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Tomato plants

FairyJennetFairyJennet Posts: 46
in Problem solving
I planted seedlings months ago and they seemed to have stopped growing. I'm not sure if it's because I have now gone peat free or if I should pot them on. I've never had this issue before. Any advice? 
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  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Hi FairyJennet

    They look a bit cold to me.  Sometimes, they can go a bit purply because they are cold. That could be a reason they have stopped growing.  Also they don't seem to have a middle growth.
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    I think you need to be a wee bit more specific about when the seeds germinated and where you have kept them since then ?
    Depending on your location , planting them months ago in the right conditions would mean they should be at least showing the first flower truss if not the 2nd.
    They certainly don't look very substantial and as @tui34 says, they appear to have no growing tip.
  • FairyJennetFairyJennet Posts: 46
    Thank you @tui34 I'll see if I can find somewhere warmer. They usually grow ok there so was wondering if it was to do with the peat free compost. I'll give that a go. 
  • FairyJennetFairyJennet Posts: 46
    @philippasmith2 sown on 27/02 and have kept them on the same window sill since. I've grown Zinnia and have cosmos seedlings there growing great. Its also the first time I've grown them in a propagator and usually use a black plug container so wondered if using this green propagator isn't retaining the heat. I'm in Essex.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    At that time of year, although they need warmth, they need good light more than anything, and that can be the problem. The height of them - and the level the seed leaves are at, tends to suggest that.
    I don't sow mine till late March. Light is better then, which helps enormously.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • FairyJennetFairyJennet Posts: 46
    @Fairygirl do you think they are worth persevering with?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Have they got roots showing out the bottom of the tray?
    If so, you could pot them on into something deeper, and bury them right up to those seed leaves.
    They should come away now - especially with conditions being better, both warmth and light  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Decent compost does seem to be an issue these days that's for sure.
    If you sowed the toms at the end of Feb, yes, you would need some form of assistance  such as a heated propagator.
    However, if the seeds are viable, it should not take more than 7 to 10 days to germinate using that method.  Gradual potting on should have produced decent plants by now.
    Bit of a mystery as to why your plants haven't progressed at all.  Not all seed suppliers are reliable these days and it can quite often be the case that a seed will germinate but go no further.  I have found that with some beans this year - germinate happily, produce roots but re growing tip.
    Hope you manage to get some Toms growing this year anyway :)

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes- the compost might have been too poor once the seedlings were pricked out and potted.  :/
    They should have progressed a good bit more by now in those little trays.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I’ve never had a propagator, I doubt mine or OH’s dad would have know what one was and they’d grown them for years. 
    I don’t think those are happy in that compost,  if I were you I would buy a few plants in a nursery or garden centre for this year. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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