Tomatoes Purple & Drooping

12 years ago

I'm having some trouble with my tomato seedlings, and I've been scratching my head trying to figure out if they're unhealthy or if they'll just pull out of it on their own. The undersides and veins of the leaves are purple, and the stem seems particularly weak. As you can see in the picture, they just sort of sag every which way. Only one of them - the oldest - seems to have a straight, strong stem.

I read that the purple coloring may be caused by a phosphorus deficiency, so I gave them a very diluted shot of fertilizer high in phosphorus about a week ago. They seem slightly improved. I've also raised the lights to about 6 inches and reduced the time from 16 to 14 hours because I thought the heat from the bulbs (four T5s) might be too much for them up close or they were getting too much light.

They also have a fan running on them about 18 hours a day, and I've used cinnamon and chamomile to prevent damping off. The eggplants and peppers under the same system, same potting mix, etc. seem to be doing just fine.

The only thing I can guess is that they've been overfertilized or overwatered. Anyone have any guesses?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

suvoth
12 years ago
Well, it's my first year gardening but I thought I read somewhere about clear cups being bad for roots?
bgtribble
Original Author
12 years ago
You know, I never would have thought of that. I looked into it a little further, and it can also encourage the growth of algae, which explains the funny looking green stuff growing around the roots of my pepper plants!

I've repotted all of them in the red Solo cups, so we'll see if they improve. Thanks for the tip!
Related Professionals
Toledo Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Evanston Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Charlotte Landscape Contractors · Jackson Landscape Contractors · Lawrenceburg Landscape Contractors · Fall River Landscape Contractors · Hackettstown Landscape Contractors · Pullman Landscape Contractors · Athens General Contractors · Salina General Contractors · Elizabethtown General Contractors · McAlester General Contractors · Niles General Contractors · Cleveland General Contractors · Spokane General Contractors
labradors_gw
12 years ago
What is the medium that you are growing them in and do you have drainage holes in the cups?

Just wondering if you are using a medium that has the water retention crystals in it?

Linda
suvoth
12 years ago
Hope your plants start doing better :D
digdirt2
12 years ago
The purpling is common for very young plants. You'll find many questions here about it.

It has to do with their inability to uptake nutrients like P, not that there is a lack of it so most of us just ignore it. It disappears all on its own as the plant roots mature and temps warm..

The recommendation against clear cups is because roots are negatively phototropic - don't like light. :)

Dave
seysonn
12 years ago
Clear cups and 18 hours of light (maybe intense too ! ?).

I had that problem with my peppers early on when the light were to close and running for 18 hours. But it went away after I increased the distance and reduce hours to 12. Could be just a coincidence, I am not sure.
helenh
12 years ago
I think you are worrying too much about your babies. They look OK to me. Mine are purple too but they are purple every year and every year I have tomatoes out my ears in July.

edit: You should see my little heart tomato plants.

Some varieties do that when there is nothing wrong with them. If you want to see sick tomatoes look at some of the other pictures here. If your plants don't continue to grow or get yellow and sickly then you can worry.

This post was edited by helenh on Tue, Apr 8, 14 at 11:38
Xochitl
11 years ago
Can I ask bgtriblle what ended up happening with his tomatoes?