They look way over-watered. But it may not be the amount of the water you are giving them but the soil mix you are using. Potting soil? Or soil-less potting mix? Potting soil compacts and drains poorly causing root rot. And way too much peat it sounds like too. pH could be too acidic and peat also retains water.

Buy a bag of a good quality soil-less potting mix and transplant them and then water minimally.

What are you feeding them and how often?

Dave

But be aware that when peat dries, it's difficult to get it wet again: dry peat actually repels water. If you stick your finger into the potting medium, does the medium feel wet or damp?

Do you water from the top or the bottom?

Too much peat. You can't get the watering right with that much peat in the mix. Unless you have a greenhouse or something like that, you started them too early. Even if you start in Feb. you would have time for failures and restarts. Tomato plants don't do well in little pots under lights for months.

Thank you all. I appreciate the feedback. It sounds like I need to work on my "dirt". So-I need soilless potting mix with less peat than I have been using? Or no peat?

I have been watering from the bottom, but drenching it pretty good, then letting it dry. I haven't had to water very often. I read recently that others add a couple inches of water to the tray and only let it sit for 15 minutes, then drain off the excess. I want to try that system, they just haven't dried out enough yet : /

As far as feeding them, I am at work, so I can't look at my fertilizer bottle right now, but it is a weak MG seedling fert which I diluted to about 1/4. I have used it twice. Come to think of it, it is a pretty old bottle-at least 10 years old.

So what I am going to do is buy some soiless mix and transplant them into it. I will curb my watering substantially, then see how they do. Should I continue to feed them? Is my fertilizer way too old or am I okay to continue using it?

Also-I agree, I have started them way too early. I knew I was going to screw this up at least once, so I wanted to get that out of the way early. I am going to start my "keepers" later in the season.

Lynn

So-I need soilless potting mix with less peat than I have been using? Or no peat?

Soil-less mix contains peat yes but in a balanced amount with other ingredients. Peat is a good thing when used in proper amounts but your mix is way OUT of balance. There are any number of high quality soil-less mixes on the market so it should be easy for you to find. The bag will be labeled "potting mix", not "potting soil".

You also need some new fertilizer - definitely - and then continue with weekly feedings of 1/4 strength.

Please know that this early it will be quite difficult for these plants to survive/do well so just plan to use them as test subjects for your transplants you'll be starting in April.

Dave

What you have is tomato physiological disorder. It is caused by a combination of low temperatures and inadequate sunlight. It can be made worse by over watering and/or by over fertilizing. If you have been over watering, then the roots will be discolored. They should be straw white. If you over fertilize, the leaf margins will begin to die and you will have a green center surrounded by a brown rim. While the answers above may help, especially putting the plants into larger containers, you will have to find a way to give them brighter lights and to keep the temperature consistently above 70 degrees.

Tomato plants are finicky about temperatures. Here is a list of temperatures and the effect they have on tomatoes.

120 deg F = Severe heat, but if plenty of water is available, the plants are fine. This temp is way above levels at which pollination can take place. Plants with heavy fruit set may show stress.

92 deg F = This is the temp at which pollen starts clumping and blossoms begin to drop.

70 deg F to 92 deg F = This is the goldilocks zone. Tomatoes grow prolifically, flowers set readily, plants need maximum fertility in the soil. The high end of this range is optimum for spread of several foliage diseases.

65 deg F to 72 deg F = the best temperature to grow seedlings.

50 deg F to 65 deg F = this is the beginning of cold stress. Tomato plants in this range grow slowly, often produce anthocyanins (turn purple), and become pale green from loss of chlorophyll function.

32 deg F to 50 deg F = This is the range where normal tomato plants show severe cold stress. Leaves shrivel, turn yellow, wilt, stems lose turgor, roots stop absorbing water. Rubisco is deactivated by free radicals with byproducts accumulating which causes the leaves to die.

28 deg F to 32 deg F = This is the maximum range most tomatoes can withstand without freezing. Note that if frost forms on the leaves, then the leaves will freeze and die. The plant may live and can form new leaves, but the stunting effects take quite a bit of time to overcome. The time a plant can stand at this temperature is very short, in the range of about 6 hours in a 7 day period. If the temperature remains below 50 deg F on average and if the temperature dips below freezing a couple of times, the plants will deteriorate rapidly.

22 deg F to 28 deg F = This is the range that a few select varieties can withstand for brief periods of time but stipulating that frost on the leaves will still kill them.

15 deg F to 22 deg F = This is the range that a few Russian cultivars are reported to survive, again only if frost does not form. The reports I have read indicate that this tolerance is only for a limited time period, in other words, repeated low temps for 3 days or more will still kill the plants.

0 deg F to 15 deg F = A few Russian cultivars are able to handle temps this low for brief periods of time. This is the low end of the range that wild tomato species S. Habrochaites, S. Chilense, and S. Lycopersicoides can withstand.

DarJones

Wow, Dar, that's fabulous information to have. I've copied and pasted it so I have it for future reference. Thanks for sharing it!

Edie

Lynn:

I am cheap about some things but not my tomatoes. I use the mix labeled 'seed starter', but it costs more. How often are you watering your seedlings? I keep the seeds wet, but the seedlings range from wet to almost dry. Several times I thought some seedlings were dead, but watering brought them back to life.

The last few years I have had more problems with seedlings in the basement. May be a lack of not cleaning the shelving area where they grow. This year will use a bleach/water mix a week before starting. Could be a number of factors, including not changing the furnace air filter often enough.

Drowning, too much peat.Pinch all the leafs and branchs off except for the top few then repot them in pine bark fines, coarse perlite and some of the mixture there in, more light liquid fert and they will be beautiful.
Plant em if you got em. Sam

Fusion I am going to clip that also. Do those Russian tomatoes that can stand the cold taste good? They would be fun under walls of water.

You don't need seed starter mix for those tomatoes you need potting mix. I have better luck starting seeds in potting mix. I bought some organic jiffy mix once that held too much water. Unless you are an expert like fusion, I think it is better to go with a good commercial mix and don't try mixing things yourself. I plant too early every year too but not that early.

I have been sick for a few days, so I haven't done anything with the seedlings yet, except let them dry out. That seems to be helping. They have some new growth which is dark green and they look a little better. I also added a fan. I am going to print a lot of this information and use it. I will switch to a soilless potting mix to begin with, and get some new fertilizer.

Everyone has offered such great advice! I appreciate you all taking the time to help me out. I will keep you posted on my progress when I start my plants for production.

Lynn