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#342922 Mar 26th, 2011 at 02:25 PM
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DaisyM Offline OP
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Sorry to be such a pest, but something looks wrong with my tomato starters. The leaves at night fold (close up) upward and are purple underside? Is this normal? They've also lost their nice green color. They are growing more spindly instead of full looking. Should I change the soil again? They started to look more frail about a week after I transplanted them. They have grown since, but not full. Besides the lamp, what more can I do to give them a boost?

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When you transplanted them did you bury them deeper into the soil? Don't worry about them folding up tomato plants do that some times. It sounds like to much nitrogen. Have you been feeding them or using a soil that has fertilizer in it?

What kind of light are you using and how far from the plants is it?


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DaisyM Offline OP
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Thanks for the reply, I did bury them deep enough when I transplanted. I haven't fertilized but the soil I bought was a premium plus so it may have been too rich for tomatoes. It has a flower photo on the bag. Would changing the soil help now? In a while I will have to transplant them anyway from their second container. What kind of soil should I buy for tomatoes?

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Tomatoes likes a rich soil but if the nitrogen is high it's going to cause green growth which you may not need or want at this stage. What size container have you got them in? No, changing the soil will not help.

seed have all the nutrients in them they need for the first 30 days of growth so during that time they don't need anything added so a good potting soil is just fine. Tomatoes are a lot like weeds, they do better when they aren't fussed over.

You know plants go through transplant shock when they are moved, so you might want to only transplant them once after they sprout and before they are transplanted outside for the summer.

I know some people suggest transplanting to a container now bigger than one inch larger than the container things are currently in but I've never had a problem putting seedlings in the containers I plan to grow them in and not transplanting at all. Mostly I started doing this because of the transplant shock and because I'm a clutz and I killed some of my plants when I tried to transplant them.


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DaisyM Offline OP
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Thanks. My tomatos's lost most of their bright green color and look a dull green. They aren't lush looking but spindly with few leaves.
They are still in the small 2" pots so need to be transplanted into larger containers until it's time for them to go into the garden which should be at the end of May weather permitting.

How do you post a picture with the post?

Last edited by DaisyM; Mar 28th, 2011 at 09:32 AM.

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