Tomato seedlings stretched out a lot immediately after germination, what to do ⋆ 👨‍🌾 Farmer-online ⋆

Sometimes it happens that the recently appeared seedlings of tomatoes begin to actively stretch the stems. Most often this is due to a lack of light, but there are other reasons due to which the seedlings become elongated and weak.

Reasons why tomato seedlings are stretched

As a rule, pulling out tomato seedlings is not due to the fact that the seeds or the variety itself turned out to be of poor quality. Most often, the reason lies in the mistakes of the gardener himself, which he makes in caring for seedlings. These errors include:

Excessively poor lighting. Tomato is a photophilous plant, so it needs a lot of sunlight and a long daylight hours (about 12 hours). If the plants feel a lack of light, they will grow weak and stretch out a lot.
Temperature failure. If the room where the seedlings are located is too hot, then the tomatoes will grow very weak and elongated.
Wrong watering regime. If you water the seedlings often and with a small amount of water, this can cause the stems to stretch. Frequent abundant watering also adversely affects the development of seedlings.
Dense landing. If the seeds were sown too densely, then the seedlings that appeared will be very crowded, and they will begin to actively stretch.
Incorrect dressing. If there is an excessive amount of nitrogen in the substrate, then this can cause the active growth of the stems, which will certainly lead to their elongation. Also, shoots can stretch out due to a lack of potassium.

What to do if tomato seedlings stretched out

Tomato seedlings can begin to actively stretch both immediately after germination, and later when they grow up or even after picking. In each case, you must first try to understand why the seedling is stretched, and then try to do everything possible to save it.

Pulling seedlings after germination, how to fix it

If tomato seedlings have only recently appeared, and have already begun to actively stretch, this can only mean that they have created unsuitable conditions for growth.

As for the air temperature, before the seedlings appear, it should be about 25 degrees. And after the germination of the seeds, it must be reduced, otherwise the violent growth of the aerial part of the plants will begin.

You should also pay attention to lighting. As soon as the first seedlings appear, the crops should be immediately rearranged in a well-lit place. If necessary, they must be illuminated.

Young seedlings should be watered rarely, but plentifully, and it is not necessary to feed them at this stage of development at all.

If the stretching of the seedlings is due to the fact that they have risen too densely, then they can either be thinned out, while removing the weakest plants, or dived into a large container or into separate cups.

If the seedlings are already very stretched out, then it is recommended to move them to the south window or provide them with additional illumination.

It is also necessary to provide tomatoes with the correct watering regime and air temperature. If the plants are stretched out very much, then a special tool that regulates growth will help to correct the situation, for example: Athlete or Chunky.

Stretched grown tomato seedlings

If the shoots of the grown seedlings began to actively stretch, then try to correct this situation as soon as possible. After all, the sooner the cause of the seedlings is found and eliminated, the easier it will be to cope with the problem that has arisen.

First of all, pick the seedlings into individual cups, their recommended size is 8×8 centimeters or 10×10 centimeters. The picking substrate must be used one that is ideal for growing tomato seedlings. It can be purchased at a specialized store or prepared at home, for this it is enough to mix sand, soddy soil and peat.

During picking, it is recommended to deepen the stems of the plants a little, and then they are well watered and placed in a place where during the day the air temperature will vary from 18 to 20 degrees, and at night from 16 to 18 degrees.

Do not forget to install additional lighting above the seedlings.

At this stage in the development of seedlings, if they begin to actively stretch, gardeners often use the special Athlete preparation. It contributes to the fact that the growth of shoots and leaves slows down significantly, but the bushes themselves become stronger, and the root system also begins to actively develop.

You can also resort to the method of pinching the elongated seedlings. To do this, pinch off a growth point on the central stem from each bush. As a result, they will stop reaching up, and they will begin to actively grow side shoots.

Pinching is carried out with very sharp scissors, while cutting off the entire part of the shoot located above the fifth leaf plate. After 7 days, from the stepchildren that began to grow actively, the two strongest are selected, and the rest are cut off.

Tomato seedlings stretched out after picking

Sometimes it also happens that tomato seedlings already picked in separate cups begin to stretch. In addition to the other reasons described above, too small a volume of the cup, in which the root system is very crowded, can contribute to the active stretching of the stem.

To remedy the situation, the plant should be transplanted into larger cups, and be sure to bury the stems in the soil mixture. To improve the development of lateral roots, transplanted tomatoes are recommended to be watered with a solution of Heteroauxin or Epin.

