Tomato seedlings curling under and wilting... Need help!

9 years ago

I have 4 tomato varieties (Vinson Watts, Black Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter, Matt's Wild Cherry Tomatoes) and 2 pepper varieties growing in my kitchen, waiting to be transplanted in roughly 4 weeks.

The peppers are looking fantastic, but 3 of the 4 tomato varieties are showing strange symptoms that are worrying me (Black Brandywine looks okay) :

- Leaves and stems are curling under like pigs tails.

- Bottom branch leaves are starting to wilt.

- Two of the plants have a strange white "foam"-like bark appearance on the main stem.

They were started 4 weeks ago, half in a mix of vermiculite and peat moss, half in a Miracle Grow seed starter mix. Both mediums are showing similar symptoms across my plants. I added 1/2 strength fertilizer tea last week (at 2 sets of true leaves). This tea is made from Dr. Earth Homegrown Organic Tomato and Herb Fertilizer (5-7-3); 1/2 cup diluted in a gallon of water and sprayed on foliage and into soil with a mister.

The plants are on a light schedule of 16-8, using a full spectrum LED light strip designed for seedlings. A small computer fan is setup to get air flow to the seedlings.

Average temperature in the growing area is 68F with average 40% relative humidity.

I have no idea what to do, every day the plants look worse.

I popped one out to see if the roots were binding and they are not - pots are 2.5" wide but 4" deep.

What should I do?!

Flush the plants with water and transplant to larger pots? Add fresh potting mix?

Add Diatomaceous Earth to kill potential pests in the soil?

Cut off the wilted leaves?

...

I need serious help here.

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Comments (5)

gorbelly
9 years ago
Those are classic signs of overwatering. Epinasty, oedema... Soil a little too dry is much better for seedlings than soil that is too wet. Never water on a schedule. If a beginner, check the soil moisture with your fingers before watering and only do it when needed.

How far are you from plant-out? The plants should recover well once in the actual ground, so if you're past your LFD, check the long-term forecast. If nighttime temps are staying above the mid-40s, I would start hardening them off ASAP and get them into the ground. They'll do better in slightly cold real soil than with whatever corrections you could make to your indoor growing situation right now.
Logan
Original Author
9 years ago
Woops. I had no idea I was over watering...

Forecast 46 tomorrow night; rest of the lows this week around 50+.

I'll start hardening off the plants showing symptoms.

Thanks for the advice!
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gorbelly
9 years ago
Let the surface of your medium dry out entirely between waterings. A pot that size, I'd wait until it was dry 1/2" to 1" down and the rest of the medium was only slightly moist before watering. Depth of moisture, etc. though depends on how moisture-retentive your medium is. IIRC, the Miracle Gro seed starting mix is pretty moisture retentive, so you have to be pretty conservative with the watering. A very peat-heavy mix will also hold on to a lot of water.

You eventually can kind of gauge by how much the pots weigh whether you need to water. But until then, don't be afraid to gently dig down a bit and feel for yourself. Medium should not stay soggy with moisture constantly--that will drown the roots and increase risk of root rot, nutritional problems, etc.
gorbelly
9 years ago
50+ nighttime temps are a good time to plant out.
Logan
Original Author
9 years ago
That's pretty much how I managed watering, would dig down a bit with a chopstick and feel for moisture.
I popped one of the plants out yesterday to see if it was root bound, it was not. But I noticed a clump of soil at the top was darker than the soil at the bottom of the pot. I don't think it's draining properly, so I drilled 4 extra 1/8" holes into each pot.
When I get home tonight I'll start hardening off my plants, over the next week we'll see what happens!

Thanks again!