Killin em with kindness

Fusion_power · March 9, 2014

It is that time of year again when tomato seed go into pots and containers and growers begin the process of killing their seedlings. Here are a few of the most popular ways to kill your seedlings.

10. Put the tray of seedlings in your garage where a mouse promptly eats them.

9. Put your tray of seedlings on a shelf where your cat decides to investigate, in the process destroying plants and detaching them from labels.

8. Pull your tray of seedlings off the shelf to admire them and stumble dumping the tray upside down demolishing seedlings enmasse.

7. Set them out in the nice warm sunshine where the sun blisters the leaves to a funny white color. Should have hardened them off first.

6. Put them in the cool cellar with a grow light at temps of 45 degrees. tomatoes die slowly at 45 degrees and below, it is a particularly evil way to kill your seedlings.

5. Set your fully hardened off seedlings outside for some sunshine where a thunderstorm hammers them, floods them, washes them, launders them, then delivers them to you either muddy or crispy, take your choice.

4. Set your seedlings in the sunny room with your other plants where the whitefly population promptly decides tomato seedlings are their new favorite dish. Since you killed all the spiders who would have eaten the flies, and the flies ate your seedlings, maybe this is rough justice. Your seedlings are still dead even if you can sing that song about the old woman who swallowed the fly.

3. Plant your seed in that nice new soil mix with all the pine bark where they promptly germinate..... then sit there.... and sit there... and eventually die because you didn't think they would need any fertilizer. Never mind that pine bark absorbs every atom of nitrogen in sight which of course starves your seedlings.

2. Over fertilize them with that nice new blue stuff you bought on sale at the local box store. Do you know what a tomato seedling looks like when it has been over fertilized? You gave it an acid bath in your consummate kindness. 1/4 of a teaspoon of miracle grow 15-30-15 is enough to grow 48 seedlings to transplant size. Even then, be careful how much you give them at one feeding, it is easy to overdo the fertilizer.

1. Over watering is the number one way to kill your tomato seedlings. Of all the seedling killers, the kill em with kindness over waterers are the most effective serial killers in the world. Countless millions die each year at their hands. The biggest hint I can give to avoid joining the over waterer ranks is to remember to let your seedlings dry out just to the point they start to wilt before watering them. Seedlings grown with reduced water produce a larger and healthier root system that is key to producing the maximum possible crop of fruit. When they have dried out properly, give them a generous watering and then wait for the next time they dry out before watering again. This prevents phytothora while growing the healthiest plants.

dpurdy · March 9, 2014

Fusion_power,
While I was reading this, I started to chuckle a little. Reminds me of days gone by when I probably have done everyone of the don'ts. A good list for beginning gardeners should to read and follow.

dpurdy

Patihum · March 9, 2014

Bravo! Every beginning gardener should read this.

KarenO · March 9, 2014

Excellent

Sun City Linda · March 9, 2014

You have such a way with words.

newatthiskat · March 9, 2014

Well other than putting them in a celler because I do not have one. This year the way I have killed is not planting up soon enough and not watering enough

Tom A To · March 10, 2014

I would caution newcomers that letting the soil dry should not carry over to when the plant is installed in its permanent home and begins to blossom. One cause of blossom end rot. Evenly moist at all times in that situation.

AKmark · March 10, 2014

Good reading

gssgarden · March 10, 2014

Don't forget to cover them, put the heat mat directly on the carpet so no air gets underneath and you bake them so you have no chance of seeing anything germinate!! That's my favorite...sadly, I did this!!

Greg

Doug9345 · March 10, 2014

Then there is using a car as shelter over night for some of your plants and forgetting some in the back window until 11am, which was facing east. Seventeen out of twenty made it after a week in TICU - Tomato ICU.

ScottinAtlanta · March 10, 2014

Great post. Should be a sticky. Hands-off is my motto once you have the soil right, and the soil is not bone dry.

Sun City Linda · March 10, 2014

Question Dar, I have understood that it is not the bark that robs N but the chips made from the interior heart wood. Not so?

Fusion_power · March 10, 2014

All cellulose absorbs nitrogen as it decays. Bark is a form of cellulose. It does not absorb nitrate as fast as inner fiber from the tree trunk, but it does tie up significant amounts of nitrogen as it decays slowly over time.

Sun City Linda · March 10, 2014

Thanks!

rwsacto · March 10, 2014

That reminds me, I need to check my planting calendar. I think I'm scheduled to dump a tray of seedlings and their labels this week or next.

