help, I really do appreciate it.

>can I mix that with the potting soil to lighten it up?

That's what I would do.
I like to use MetroMix for transplants when I can get it, but sometimes I've run out and not wanted to drive to the lone supplier on the other side of town.

I use ReadiEarth(sp?) for seed starter. Since I'm cheap and have to pot up over 200 various pots of veggies and flowers, I mix it about half and half with cheaper potting soil, compost or even rotted manure for transplants when they are ready to move up into styrofoam coffee cup size. Usually by that time they start going outside for at least part of the day, and I keep a fan on if they have to be back in the basement for a cold stretch, so air circulation is good, and I try not to let them sit in soggy soil for long. Have not had trouble with damping off.