[Anton]

Help please. In an earlier post I described how no crimson crush tomatoes came up in the pots. I took another packet and chitted them before sowing in pots. This time they came up but they hardly seem to be growing at all (see photo). The beefsteak variety I sowed directly into pots at the start of the month seem to be doing well.
It's getting a bit late in the day, so I don't fancy going through the chitting, potting rigmarole with my final packet of crimson crush seeds. Is there any point in sowing them directly in the ground in early May?

Anton

[mumofstig]

I'd just keep them fairly warm and let them carry on growing.
If your weather is anything like ours, then Spring is late this year 

[Anton]

Thanks for the advice.

[Aunt Sally]

… and don’t over water !

[Anton]

Thanks again.

Anton

[Subversive_plot]

I agree with warmer and not too wet.

[Anton]

Well, they are really looking poorly. Maybe I did overwater them.
I have one packet of seeds left. Is it worth sowing these or is it too late? I think I might sow them in paper pots rather than plastic ones. Hopefully, the weather will keep on improving.

Anton

[Subversive_plot]

Unless significantly worse than your last photo, those seem fine.  Can you tell if they have live roots?  It may pay to un-pot one.  If the roots are white, but the compost is really wet, just re-pot into soil that is moist, but not saturated.

Keep them warm.

Don't water unless the soil actually feels dry on the surface.  When my tomatoes are small, I water only with a squirt bottle that can deliver amounts as small as a teaspoon or two if that is all they need.

If you do need to re-sow (i.e., roots are dead):

• Chit first.
• Once chitted, pot chitted seed one per small pot, cover 0.5 cm or less.  Use only seed compost with the moisture from the bag.
• Put the pots in an enclosure.  A clear bag will do.  Provide light but not direct sun to avoid "cooking". Wait until the seeds are up before watering, or wait until soil is dry on surface.  Water sparingly (a teaspoon or two at a time).
• Uncover, or at least open your enclosure, when seed leaves are open and you start watering.  Once the first true leaves start to develop, add a bit more compost to each pot, below the seed leaves.  Continue to water sparingly, a teaspoon or two at a time.  At some point, the seedlings will be large enough to justify moving to a larger pot. As much as you can, when necessary to handle seedlings during re-potting, handle the leaves rather than the stems.  Seedlings have only one stem, losing the stem is often fatal, but they can drop a leaf if necessary if damaged.

My experience is that all of my tomatoes that fail as seedlings do so from either over-watering, or too much handling which leads to damping off.

[Anton]

Subservive, thank you so much for this very informative and most helpful advice. You have helped to life me out of my slough of despond.

Anton

[Anton]

Does this advice apply to other seeds I chit and pot? Runner beans, ... (to avoid the slugs). Just a teaspoon. Yes, I think overwatering has been my mistake with the tomatoes, although my other seeds don't seem to have suffered the same fate.

Anton

[JayG]

Hard to think of any veg plant that wouldn't potentially be damaged by overwatering (other than watercress, perhaps! 

I find that runner bean seeds (particularly the white ones) are quite prone to rotting off even at the chitting stage - soak them for about six hours, place on damp kitchen paper in a sandwich box, fold to cover, then put the lid on. At no stage until roots start to show should the paper be any more than just damp (if you can squeeze any water out you've overdone it.)

[Subversive_plot]

For beans and peas specifically, I usually chit, then plant directly into soil at the recommended depth. Your conditions may vary though, you may have good reasons for starting beans in pots.

I think that generally, any plant grown in a pot should be watered carefully.  While the goal is 'just right' watering, a slightly under-watered plant is healthier than an over-watered plant.

FWIW, I grow seedlings in plastic pots only.  I tried the paper option, it just didn't work for me. It may work for you though!

[Anton]

Thanks for all this advice everyone.

Anton

[Anton]

OK the roots on all five plants were still there (waterlogged and some of the wet is still attached). I have repotted them in dry compost. Should I wait a day and then give them one squirt?

Anton

[Subversive_plot]

OK the roots on all five plants were still there (waterlogged and some of the wet is still attached). I have repotted them in dry compost. Should I wait a day and then give them one squirt?

Anton

I assume by "dry compost" you mean normal moisture content for bagged compost, rather than bone dry.  In that case, yes, pot them in that, the moisture should sustain them. Keep an eye on them, water just a little (a squirt as you say) if they look like they might need it (surface of the soil is dry, and not cool to the touch).

Post a photo in a couple weeks, let's see how they are doing!  Good luck!