A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum The Tomato Forum growing my own vs. store bought plants

Hi all... I have a question that hopefully someone can answer.

Why is it that tomato plants from home depot or lowes are always big and have nice stems but my plants I started from seeds are thin and small? I started my seeds about 6 - 8 weeks ago and they are now probably 6 to 7 inches tall. I just wonder if I'm doing something wrong or are store bought plants full of chemicals that make them so big and full.

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Dan

Several factors, theirs were probably started earlier, plus, they were "potted up," either from seedlings or plugs, and this can boost growth/size under the right circumstances. You might find that once yours go into the ground, they will catch up fairly quickly to the larger starts, or be just slightly behind, and total fruitset will be similar. The larger transplants typically will mean you harvest fruit just a little earlier, I always buy a few plants even though I start my own.
Edit to note: chemicals can only go so far, it's not really an issue in the sense you queried, but it may be the method any given company uses for early plants. Organic on a commercial scale is mostly a matter of extra cost, not extra benefit, other than desireability.

A friend of mine told me a story that's a bit of background to your question.

This friend's brother, and two of his friends had what amounted to a year's worth of spare time, and they knew how to grow stuff. So they formed a company to do just that-- become a supplier to one of the big chains that annual flowers & vegetables & such. It sounded like grueling work, but explains why store-bought plants look like they look. They plants were grown under absolutely optimal-- although artificial-- conditions in a totally enclosed environment (as I recall, the trailer parts tractor-trailer trucks), and most with lights on 24h.

The three guys took shifts so someone was always working to do what needed to be done to accelerate growth. When the time came, they hooked the trailers to the tractors & off they went to make deliveries.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I like the story. It explains a lot to me!

Haha, I thought this would be one of those, "and the moral of the story is,..."
I figured they'd show up 5 minutes after the other guys and be out of luck.
But yah, given optimal conditions, you could have 3 foot tall plants ready to go at the final frost...

Funny!! :-)

But, seriously, I think there is a moral to this story, one that's not all that different from knowing that you *shouldn't* buy the annuals that are blooming in their little 4-cell packs, right?

In the case of tomatoes you can top last years plants bring them inside and have really great plants for next year. Heavier stems and the hole enchillada. You can also get heavier stems on tomatoes if you will plant all of the bare stem under the soil. It really thickens up the stem. Other plants I really haven't noticed that much difference between theirs and mine. But then the only other food stuffs I start in the house are peppers.

that is a good question that I've wondered many times. TK, my seed started peppers are still tiny and skinny too but the 2 store bought ones are short like mine but have thick stems. I'm sure in the end they will even out and I'm also sure that the ones started by the seeds you sent will taste better

Well I don't use starter soil. I know that the seed has the first thirty days of nutrients already in it but mine stay in the pot a lot longer than that. So I like using 50% compost and 50% potting soil for the peppers. My problem this year was the hardening off process that killed everything off. So this year I bought plants. I got a nine pack of banana peppers at a really good price so I'm happy. If I can do the same next year I may not do any peppers from seed since I can't heat my house to the degree necessary to germinate the peppers quickly.

I made the mistake of using starter kits from Lowe's for some seeds. It comes with a disc in a pot that is supposed to turn to dirt when wet. I don't know what happened with them because the seeds I planted in the biodegradable pots with regular dirt have done a lot better.

I have to say I'm not at all surprised about that. I have no luck with peat moss as a planting medium. And I believe those little discs are compressed peat moss.

There are many reasons. Now the ones I started in Miracle Grow seed starting mix and then went to either MG or Fertilome potting mix when potting up look as good if not better than any of the store plants around here. I also have found since I put 4 fluorescent lights about the trays that the plants do better and have thicker stalks and don't get as leggy. Most of the commercial plants are pushed to the limit. And fed to grow fast and have a dark green color. This is what sells. Many of these plants have never been hardened off either. They are exposed to great light conditions. Like mentioned in the end they don't do any better if as well. I use a cold frame and also go straight to the garden with some of mine and skip the potting up and even hardening off. I just put a 5 gallon plastic bucket around them and that helps with the transition. I also plant some tomatoes direct and they do better than any of the others. Looks sells but a plant that has been exposed to the elements will usually out perform the pampered ones from my experience. If they didn't I wouldn't start a few hundred every year. Jay

Thanks for all the responses!!! I always wondered so I thought I'd ask.

I always wondered too, so I'm also glad that you asked! My tomatoes are still kind of scrawny so I have also bought some insurance ones and hope mine will eventually catch up. I had them out in the sun today and they didn't look too happy when they came back inside for the night.

I agree with you .

Home grown..

You put them out in the sun too quick and they protest.

Best to introduce them a few hours an back in. They will catch up like crazy when planted .. Do it on a rainy day if possible.. It is when I like to plant mine..

Pure peat moss doesn't have a lot (if any) nutritional value in it. Starting in compressed peat or compressed coir is just like starting in vermiculit or perlite. They should be given very diluted fertilizer if you want to keep them in the container, or transplanted to potting soil/seed starting soil. Peat moss is also acidic - I'm not sure if the companies put in some sort of lime to make a neutral pH.

Like Dodge said you need to harden off or account for it in some way. I didn't go into that in my previous post. I have so many plants and sometimes work long hours it is hard to harden off the ideal way many can. I have learned to adjust. I will add here that in my opinion that one of the most important things as a gardener is do a little trial and error with a few plants till you find a method that works for you and still allows you to enjoy gardening. Now back to hardening off. I do it a few different ways. I'm starting to use more cold frames and frames with shade cloth over them. This protects them from the sun and also the wind. The cold frames have doors with glass on the top I can close early in the season and at night when cold. I use the frames with straight shade cloth later in the season when all I need is sun and wind protection. You can buy small rolls of the shade cloth at Wal-Mart here. This allows me to move large numbers outside and not have to move them in. When I'm home I can pull the shade cloth back and let them have some full sun. Then just pull it back at night or when I'm going to be gone. When I go to the plastic buckets I either put a little straw of the plant to filter the sun or a small piece of shade cloth over the top of the bucket. With the WOW'S I can just close them up at the top till they only have a small hole and then gradually open it. Here I have more trouble with wind burning and even killing a plant than I do sun burning. Another I suggest is if you are new to starting your own plants or gardening ask those in your area how they do it. What works well for me here may not work for you in your conditions. Why most of the time you can't give a concrete answer to a question. Good luck and happy gardening. Jay