Growing Tomatoes from Seed...A Problem?

Question

I used a mini, heated greenhouse with spaghnum moss pellets to germinate my seeds. After a few days, I took off the dome and found they had sprouted, but look more like Cress ! There are long (over 4"), thin, whispy stands with a little bud on each end. In the instructions, it says to wait until you have 2-4 leaves, then transplant outdoors when the weather is warm enough. I've left the dome off and put them by the window for sunlight, but don't know if it's worth planting them, as they look sick. Can I cut them down in size and hope the stems thicken, then wait for leaves ? Thanks for any advice.

Answer 1

Don't put them in the sun yet,there to tender.If you have more than one plant in each seed pot remove all but one by pinching off the unwanted plant.Later transplant the long seedlings into deeper pots.I use styrofoam coffee cups because there easy to remove when planting in the ground.Plant the long stem seedlings deep into the cups so they will be stronger.When the round babie leaves are gone they can start getting sunlight on a limited scale.I place mine in a location where they only get a couple of hours of light before the sun moves off them. After a couple of weeks they should be strong enough to plant.When planting plant them deep almost to the top of the plant an remove any small limbs that may be under planting level.Alot of gardeners use lime an fertilizer and pour the holes full of water to establish the roots.I use pellitized Gypsum instead of Lime.Its cheaper an I have had better yields using it.

Answer 2

They are long and spindly because they want more light. Put them in larger pots, covering 2/3 of the stem with dirt and place in a sunny south or west window. When they have 2 to 4 sets of mature leaves (not the seed leaves they have now) they can go outside after danger of frost has passed.