Vegetables Gardening - Growing Organic Vegetables

I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I don't want to repeat the seedling massacre that has just happened. I had about a 98% germination of my seeds, (mostly tomatoes) but now I am down to about a 5% survival. Here's what I think I did wrong: I transplanted too early...before the true leaves were formed. Even though they survived the transplant, seemingly fine, I wonder if this just weakened them? I kept them indoors too much, and left them out too long when they were out in the sun. The leaves wilted at the stem, even though they were moist. I can't tell if the seedling watering formula was too much for them.

I am grateful to have this time to figure this out, while my family has plenty of other food to eat. I really want to get this right.

Should I begin again? Our last frost date is March 15. I live in Catalina,AZ. It is not as hot as Tucson (I'm at 3400 feet elevation), but when July and August come, it does get very hot.

I need about 60 tomato plants for my garden. They are selling them for about $3.50 a piece at Home Depot. Ouch.

Do I have time to start over?

Fretlessfidder & Group:

A few ideas:

1. Soil in which new seedlings are growing should be DAMP but NOT WET. Damping-off can occur if soil is too wet.

2. New seedlings need full light IMMEDIATELY upon emergence from the soil. No NOT keep them away from the sun. Excess HEAT can kill them quickly, but LIGHT is what they thrive on. If you're starting plants indoors they need grow-lights within 1" of plant leaves for at least 16 hours per day.

3. First transplant should be after first set of true leaves have formed (but we've done it successfully before that time).

4. Don't change temperature and lighting conditions immediately after transplanting. Let seedlings recover from the transplant shock first.

5. Temperature differences can be problematic when taking plants outside. Temps inside should be 70-80, and outside should be about the same to avoid shocking the plants.

It takes about 8 weeks to grow good sturdy tomato transplants that are ready for the garden, so get started now.

Jim Kennard

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