The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: downtoearth on March 09, 2013, 11:39:30 am
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I planted some tomato seed in my propagator, they are mainly through. Question, I believe you should take them out of it in case of damping off? What amount of heat should they now get? They are in cells so dont need pricked out yet. Thanks.
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I find mine do very well just sitting on a windowsill. I sow in individual pots and put small pastic bags over each pot until they are through, then remove the bags.
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If your propagator is one with a lift off lid then just remove that until they are big enough to pot up. In a propagator the air is warm and stagnant, which is fine for seed germination but can cause a fungus ( I think it's a fungus ) called damp off which affects the new seedlings. Once the lid is removed there is much more air flow to stop damp off.sometimes it still happens so keep your guard as it can spread from tray to tray.
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Tomatoes are happy to grow at about 15C, once they have germinated. If they are too hot they will get leggy as well as damp off. Once mine have their first true leaves I pot them up and they live on a sunny windowsill during the day, then I bring them into the room and they sit under my reading light for the evening. When on the windowsill, I put foil behind them to reflect any sunshine onto the backs of the plants, to maximise how much light they get. I think that too cold a temp when they are small will affect the crop later.
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Thanks for the advice - have implemented your suggestions!
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One of the nice things about tomato seedlings is that you can plant them out deeper and they will produce roots from the stem. So, no need to worry if they get leggy.