Possibly nitrogen starved. Did you add *any* fertilizer?

Just a little fertilizer in the form of diluted Miracle Gro liquid. I can certainly kick it up a notch.....worth a try. If the nitrogen works, it should darken up in about 3 days. Thanks. ..........edit: nitrogen transfusion performed!

Dilute MG is the way to go. But you should water regularly with it. I'm suspecting that isn't the problem, though. Is there enough light? Poor illumination can lead to chlorosis.

Yes, plenty of light here in southeast GA. They're outside, and on the cloudy cool days they come inside and go under lights......even some extra lights at night. I gave them a little calcium nitrate with the MG. One of my other seedlings was looking a bit pale too, so we'll see.

Calcium nitrate? That's usually applied to avoid blossom end rot, and you're a LONG ways from worrying about blossom end rot. You should apply that when the plant is fruiting. I'm not sure I'd use that on seedlings. Nitrates are salts, and if the soil salt concentration is high, plants will have to work against osmotic pressure to take up nutrients, and seedlings are more delicate in that regard. Why did you add calcium nitrate?

It's fine. It's the nitrogen part that the part that gives an immediate boost. I grow in containers. It's water soluble and most washes out quickly anyway. If you look on TV or on the Containers forum, it's a popular nitrogen supplement.

Yes. I'm careful with the amounts, and like I said it washes out easily. Have been doing it for 10 + years with no adverse effects. But I will do some research on nitrogen burn to see what it looks like. Calcium Nitrate is a popular snack for container tomatoes, on top of the regular fertilizer and micros. Leaf color is a great way to judge if the plant is getting enough. I have an underfertilizer bias, so am not likely to over fertilize.....haven't yet (I hope.) Did a little research, and can't find a decent example of yellow tomato leaves from too much nitrogen. Most of the examples state that too much nitrogen makes leaves dark green. If you could post a link to that information, that would be great. I certainly didn't overfertilize to make the leaves yellow in the start of the thread. Only a little MG liquid per the label instructions.

That's true that nitrogen burn doesn't quite look like a simple yellowing. Rather a browning of the leaf edges, and you don't have that. But I have seen yellowing before the browning. True that nitrogen supplements are water soluble, and leach easily. But I still think that adding nitrate to Miracle Gro is kinda overkill. I guess I just don't understand why you'd bother to add nitrogen to what is primarily a nitrogen supplement.

Well, I was using a diluted MG anyway, and instead of just increasing the MG concentration, just added a little nitrogen as a specific fix. Probably just the mad scientist in me. Plant doesn't look any worse today, and possibly a bit better. Spring warmth has really broken out here big time. 60 at night and 80 in the day. Stuff is really breaking bud. Will post a photo if it gets better. BTW the "snack" is only recommended once per week, so it'll be just MG for a while now. Fwiw, I don't consider MG a N supplement. Imo it's a well balanced 3-1-2 supplement + macros......but yea, if you lay it on thick, there's certainly a big N factor. Gotta go cut the grass & pot up a couple of plants :-)

if they are already outside you shouldn't put them inside unless it's at night to protect them from the cold. yo-yo-ing them from inside to outside constantly can do more harm than good. a cloudy day still produces more uv/light than the most powerful indoor light you can find.

Thanks. I didn't know that doing the two-step would be a problem. Was never a problem before. Isn't hardening off the same thing? They are outside for good now, unless there's a frost predicted. Daytime temps are good until at least early March. I'm keeping them in movable pots until last frost date. Gonna try a touch of epsom salts in case it's a Mg deficiency. I also added a few grains of lime. My homemade mix might have a low pH, but the other plants are ok, so go figure.

You need to pull the plant out and look at the roots. That is usually where the problem is, and is my guess here.

Well, that's great, but what's that going to do? If the roots are rotted, do you trim them? I potted it up last week, and the roots I saw looked ok. Besides the color, it looks healthy as far as growth habit. It's exactly at the same growth size as another one started the same time. If it was wilting, or growing poorly, I would agree with you.

Ed -- this has always worked well for me to keep seedlings green and healthy (had a few similar looking ones a few years back, so not wanting to chance either over-or-under fertilizing) watering them with an ounce extract per 2 gal watercan, and for quicker cure misting them with same solution each day until green.

Tony

Grow More 6041 Seaweed Extract 11%

An ounce of what?....:-)

Grow More 6041 Seaweed Extract 11%

available at Walmart, Amazon (got mine from Amazon 2 years ago)

Tony

p.s.

got tired of spending each year $15 for a quart, so when it was on sale at $22 for 1 gal, bought it

Note that seaweed is a poor source of NPK. It allegedly has other magic nutrients though. Mostly trace nutrients. Some of the proponents of it are kinda nutty. We are told, for example, it has loads of carbohydrates, which are an important plant nutrient. Duh? Studies show that, as a "biostimulant", seaweed extracts do have some horticultural value.

Hi all, Yea, not going to buy stuff just to save a seedling. If the stuff I already have won't fix it, so be it. But the suggestions are much appreciated.

My established seedlings are fed twice a month with half strength Miracle Grow solution. In the meantime watered with the seaweed solution. Since I started doing this "nutty" procedure, I've noticed better overall plant health and growth.

Tony

it's not really nutty! anyone that had used seaweed/kelp knows its is the bee's knees. it's best used as a foliage feeding though. if you buy it, don't buy the liquid. buy the water soluble extract. it's much more potent than the bottles of seaweed that is watered down. it has an NPK of 0-0-17, and retains all the growth hormones. it's blacker than compost and at 1/2-1 teaspoon a gallon, a 10oz jar/bag makes several hundred gallons. here's the stuff i use http://amzn.to/2FchSC3

when you buy the liquid version, they use this extract to make it.. And from what i've been told by the manufacturer, it takes over 100lbs of seaweed to make less than a pound of extract.

i even use it on orchids and some plants that have not seen blooms in years, and after spraying dormant plants, they go into over-drive and start showing new growth/flowers within a week. do a comparison and you'll be amazed at the results and likely won't want to garden without.. it is that good. use no more than once a week, as it can have reverse effects..

Nutty = plants need carbohydrates. That's not even a good myth. Just a lie. Let's not extrapolate nuttiness, shall we? As I said, research has shown that kelp extract has botanical benefits. I'm not arguing with that. I am skeptical about magical properties, though.

Ed, you came here asking for suggestions and then shoot everyone down that offers help.

I would toss the seedling out; after all, it is just one seedling.

Since off topic, NC and Stevie -- long time no see. If interested Shule started this:

What are your 2018 tomato growlists?

Tony

"Ed, you came here asking for suggestions and then shoot everyone down that offers help."

Sorry you see it that way. No expert, but know enough to be able to engage in a conversation about this stuff. Didn't think digging up the plant was the way to go, would be a last option imo. Sorry if I was a bit quick and negative on that one.

Dan mentioned chlorosis, and am thinking that might be the problem, but not from lack of light, more like lack of Mag. There is no food in my container mix, and likely forgot to feed it

I know that people use seaweed, and fish emulsion, and other things, and that's fine. Have always used Foliage Pro or MG liquid for my container tomatoes, and some epsom salts, and calcium nitrate.

Hope Tony wasn't offended when I said I wasn't buying seaweed. I apologize if you were.