March 9, 2014	#1
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	Killin em with kindness It is that time of year again when tomato seed go into pots and containers and growers begin the process of killing their seedlings. Here are a few of the most popular ways to kill your seedlings. 10. Put the tray of seedlings in your garage where a mouse promptly eats them. 9. Put your tray of seedlings on a shelf where your cat decides to investigate, in the process destroying plants and detaching them from labels. 8. Pull your tray of seedlings off the shelf to admire them and stumble dumping the tray upside down demolishing seedlings enmasse. 7. Set them out in the nice warm sunshine where the sun blisters the leaves to a funny white color. Should have hardened them off first. 6. Put them in the cool cellar with a grow light at temps of 45 degrees. tomatoes die slowly at 45 degrees and below, it is a particularly evil way to kill your seedlings. 5. Set your fully hardened off seedlings outside for some sunshine where a thunderstorm hammers them, floods them, washes them, launders them, then delivers them to you either muddy or crispy, take your choice. 4. Set your seedlings in the sunny room with your other plants where the whitefly population promptly decides tomato seedlings are their new favorite dish. Since you killed all the spiders who would have eaten the flies, and the flies ate your seedlings, maybe this is rough justice. Your seedlings are still dead even if you can sing that song about the old woman who swallowed the fly. 3. Plant your seed in that nice new soil mix with all the pine bark where they promptly germinate..... then sit there.... and sit there... and eventually die because you didn't think they would need any fertilizer. Never mind that pine bark absorbs every atom of nitrogen in sight which of course starves your seedlings. 2. Over fertilize them with that nice new blue stuff you bought on sale at the local box store. Do you know what a tomato seedling looks like when it has been over fertilized? You gave it an acid bath in your consummate kindness. 1/4 of a teaspoon of miracle grow 15-30-15 is enough to grow 48 seedlings to transplant size. Even then, be careful how much you give them at one feeding, it is easy to overdo the fertilizer. 1. Over watering is the number one way to kill your tomato seedlings. Of all the seedling killers, the kill em with kindness over waterers are the most effective serial killers in the world. Countless millions die each year at their hands. The biggest hint I can give to avoid joining the over waterer ranks is to remember to let your seedlings dry out just to the point they start to wilt before watering them. Seedlings grown with reduced water produce a larger and healthier root system that is key to producing the maximum possible crop of fruit. When they have dried out properly, give them a generous watering and then wait for the next time they dry out before watering again. This prevents phytothora while growing the healthiest plants.

March 10, 2014	#7
Tom A To Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Pilot Hill, Ca. Posts: 307	I would caution newcomers that letting the soil dry should not carry over to when the plant is installed in its permanent home and begins to blossom. One cause of blossom end rot. Evenly moist at all times in that situation. __________________ -Dennis Audios, Tomatoville. Posted my final post and time to move on.

March 9, 2014	#2
dpurdy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Norwich, New York Posts: 255	Fusion_power, While I was reading this, I started to chuckle a little. Reminds me of days gone by when I probably have done everyone of the don'ts. A good list for beginning gardeners should to read and follow. dpurdy

March 9, 2014	#3
Patihum Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Southeast Kansas Posts: 878	Bravo! Every beginning gardener should read this.

March 9, 2014	#4
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,922	Excellent

March 9, 2014	#5
Sun City Linda Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SoCal Inland Posts: 2,705	You have such a way with words.

March 9, 2014	#6
newatthiskat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: texas Posts: 1,451	Well other than putting them in a celler because I do not have one. This year the way I have killed is not planting up soon enough and not watering enough

March 10, 2014	#8
AKmark Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Wasilla Alaska Posts: 2,010	Good reading

March 10, 2014	#9
gssgarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: N.C. Posts: 1,820	Don't forget to cover them, put the heat mat directly on the carpet so no air gets underneath and you bake them so you have no chance of seeing anything germinate!! That's my favorite...sadly, I did this!! Greg

March 10, 2014	#10
Doug9345 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Durhamville,NY Posts: 2,706	Then there is using a car as shelter over night for some of your plants and forgetting some in the back window until 11am, which was facing east. Seventeen out of twenty made it after a week in TICU - Tomato ICU.

March 10, 2014	#11
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	Great post. Should be a sticky. Hands-off is my motto once you have the soil right, and the soil is not bone dry.

March 10, 2014	#15
rwsacto Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Sacramento CA Posts: 288	That reminds me, I need to check my planting calendar. I think I'm scheduled to dump a tray of seedlings and their labels this week or next.