The plants need the supplemental lighting until such time as they can be hardened off to go out side and be transplanted. If they don't get enough light, even at this stage, they will quickly turn leggy and develop stretched stems and fall over.

You can slow their growth down a little by keeping them in a cooler environment - 60-65 degrees - but light remains vital until they can go outside.

Be sure to strip off all of those peat pots before transplanting them.

Dave

Thank you for the advice.

The only way I can cool them down is to move them to the garage. By the end of the month I may be able to get them outside under my patio on some days, it's been mid 50s.

I will wait to plant the next batch until these guys are hardy enough to be set outside daily. Another 4 weeks is guess. today was upper 40s and super windy with heavy rain.

Spring can't come fast enough.

I have a covered patio that has 12' ceilings. I don't have any fear they won't get enough light and the roof will keep them from getting beat up with the heavy rain. I can't go into the ground until a bit later because I'm on the Columbia River (north of Vancouver) and the wind is really strong. We have daily winds around 10-15 and gusts to 25. My plants need to be really strong AND staked. Once May hits the winds shift so I feel better about going outdoors. Also, I have a landscaper coming out to build out my irrigation and address some drainage issues right near my garden mid-April so I'm holding all outdoor planting until he's done.

What is WOW?

Wall of Water.

Here is a picture

You are doing a great job...and your plants look great!

Not really an expert here, but since your tomatoes seem to be doing so well, maybe you should pot up to move them to larger containers (like cups w/ holes on bottom). That would give the roots more room to grow. You would still need to keep them under your grow lights, and then do the hardening when your outside weather allows.

I should have planted in bigger containers! I can pick up something larger today at the store when I get my groceries. Can I red solo cups? The peet pots are pricey. (say that 3x fast)

Solo cups are great. Don't forget to put some holes in the bottom for drainage.

Linda

Perpetually postpone purchasing peat pots. They rarely perform as advertised.

Reduce, reuse, recycle... ricotta containers work great, as do some for sour cream.

I even use the wax coated, cardboard Chinese food containers (however, you can't poke holes, so it takes a bit of experience knowing how much water to add to successfully use those.)

I have friends and family (even neighbors of my extended family) save me pots when they buy plants from stores and nurseries. I have a lot now, but that took a bit of time.

I should have planted in bigger containers!

Nope. You start them in small containers, preferably plastic. Then when they get larger you transplant them to somewhat larger containers. You can't, and shouldn't, avoid the transplanting process. Small plants in big containers drown. If those plants were in plastic they would be fine for another week or so but in those peat pots they need to get into plastic (small cups, not the great big ones) and you need to strip off all that peat pot when you do it.

Perpetually postpone purchasing peat pots.

As in never buy them. Amen to that!

Dave

Very excellent advice dave. I learned years ago about peat pots. You can't get plants out of them fast enough

I agree about the peat pots too, after learning about the problems associated with them. But the blanket statement that "you can't, and shouldn't, avoid the transplanting process. Small plants in big containers drown.", is just not so. I sow tomato seeds directly into 6 inch pots and my plants have roots coming out the bottom within 10 to 12 days after sowing. They will not drown if you have a handle on the irrigation process. And a fan blowing across them helps too. I am not saying that sowing directly into a six inch pot creates larger, better plants or smaller less vigorous plants, but I can say that it is possible and that the plants will not drown out, and it saves a ton of time and material.

If interested, people can view the video of my plants after about 17 days and 12 days. The roots look amazing.

I know you are experienced in growing tomatoes and offer some great advice, Dave, and this is not a personal attack, I am just pointing out that absolute statements rarely hold water.

They will not drown if you have a handle on the irrigation process.

Oh I agree. The problem is that most growers do NOT have a handle on the watering process. The majority, especially newbies, way over-water and do it consistently and insist on doing it despite all the warnings to the contrary. The belief that if a little is good then a lot is even better prevails and drowns plants. Given that fact of life it is true that the best way to save the millions of drowned plants that result is to keep the ratio of plant height to container size in line at 2:1 or at most 3:1.

If you want to go 6:1 then you have to do it with great care and experience.

But even then, if you don't transplant at least once you lose the feeder root development trigger. So do it right and solve 2 problems at the same time. :-)

Plus starting plants in much smaller containers allows for more plants in the germination chambers or under the lights at the same time. I can start 100 tomato plants in one 4 cell pack (4 cells 2" sq.) in the same space one 6" pot takes up.

Dave

I hear you about the tap root development vs. the feeder root development argument. But I believe that since my plants roots are down to the bottom of the pot w/in about 10 days after sowing and out to the edges of the pot too, then the fibrous root trigger is happening. I believe your argument comes into play when seeds are sown directly into the garden, where there are no bounds.

However, I will be open minded, as I was with the use of peat pots, and I will closely observe my plants roots tonight. If they have not been triggered into developing feeder roots, then there should be a tap root that has a few lateral branching roots, usually evenly spaced apart along the tap root, and not many fibrous roots.

I also agree with you that most people over water plants. In my prior career, I did grow for a large commercial nursery with over 200 acres, albeit for only 7 years before switching careers. I was in the "color" department, which grew about 25 acres of annuals, perennials and holiday plants. Seven years is not nearly a long enough time to become a thorough expert, but I do know the basics.

I have large yogurt containers and a sour cream container. I'll transplant this week.

Thanks for the help.