Are My Plants Growing Too Slowly?

7 years ago

First timing growing from seeds. I planted April 8th. The tomatoes took approximately 12 days to germinate while the bell peppers took 20 days.

I have 4 different bell peppers, Zoey Onions, and 3 different tomatoes. Not one plant has a 3rd leaf. Do these appear to be growing too slowly? Do i need to supply nutrients? I'm not sure if the onions are supposed to be standing straight up and down.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

digdirt2
7 years ago
Nutrients after they develop true leaves yes but not until then. What potting mix did you use and I hope you plan to get more lights? You will definitely need them.

That is very slow growth and often that is due to too much water/overly wet soil as it retards root development. Are there drain holes in the bottoms of those containers?

You may want to go over to the Growing from Seed forum here and browse through all of the FAQs and discussions there as they cover all the basics.

Dave
spartanapples
7 years ago
Diy Guy:

Not sure where in the country you are. I gather you started all your crops on April 8th? I find tomatoes to be very fast growing and onions and peppers much slower. For my area (SE WI) I find it best to start onions in early-mid march. They can be pokey. Cut the tips off the tops as they grow as they will flop over otherwise. I normally do this a few times before transplanting them into the garden in May. The stems will get thicker each time you do this and the onions will then be straight up in the flat and not a mess. Give them a haircut whenever they flop.

For peppers, I like to start around March 20th. I start my tomatoes April 10-12th every year and they are good to plant out late May.

All these dates are relative however to when I need a finished seedling to plant in my garden.

You mentioned germination times. My tomatoes took about 7 days to germinate this year. Germination will depend somewhat on soil temps. Since my basement is a bit cold, I always leave my seeded flats upstairs until they germinate then move them under florescent lights in my basement. Peppers are always notoriously slow for me to germinate. Sometimes I have some come up in the flat and a week later others start emerging just when I have given up hope on them.

Currently I have transplanted all the tomato seedlings into 1801 cell trays. They have been fertilized once. Growing nicely. I have had to lower them from the lights about every 2-3 days as they increase in height. I plan on putting them outside for a week to harden them off around May 15th before planting in the garden (I will put in the garage at night or bring inside if cold). Normally I put them along my garage where they get a few hours of morning sun only. Every 2 days I move them farther away and into more sunlight. If you don't harden them off first, they can really scorch up after planting outside.

Potting mix is very important! I bought some on sale a few years ago and was really unhappy with it. Very fine and did not seem to drain well. My crops grew but the root systems were much less developed upon transplanting than I expected when putting them in the garden. Happily I have used up that worthless brand. Whatever I bought this year is really light, drains well and the tomatoes had deep roots already when I transplanted them to individual pots from the seedling flat at first true leaf. Last year's potting mix also had me fertilizing a lot as the plants would not stay green. My new mix must have a wetting agent in it as it was easy to get wet right out of the package and really healthy plants this year. Just an FYI that not all potting mixes on the market are equal in performance.
Related Discussions
Why are my cannas growing so slowly?
Q
Comments (3)
Last fall, I purchased a one gallon size potted canna. I simply put the pot out side along a west facing fence, kept the pot moist, and waited until the leaves and stems turned brown. Afterwards I unpotted the canna and found that enough tubers had developed for me to divide them and plant each into a pot of moistened peat moss. That one gallon size potted canna yielded 14 pots of tubers, which I overwintered in maintained moist peat moss, in my garage. In early march about 8 of those sent up green shoots even in the low light conditions of the garage. I have already planted 7 of those in a friend's yard, and sent one home with my daughter who lives in the DFW area. The remaining 6 pots, I put out under the dappled shade of a scarlet oak tree. All but one of those is just now sending up 2-3 inch tall green shoots. When our current, last freeze of the season cold front hit, I brought them into the garage. Once temps begin to stay above freezing again, it may take a week or two of them growing under my oak tree again before those 5 pots will likely be ready to plant in a bed. It probably will take even longer for the last pot with the tuber which is not yet sending up any green shoots.
...See More
My mandevilla vine is growing so slowly
Q
Comments (1)
I bought 2 Mandevilla vines this spring and planted them in the ground and they are growing like crazy! I don't know why your vine has not grown- but dont think it was being planted in the ground.
...See More
Are my scorpion moruga seedlings growing too slowly?
Q
Comments (4)
I started mine in January and they are quite tall (reaching for light). Lost some leaves due to crowding so they are not the prettiest plants. My question is some of the Trinidad Scorpions have branched off to be a Y or even X shape and others are like a foot tall with no signs of off shoots. Is that a concern? Do they need to be pruned to produce another shoot. nervous pruning the main stalk with nothing else growing out the side and very little leaves... I started my 7 pots in Feb and they are small still. Only a few inches but several leaves and healthy. They have been the slowest to grow out of my bhuts, scorpions, habs, scotch bonnets and a few other hot ones.
...See More
My tahitian gardenia (tiare) grows SO SLOWLY
Q
Comments (0)
I am not a green thumb guy. My wife and I honeymooned in Tahiti, and fell in love with the whole place. Since my skills at pearl diving are not what they once were, its not practical for us to relocate there, so I thought it would be great to try to grow a little slice of Tahiti in a pot in good old Indiana. I've had Tahitian gardenias growing for almost a year and a half now. Four of them have lasted this long. They appear healthy, but they are only about four inches tall. A new leaf pair will sllloooowwwwlllly form, peek out, seperate, and another set will die. It seems to be replacing itself, but not growing. A friend and I have been keeping these at work so we can take turns focusing on them. He sits near the window, so we keep them in the window. We water 2-3 times a week, keeping the soil moist, and have applied fertilizer several times. Any ideas or suggestions on how to make these guys grow (and produce a flower; not one flower yet) would be much appreciated. Is it too much light? Not enough light? Is it too warm over there? Is it too cold? They are near the window, but the window is tinted, limiting the sunlight. The heat/cold register is there, but its about four feet below the window sill, and the window sill is very wide... Should we get a heat lamp? Apply more direct light? If so, what kind of light? The office is lit with flourescents, but like I said, we've had it in the window to try to get as much sunlight as possible. The window faces south, with a slight slant toward the east.
...See More
Dawson North TX (z8a/7b)
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Sounds like it may be a little cold wherever you are starting them... I started some tomatoes a few weeks ago and they only took about a week to germinate in they were in a colder than prefered place to germinate. Also that is a really long time without any true leaves showing... my best guess is just that it is cold wherever you have them.
donna_in_sask
7 years ago
If your plants are still under the set-up you have pictured, I'd say your light is not sufficient to grow seedlings to a healthy size. I have my tomatoes and peppers under shoplights using 6500k bulbs and they are just about ready to go outside. Soil IS important too, I've had great success with the ProMix brand. I find hot pepper seeds slower to germinate than sweet peppers...I pre-sprout them on damp paper towel inside a ziploc sandwich bag.

Are My Plants Growing Too Slowly?

Comments (4)

digdirt2

spartanapples

Related Discussions

Dawson North TX (z8a/7b)

donna_in_sask

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US