Baby tomato plants wilted after potting
 

Hi all

I've got several young tomato plants (Moneymaker) which were growing
indoors, 4-5 per pot until yesterday when, because most of them were 4-6
inches high, I decided to move them to individual pots.

However, this morning, I found them all to have wilted to some degree -
before potting, they were very healthy little plants. The soil is
definitely damp enough, I'm worried I've done something wrong with the
rooting systems. Each plant was pulled very gently from its surrounding
soil, and came up with about a cubic inch of soil/root. This didn't seem
like much but I have no idea what tomato roots are supposed to look like.

I'm quite new to growing plants from seed - have I done something wrong
here, and is there anything I can do to save my tomatoes? Any help
appreciated!

Helen

--

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When growing tomatoes from seed the knack is to stop them from stretching &
keep them as short jointed as possible - you have not mentioned how many
true leaves are on your plants, I am hoping that that are not just on their
seed leaves and are 4 to 5 inches tall.
Even so, all is not lost if the plants are stretched as you can always plant
them well down as roots will develop from the stem.
In fact this is worth doing when they go out into their final position -
when I have had stretched plants I have planted them out so that even the
seed leaves & the first true leaf joint is below the surface (remove these
leaves first).
Most plants will wilt a bit when re-potted - provided they are watered (not
overwatered) and kept slightly shaded for the first day or so they should
recover.

S

"Hel" wrote in message
x.net...
Hi all

I've got several young tomato plants (Moneymaker) which were growing
indoors, 4-5 per pot until yesterday when, because most of them were 4-6
inches high, I decided to move them to individual pots.

However, this morning, I found them all to have wilted to some degree -
before potting, they were very healthy little plants. The soil is
definitely damp enough, I'm worried I've done something wrong with the
rooting systems. Each plant was pulled very gently from its surrounding
soil, and came up with about a cubic inch of soil/root. This didn't seem
like much but I have no idea what tomato roots are supposed to look like.

I'm quite new to growing plants from seed - have I done something wrong
here, and is there anything I can do to save my tomatoes? Any help
appreciated!

Helen

--

(remove the last letter of the alphabet to e-mail me)

In article t, Hel
writes
Hi all

I've got several young tomato plants (Moneymaker) which were growing
indoors, 4-5 per pot until yesterday when, because most of them were 4-6
inches high, I decided to move them to individual pots.

However, this morning, I found them all to have wilted to some degree -
before potting, they were very healthy little plants. The soil is
definitely damp enough, I'm worried I've done something wrong with the
rooting systems.

You can't repot without some damage, and plants often do wilt. Give them
another watering, and keep them out of sunlight for a couple of days.

Each plant was pulled very gently from its surrounding
soil, and came up with about a cubic inch of soil/root.

I don't like the word 'pull' ;-)
With five seedlings in a pot, I would tip the whole lot out of the pot
very gently into my hand, then tease the combined rootball apart gently
until I had 5 separate plants. If it's smaller plants in, for example, a
seed tray, then I use a plant label or similar implement to gently
wriggle the seedling I'm after away from the rest. I avoid taking hold
of the stem and pulling, no matter how gently, as this way you can break
some of the finer roots that have got furthest into the soil.

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 12:55:38 +0100, Kay wrote:

You can't repot without some damage, and plants often do wilt. Give them
another watering, and keep them out of sunlight for a couple of days.

Thanks. They've been put in the shade and seem to have perked up again.

With five seedlings in a pot, I would tip the whole lot out of the pot
very gently into my hand, then tease the combined rootball apart gently
until I had 5 separate plants. If it's smaller plants in, for example, a
seed tray, then I use a plant label or similar implement to gently
wriggle the seedling I'm after away from the rest. I avoid taking hold
of the stem and pulling, no matter how gently, as this way you can break
some of the finer roots that have got furthest into the soil.

Cheers for the advice - should come in handy as I've got lots of little
chilli plants that'll need repotting in a week or two.

Helen

--

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On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 12:32:44 +0100, Noodle Doo wrote:

When growing tomatoes from seed the knack is to stop them from stretching &
keep them as short jointed as possible - you have not mentioned how many
true leaves are on your plants, I am hoping that that are not just on their
seed leaves and are 4 to 5 inches tall.

Nope, they have a lot more than their seed leaves, and look very much like
small tomato plants :)

Even so, all is not lost if the plants are stretched as you can always plant
them well down as roots will develop from the stem.
In fact this is worth doing when they go out into their final position -
when I have had stretched plants I have planted them out so that even the
seed leaves & the first true leaf joint is below the surface (remove these
leaves first).
Most plants will wilt a bit when re-potted - provided they are watered (not
overwatered) and kept slightly shaded for the first day or so they should
recover.

They seem fine now I've put them in the shade - I've also raised the soil
level to bury the stems some more.

Cheers for the advice
Helen

--

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