[colin120]

Hi all

These are my second lot of tomatoes the first lot I started got to leggy so I re-planted and they all died off, now my second lot look like they are going the same way.

Shall I just leave them until they grow the second leaves or try re-planting again

Thanks for your advice

[DD.]

They're not getting enough light. Have you used aluminium foil behind them to reflect the light?

Are these intended for a heated greenhouse? If not they're a bit early.

[colin120]

They're not getting enough light. Have you used aluminium foil behind them to reflect the light?

Are these intended for a heated greenhouse? If not they're a bit early.

They are at the moment inside my indoor greenhouse next to my back door, when the sun is out the sun hits them though the backdoor window.

But I do leave the greenhouse front open, so air can get to the plants.

The reason I started them early as last year none of my toms turned red, so had to put them in brown bags to turn red, didn't want that this year so started early.

[DD.]

That's still not enough light. It may seem light to you, that's because the eye adjusts to it. The plant really needs good all round lighting, which is why I mentioned the foil.

I don't start my tomatoes for the unheated greenhouse until the end of March at the earliest and find they have plenty of time during the growing season to get ripe.

[colin120]

Ok apart from the foil, how do I deal with this one's, if I leave them and they get longer they will just fall over as one has done now.

[DD.]

The only thing you can try is to pot them up as deep as you can - even right up to the leaves.

[colin120]

The only thing you can try is to pot them up as deep as you can - even right up to the leaves.

That's what I did with the first lot and they just died after two days of re-potting, if I re-pot them again shall I put them back in greenhouse or leave them out  of the greenhouse

[gazmet]

Whenever I've had this problem and I've re-potted, I've always left them where they were and they have usually been fine. Moving them to a new location might shock them and cause them to die.

[JayG]

Being so leggy they will also be extremely fragile - the stems in particular will be easily crushed so try not to touch them.

They need to be somewhere where the temperature doesn't fall to lower than around 10C, but above all they need as much light as you can give them.

[surbie100]

Personally I think they are too spindly and I would bin them and re-sow in late March, by which time there will be an extra 2 - 2.5 hours of daylight and temperatures will be getting better.

[DD.]

surbie100 - spot on!

[jrko]

+1 surbie100

Or get a grow light

[Annen]

I had some like that last year and they struggled on and sulked until the weather got warmer.  The ones I sowed later as DD says, late March time, caught up with the early ones. So, sad though it seems, without artificial light and heat, there is no getting around it,... Surbie is probably right 

[JayG]

Agree with the 'start-againers.' 

Even in a about a month's time when the days are longer and hopefully warmer, you would still be trying to raise strong plants from seedlings which have had a poor start in life if they are leggy, and if they didn't subsequently perform well there would always be a doubt in your mind as to whether that was the cause.

I don't actually sow my tomatoes until nearly the end of April (for the unheated greenhouse), although I am that bit further north than you are.

[snowdrops]

Another in the bin them camp,although since I always sit on the fence I'd pot up a few as suggested as far up as the leaves,making sure the compost is warmed up first.