Post by Day on Jan 8, 2018 12:36:36 GMT -5
I start certain seedlings in flats, especially those that really like bottom heat such as tomatoes and peppers, even though my climate is pretty mild year round. Unlike gardeners in colder climates, I can usually stick the plugs directly into the ground after a week or so. I rarely do an additional transplant into a larger pot, unless I'm gifting the plant to a friend, etc.
Because of this, I've never invested in grow lights. Why bother? I put the trays near a window (weak morning light, but the best I have) and turn on the nearby lamp. Otherwise, they get no supplemental light. As a result, my tomato seedlings do get leggy, even in just a week.
I was bemoaning this, since our current rainy weather means the sprouts will be spending an extra 4-7 days indoors. Will they get too leggy? Is that a thing? I also want to help a family member (living in Washington state) start their tomatoes from seed this spring. They don't have grow lights either, and their plants would be spending much more time indoors and in pots than mine.
Then it occurred to me... could a little extra legginess be a good thing, in tomatoes at least?
Hear me out --
Seeing as we commonly bury our tomato stems deep and sacrifice the lower leaves to encourage extra rooting, wouldn't a leggy seedling actually make for a stronger plant in the long run? I know a plant that doesn't get enough light is weaker than one that does. But couldn't the weaker start be countered by long term better root development due to increased surface area for rooting? And with a longer stem you wouldn't need to pluck off the bottom set of leaves, which leaves the plant with larger photosynthesis surface area at transplant time as well as a larger rooting area?
I'm less interested in using this method to jump start tomatoes (don't think that would work) but rather considering how essential it would be for tomato plants spending 6-8 weeks in pots to have grow lights, considering their ability to compensate by sending our roots all along their stem, etc. I know a lot of people who buy dozens of $3.99 tomato plants each spring because they don't feel they have the set-up for something like tomatoes. What if they didn't need the set up? Just pots on a table in a room, getting super leggy who cares, then planted up to their bottom leaves. How stunted would they be by end of season, compared to the others? Dramatically? Or marginally? Or not at all?
Perhaps I'm just missing/downplaying the larger, more detrimental effects of this method. Do y'all have any experiences/thoughts about growing/transplanting (intentionally or accidentally) super leggy tomato starts?
Because of this, I've never invested in grow lights. Why bother? I put the trays near a window (weak morning light, but the best I have) and turn on the nearby lamp. Otherwise, they get no supplemental light. As a result, my tomato seedlings do get leggy, even in just a week.
I was bemoaning this, since our current rainy weather means the sprouts will be spending an extra 4-7 days indoors. Will they get too leggy? Is that a thing? I also want to help a family member (living in Washington state) start their tomatoes from seed this spring. They don't have grow lights either, and their plants would be spending much more time indoors and in pots than mine.
Then it occurred to me... could a little extra legginess be a good thing, in tomatoes at least?
Hear me out --
Seeing as we commonly bury our tomato stems deep and sacrifice the lower leaves to encourage extra rooting, wouldn't a leggy seedling actually make for a stronger plant in the long run? I know a plant that doesn't get enough light is weaker than one that does. But couldn't the weaker start be countered by long term better root development due to increased surface area for rooting? And with a longer stem you wouldn't need to pluck off the bottom set of leaves, which leaves the plant with larger photosynthesis surface area at transplant time as well as a larger rooting area?
I'm less interested in using this method to jump start tomatoes (don't think that would work) but rather considering how essential it would be for tomato plants spending 6-8 weeks in pots to have grow lights, considering their ability to compensate by sending our roots all along their stem, etc. I know a lot of people who buy dozens of $3.99 tomato plants each spring because they don't feel they have the set-up for something like tomatoes. What if they didn't need the set up? Just pots on a table in a room, getting super leggy who cares, then planted up to their bottom leaves. How stunted would they be by end of season, compared to the others? Dramatically? Or marginally? Or not at all?
Perhaps I'm just missing/downplaying the larger, more detrimental effects of this method. Do y'all have any experiences/thoughts about growing/transplanting (intentionally or accidentally) super leggy tomato starts?
