Posted: 4/17/2009 5:36:56 AM EDT
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What is wrong with the 2 sprouts in the foreground and can anything be done about it?
All 4 seeds were planted at the same time late march all indoors. 
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I don't see anything wrong with them. Are you asking why they aren't as green and tall as the other one in the photo? There could be a lot of reasons....
Are the seeds all of the same variety? Were the seeds all from the same source? Were they sprouted at a constant temperature and humidity level? Were they planted at the exact same depth? Was the watering of the substrate media consistent? Was light / sunlight shaded to any areas? Were they sprouted next to a window subject to fluctuating temperatures outside? Maybe they are just genetic runts. |
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Quoted:
I don't see anything wrong with them. Are you asking why they aren't as green and tall as the other one in the photo? There could be a lot of reasons.... Are the seeds all of the same variety? Were the seeds all from the same source? Were they sprouted at a constant temperature and humidity level? Were they planted at the exact same depth? Was the watering of the substrate media consistent? Was light / sunlight shaded to any areas? Were they sprouted next to a window subject to fluctuating temperatures outside? Maybe they are just genetic runts. I'm asking why they look like they are just stems with seeds at the top of them. All the seeds came out of the same package. The temperature inside has remained pretty constant and the humidity level has for sure. They were all planted at the same depth however at the far end of the planter may have been watered better at the start but i have evened it out now. They don't get direct sunlight but i have a lamp on them throughout the day and the plants in question are not shaded at all. The temperature outside has fluntuated to well below freezing to the low 80s since first planting the seeds in March. Here is how the other 2 plants look 
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My experience has been that seedlings than can't push their seed coats off can't set their primary leaves. And when they can't set their primary leaves their growth just grinds to a halt.
When I get seedlings like that, I try to gently tease off the seed coat. Sometimes it suceeds, sometimes it kills the seedling. |
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This is one of the reasons to always plant a few extra seeds, so you have as many viable seedlings as you want plants. Thinning a couple is always easier than starting over if you get only half the plants you need. Good luck with getting those seed coats off. Sometimes I've seen them bust out of them anyway, but sometimes not. If you feel like taking pics either way, of whatever happens, that would be cool.  Don't be alarmed by my voyeuristic need to see how plants work or don't work, and how gardens grow. True, it's a fettish, but it's fairly harmless....I guess.
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Quoted:
This is one of the reasons to always plant a few extra seeds, so you have as many viable seedlings as you want plants. Thinning a couple is always easier than starting over if you get only half the plants you need. Good luck with getting those seed coats off. Sometimes I've seen them bust out of them anyway, but sometimes not. If you feel like taking pics either way, of whatever happens, that would be cool. Don't be alarmed by my voyeuristic need to see how plants work or don't work, and how gardens grow. True, it's a fettish, but it's fairly harmless....I guess.haha not alarmed at all. I've been take pictures since they first sprouted so i could track their development. I'm new at this all so i was wanting to experiment a little before i tried to do it on a larger scale outside. |
| Well mostly they are growing from left to right and they should be growing up. Just kidding. If you are using seed that is older than from last season, or lots of heirloom varities have a higher rate of duds. I always plant two thirds as many tomato seeds as I think I'll need and thin them. For example I plant three seeds per peat pot and thin two of them. Use scissors to snip off the duds so you don't disturb the delicate roots of the young plants that you want to keep. Good luck. |
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Quoted: Quoted: This is one of the reasons to always plant a few extra seeds, so you have as many viable seedlings as you want plants. Thinning a couple is always easier than starting over if you get only half the plants you need. Good luck with getting those seed coats off. Sometimes I've seen them bust out of them anyway, but sometimes not. If you feel like taking pics either way, of whatever happens, that would be cool. Don't be alarmed by my voyeuristic need to see how plants work or don't work, and how gardens grow. True, it's a fettish, but it's fairly harmless....I guess.haha not alarmed at all. I've been take pictures since they first sprouted so i could track their development. I'm new at this all so i was wanting to experiment a little before i tried to do it on a larger scale outside. If you're going to move those plants to an outside garden, you'll need to "harden them off." Are you familiar with that process? |
I moistened the seed coats and the taller one came off easily. The seed coat for that one is empty meaning it was just a shell.
As for the shorter one the seed coat was a little harder to get off and appears to have something in it. 
If you're going to move those plants to an outside garden, you'll need to "harden them off." Are you familiar with that process?