Prevention

In order for tomato seedlings not to stretch out, it is necessary not only to properly care for them, but also to provide optimal conditions for their growth. First of all, pay attention to the following points:

provide the seedlings with a suitable temperature regime and a sufficient amount of light (most often the plant needs additional lighting);
do not water the seedlings too often;
apply fertilizer to the soil on time, while not exceeding the recommended dosage;
if necessary, thin out the seedlings after they have grown a little, the distance between them should be from 8 to 10 centimeters.

Particular attention should be paid to the choice of substrate, which is used for sowing tomato seeds and picking seedlings.

It should be enriched with phosphorus and potassium.

Phosphorus contributes to the active development of the seedling root system.
Potassium – does not allow the plant to stretch, as it inhibits cell growth.

It is recommended to include sand, peat and dolomite flour in the composition of the substrate. If desired, in a specialized store, you can purchase a ready-made soil mixture for nightshade crops, in which the correct dosage of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is selected.

Conditions for growing tomatoes

If the tomato seedlings began to stretch, then first of all you need to try to provide them with optimal conditions for growth. Thanks to this, in most cases, the seedlings stop stretching and become strong with a well-developed root system and a plump stem.

Temperature conditions

When growing tomato seedlings, special attention should be paid to the air temperature in the room. Immediately after the shoots appear, they are transferred to a cool place: the daytime temperature is from 20 to 23 degrees, and the night temperature is from 10 to 12 degrees.

Lighting

Most summer residents sow tomato seeds in early spring, when the daylight hours are still too short and the sun is not very bright. To avoid stretching young tomatoes, they are provided with the optimal length of daylight hours – 12-14 hours. To do this, they are provided with additional illumination by installing a phytolamp, LED or fluorescent lamp.

Watering

It is recommended to water the seedlings only after the clod of earth in the container is completely dry. And for this they use such an amount of water that can completely wet the substrate to the full depth. If watering is more frequent, then this will lead to stretching of the stems.

Feeding

Particular attention should be paid to feeding tomato seedlings. Remember that too much nitrogen in the soil mixture causes active stretching of the shoots. In order to avoid pulling seedlings, they must be fed according to the following scheme:

The first top dressing is carried out during the formation of cotyledon leaves, for this, a solution of urea is used (1 tablespoon for 1 bucket of water).
After 7 days, a second top dressing is carried out with a solution of azophoska or nitrophoska (1 tablespoon is taken for 1 liter of water).
Next, the seedlings are fed with a solution of nitrophoska or azofoska every 1,5 weeks.

Picks

If the seedlings grow too densely, then after the formation of the first pair of true leaf plates, they dive into individual cups or into a larger box according to the 8×8 cm pattern. Picked seedlings are kept in a shady place for the first time, and for the first time they are watered only after a week and a half.

Tips from seasoned gardeners

If you have only recently started growing tomatoes, then you will certainly need the advice of more experienced gardeners:

Since tomato seedlings most often stretch out due to poor lighting, it is recommended that they be illuminated. But if the seedlings are on the south window, then you can improve the lighting with the help of reflective screens, which can be made from a mirror, foil or a white paper sheet. Cut out a piece of cardboard, the height of which should be approximately 0,4 m, on one of its surfaces glue a material capable of reflecting light. The resulting screen is hung at the level of the plants. When the sun shines, its rays are reflected from the surface of the screen, as a result of which the young tomatoes are well lit from each side.
If very small seedlings began to stretch, then their growth can be slowed down by pinching the cotyledon leaf plates.
In order for the seedlings to be stronger, some gardeners resort to a rather unusual method. First, prepare a solution of urea, for this, combine half a bucket of water with 1 tsp. (with a slide) substances. They are watered with tomatoes, while taking one glass of solution for each bush. Then they are removed to a well-lit, but cool (8-10 degrees) place for a week. During this time, the bushes are not watered. When seven days have passed, it will be possible to notice that the plants have become stronger and have ceased to stretch. Then they are transferred to their original place.
If the adult seedlings are very stretched out, then you can cut off the upper parts of it at the level of the fifth or sixth leaf plate. They are placed in water and in just 5-7 days they should form roots. When the length of the roots reaches 10-15 mm, the cuttings can be planted in separate cups.

Tomato seedlings stretched out a lot, what to do? We save with a pick – video

If you provide tomato seedlings with proper care, as well as suitable conditions for growth, then you will be able to avoid such a nuisance as pulling seedlings. If their stems nevertheless began to actively stretch, then as soon as possible try to eliminate the cause of this. And also provide the plants with proper care, and very soon they will return to normal.