my tomato seedlings are very leggy i dont have agreen house they are on a windowsill will they bush up?

Question

they have two leaves and are about two inches tall i only have an unheated leanto no green house what do i do with them now its to cold outside and the windowsill has a radiator under it i thought that would be like a greenhouse maybe not

Answer 1

Don't transplant your seedlings until they have 2 'true' leaves-i.e. the next leaves that grow on apart from the 2 germination leaves you have.
I would take the seedlings indoors and keep away from radiator (the heat is making them straggly) but keep in a warm place with plenty of light.If you're worried about them toppling over then as a holding measure just gently earth up a little of the compost around their base and gently firm/press seedlings down into moist soil
When you have the next leaves pot up into individual 4 inch pots and as soon as the roots begin showing through base of pot is the time for transplanting into final position.

Answer 2

pssst let me tell you about a great opportunity. They're not ready yet but it won't be long. While keeping them in pots before planting in their eventual spot you'll want at least twice to re-pot them by pinching off lower leaves and re-setting them quite deeply into the new pot's dirt, sometimes half or 2/3 the stem height. Tomatoes can root out along their whole stem so you'd be providing the mature plant with an aggresive set of roots to feed the fruiting plant.

Those slightly hairy looking things along the stem are what can turn into roots. Plant parts can be odd and what you see one time might have the cells to turn into something else the plant needs to do in its environment in order to be more successful.

Later in the season if your favorite tomato's gone leggy, scrawny, and tired, push a branch down and dump dirt on it. It'll root. If you have a late enough growing season this is a good trick when you can't find new plants to put out midsummer.

Oh. Your seedlings may be growing leggy for lack of sufficient light, tomatoes want a lot of light, both full light and length of day. Assuming you're in the northern hemisphere is your window looking south?

Answer 3

i don't think you have too much to worry about as they are not too big but the situation will get worse if you don't break the cycle.my advice would be to erect a mini 'wall' on the opposite side of the window made of cardboard covered in foil.it has worked for me in the past,before i got a greenhouse.this will bounce the light around the back of the plants.it may be worthwhile moving them to a cooler windowsill bit any situation must be free from draughts as this will severely impair growth.if the worst comes to the worst,tomatoes will root from cuttings extremely easily and the subsequent crop will not be too far behind.hope this helps.

Answer 4

I don't think tomato seedlings that have two leaves and two inches high are necessarily "leggy." It sounds farily normal. Depending upon the size of their present container, there's no reason to transplant. If the tomatoes continue to grow where they are now, let them continue there. When springtime comes, transplant them outdoors.

Answer 5

All of the answers have their good points. Just remember that when you plant them outside, you can plant almost all of the plant, not only the root section. Leave just two of the leaf sections above ground. Any other leaves planted below will grow roots. Makes for a stronger plant.

Answer 6

i have found that when you keep the light source close to them, like lowering a flourescent light to within a couple of inches, they become bushier by growing out instead of up to reach the light. i put mine in the basement and lower one of my lights till i can get them outside. they have some cheap fixtures at the hardware if you dont own any...

Answer 7

leave them for a couple more weeks, then pinch the growing tip out of them. they will bush out & eventually start growing upwards again.

Answer 8

They will bush up.