I will eventually put atleast one plant outside and i know nothing about how to "harden them off." |
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Quoted: I moistened the seed coats and the taller one came off easily. The seed coat for that one is empty meaning it was just a shell. http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv272/TxTech0011/Tomato%20Plant/DSC04190.jpg As for the shorter one the seed coat was a little harder to get off and appears to have something in it. http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv272/TxTech0011/Tomato%20Plant/DSC04187.jpg If you're going to move those plants to an outside garden, you'll need to "harden them off." Are you familiar with that process? I will eventually put atleast one plant outside and i know nothing about how to "harden them off." Put your two good ones outside in case you lose one. Okay here's what you need to do. I don't know how much sun they're getting, or what temperature you're growing them at.... BUT...what you don't want to do is shock the plants by putting them in much more aggressive temperature extremes or lots more sun than they've been used to. Think of them as a little tiny baby, and how moms wrap the babies up even when you'd be out in a t-shirt...they need protection until they get used to being outside. So what you do is when you're about ready to transplant, put them outside for a few hours on a nice warm day NOT IN THE SUN. Then BE SURE TO BRING THEM BACK IN AT NIGHT. If the sun hits these tender, "soft" plants, it'll burn them. They're just not used to it. Next day, put them out a little longer, maybe in some dappled shade and leave them a little later into the evening so they get a bit of a temperature drop––but still not too severe. Next day, give them a few minutes in the sun, but not too long, then move them to the dappled shade and let them have the evening temp drop. Give yourself about a week, gradually giving the plant a little more exposure to the outside environment, a little longer in direct sunlight (be sure they are well-watered when exposing them to the sun––but water the SOIL––not the leaves) After about seven days, you can leave the plants outside nearly all day, and you'll be ready to transplant them into your garden. BUT if you're leaving them outside all day in this original container, be aware that they will dry out VERY quickly, and you'll come home to a plant that's keeled over wilted. Pots dry out FAST. MUCH faster than the ground. I would probably not actually leave them out all day in the sun if they were mine. If it's under a tree where they'll get some sun, then some shade, that would be okay as long as they have enough water. The trial and error that it takes to learn how to grow things is one of the reasons experienced gardeners suggest you grow more than you think you need the first time. You'll lose some to dumb stuff, and you'll lose some to stuff you can't help even if you know what you're doing. If you take a plant that's been "babied" inside––70 degree temps night and day, no direct sunlight, and move it straight out into the garden, it'll shock it so badly it may never recover. At the least, it'll have a major setback and require a week or two just to get going again. Plants that you buy at Lowe's or a garden center SHOULD HAVE BEEN hardened off already. But when you grow from seed, you have to do it yourself. Okay does this make sense? And if you're planting them in the ground, make a sleeve for the stem out of a toilet paper roll––to help protect it from cutworms (army worms). Cut the tp roll in half (and split it lengthwise so you can get it around the plant, which should already be in the ground) and sink it about an inch or so into the soil around the plant's stem, then wind it around the stem ––not right up against the stem––so the tomato stem sets in a little "well" made from the tp cardboard. That way the cutworm, as it's crawling across the soil in the night, will encounter the cardboard, reach up it an inch or so, go "yuck, NOT a tomato plant" and move on. If you don't do this, the cutworm will come to your tomato stem, begin chewing straight through it at the top of the soil, yell "TIMBER" in its tiny cutworm voice, and over the plant will fall. In the morning it'll look like somebody felled your tomato plant with an eensy teensy chainsaw. You can wreak vengeance on the cutworm if you know how to find it, but I"m guessing you don't, so he'll get away clean. Use the sleeve. For real. Kitties |
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Thanks Kitties that is alot of good info. Only problem with moving my plants outside is that I am going to be moving around alot for the next couple months. I may not plant them outside but i may move them outside if you think that would be beneficial to their developement. Problably another year before I am able to settle down somewhere where i could try gardening outside.
Also i would like to move one of the big plants to a bigger seperate pot. I'm afraid that having them as close as i do in the planter will eventually stunt their growth. Maybe you could explain the best way to transfer a plant without killing it? Here is an update on the little sprouts. The one that was difficult to get the cover off hasn't grown at all. The other one has the making of a leaf coming out of it. 
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I would use a small spoon and lightly dig them out of moist soil avoiding the temptation of pulling on the plant. Also if you aren't brushing your hands over the plants a couple times daily make sure you have a fan blowing on them. Yeah i figured transplanting them would involve something like that. I have been having a fan blow on them during the day. |
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You do need to put these outside––porch, balcony, ANYWHERE outside––in a pot is FINE, but outside, because the tomatoes need more light than they're getting to produce fruit. Is that possible? Is there someplace you could stick a couple of pots outside? SO....your tomatoes are probably really brittle. Tomato plants that had been raised outside and hardened off, I'd just pull out of the ground, bare-root, and lay down in a trench and plant them that way. Tomatoes are easy and very forgiving. Your trouble will be that your plants will be far more tender because they've been babied––their stems are not tough like outdoor plants (part of why I want you to harden them off). So it would be best, when you're ready and even after you've hardened them off, to water them thoroughly, so the soil will cling to the roots, then dig them out with a big kitchen spoon (like a monster-size serving spoon, slotted spoon, etc) if you don't have a trowel. So, first go get yourself a couple of good size containers––five gallon buckets are ideal (and cheap), or something prettier if you prefer that for your front porch, and find a spot outside on your steps or your balcony or somewhere that you can keep these for the summer. Otherwise you'll have to supplement your light with grow-lights. Once you've done that, and got some planting medium––like pro mix (my preferred kind) or some other peat-based media (NOT POTTING SOIL), we can talk about transplanting. But you'll still have to harden off the plants like I mentioned earlier. Can't stick them out there all at once. The fan is a good thing. Also brush your hands over them like was mentioned. Careful not to snap the stems. Kitties ETA, you could feasibly use that container for both plants. It'll be a tad crowded, but you COULD do it. It would require trashing the little guy though, and spreading the two big plants out to each end of the container. You'll need to add more soil mix too––to give the roots some extra space to grow. |