Topic: tomatoes...or not!

[lydsy]

What am I doing wrong with my toms? I such a total newbie that  have no idea what is wrong. I sowed them mid-april, and they haven;t realy grown!

I sowed them in some topsoil I bought from Wickes. All my other seeds seem fine in it. I have watered them regularly. I have put them out in the sun, and kept them in the lightest sill in my house.

I did put them out a bit too late for about a week or too, kept coming home off long shifts to find them still out in garden.

They are still really small, and haven;t gone past first two true leaves. Some of the seed leaves have gone yellowy grey and dropped off. The undersides of the leaves are purple.

They don;t look like the plants you can buy from the garden centre, and on Gardeners World this week their plants were huge! What am I doing wrong. This is my first time growing veg ever so I am really confused. Is it too late to sow more? I have used four diferent varities of seed.

[David R]

hi lydsy,

sounds like they might need a feed. Tomatoes like it a bit rich and will happily take a feed with every watering. Wickes topsoil is probably not the best stuff to put them in as it is probably deficient in nutrients.

Why not plant them out in the garden if you can, give them a good feed them tomato fertilizer, or for a home-made treat you can use dilute wee (honestly) or cold tea (without milk or sugar!).

[PurpleHeather]

They do seem to start slow and then put a sudden spurt on.  I start mine in January/February but it is only in the last few weeks that they have suddenly grown big.

They could be pot bound and need re-potting. They love a lot of room.

Keep the faith

[lydsy]

So you reckon they'll be ok?! I feel like a bit of a failure right now, especially as I've got this totally annoying neighbour who is always telling me I'm doing it all wrong then telling me how great he is! So thanks for being gentle, I do appreciate that.
A friend gave me some comfrey tea in a jar. It stinks. Is this the stuff to put on tomatoes? Thanks guys.

[manicscousers]

hiya, lydsy, welcome to the site  ;D
we had some toms, left over from the plant sale, sound very like yours..we potted them up into bigger pots with multi purpose compost, right up to the leaves..the're doing much better  :)
yep, comfrey tea is brill

[FennelandFern]

Welcome to the forum lydsy. I joined a few months ago and everyone is SO helpful here. Just keep browsing the threads, and you'll learn more than you thought possible here.

Dilute the comfrey tea about ten parts water to one part comfrey. And it does stink. We have a problem with drunks round the back of our garden, so if they keep chucking their beer cans into my beds, I'll sprinkle some comfrey tea liberally around, rather like a cat marking its territory. Should keep them away for a while...mwahaha...

[lydsy]

Should I feed them every day with that mixture? They are only an inch/three inches tall!

And with the cold tea (real tea from teapot), can I give that to lettuces which are also in the Wickes soil?!

[1066]

Welcome Lydsy, lots of useful info on this site and some friendly people as well  :D
Definietly sounds like you need to pot your toms on, sorry but not sure about the lettuce question
Anyway, happy gardening and just smile sweetly at your smug neighbour  ::)

1066

[saddad]

Welcome to A4A Lydsy.. you can use cold tea on anything. Same with diluted wee, (No we aren't taking the P*ss) a good source of Nitrogen to get things growing...  :)

[lydsy]

Do I need to dilute the tea?! Sorry to ask dumb questions. And how often do I pour it on? Every day?

[saddad]

You can dilute it but I'd use it neat from the pot (once it's gone cold!!)
As often as the plant needs watering, which may not be everyday...  :)

[Tee Gee]

Hi Lydsy welcome to A4A

I have read your comments and I have been looking for clues and I have found these;

They are only an inch/three inches tall! They are still really small, and haven;t gone past first two true leaves

I note what the others have had to say re watering & feeding but I wonder if they have noticed this comment. Because to me they do not want feeding as such I think some of your problem is coming from here;

I sowed them in some topsoil I bought from Wickes.

It is not the best medium for starting off plants in it tends to solidify and it tends to remain quite cool/cold when wet and as you have said;

I have watered them regularly.

I have put them out in the sun, and kept them in the lightest sill in my house.

In normal circumstances this is commendable but not in this case (in my opinion)

Some of the seed leaves have gone yellowy grey and dropped off.

This is fairly normal!

The undersides of the leaves are purple.

I would guess they have been too cold!

Is it too late to sow more? I have used four diferent varities of seed.

Yes you could but better than that and possibly your best option would be to prick the ones you have out into a potting or multi purpose compost and follow the instructions on this link from the pricking out stage. (Week 12)

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Tomato/Tomatoes.htm

Sorry I can't be of more help! TG

[Justy]

I was thinking the same as TeeGee - they don't need feeding as they are not even past the seedling stage.  I would put them into 3" pots in ordinary compost and keep them indoors all the time until they are much bigger.  You could also give yourself some insurance by buying a few plants from the garden centre 'just in case' - then at least you will get some toms if the others do not recover.

[lydsy]

okay, so I bought a tomato 'black cherry' plant and planted it two days ago. At first it seemed fine, but then this morning when I went to look at it, it has gone really wilty. I have been watering it loads, and done the whole mineral water bottle in the soil thing and there is still water in there...what have I done now?>? Am scared cos yesterday I planted out another tomato and have got two other shop bought plants to plant. I have planted these in garden compost.
All I can think of is it was a bit cold last night.
Have I killed it?

[Tee Gee]

I have been watering it loads,

I guess you might have drowned it!

and done the whole mineral water bottle in the soil thing and there is still water in there...

This confirms to me that you have most likely drowned it, and its feet (roots) are wet and cold.

Whats with this obsession for watering?

When watering think in these terms.

A seedling is a baby plant! and like any baby a few days old, you only give it a couple of fluid ounces of liquid initially then  gradually increase the amount as it grows.

A plant is no different!

If your plant is in a pot try the weight test!

Once you have watered a plant guage the weight of the pot and plant then periodically do this again, if the pot feels substantially lighter, then water if not don't water.

If it is in the ground I would remove it to a slightly drier spot and hope that it recovers.

This link might help!

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Watering/Watering.htm

[lydsy]

is it going to be ok? I overwatered it I guess because I wanted it to settle and cos the top if the soil looked dry. o dear.

[manicscousers]

don't worry, lydsy, we've all done it  ;D
is it planted in the ground or in a pot?

[lydsy]

they're ina pot. I feel like such an idiot...doing it all wrong!!

[coznbob]

Don't worry honey, like manics said we have all done it at some time or other.... its a great learning curve, now you will know what not to do next year... ;D

Try to get it to a drier spot.... however most plants tend to sulk after you have moved them for a few days. Might also be because of a change of temp. if it was inside in a shop for a while will be used to that temp. so best to harden things off for a while before putting them outside.

[sarah]

o dear dont panic. it sounds like tee gee is right about too much water for that plant but dont worry there are plenty more tomato plants and you will get it right.  i think you are worrying too much about doing it wrong but really we all do it wrong sometimes and quite a lot when we are starting out.
 

I would put your wilty plant aside for a few days and see what it does. in the meantime take your two remaining plants and put them into a pot each with some garden compost or compost from a grow bag (you can buy them in wilkos or the garden centre).  pop them in a sunny place and let them do their thing, which they will.  when you plant them give them a jolly good water and then leave off the watering until the soil looks really dry which will be a few days usually. if they are tall put a stick in for them to lean on (or gently tie them to it but not too tight.)

keep trying it really will work and in a few months youwill have your own lovely toms.  good luck  ;)