Some growers use growth retardant to keep their seedings stout and sturdy. You can bet that our home-grown seedlings will out-compete them when they are all planted in the garden.

Linda

Plenty of sunlight and a breeze will thicken them up.

Many of the Dwarf varieties are short , 2 -3 feet tall, and have a tree trunk form. I ordered a bunch of varieties this year to grow in 5 gallon buckets because I live in an apartment with a small flower bed.

If you have time to read, DWARF TOMATO PROJECT a Co-operative Venture might be something of interest to you. I bought most of my dwarf tomato seeds through Victory Seeds.

I will be growing dwarfs for the first time the spring also. Even though they have thick stems they will need support when they put on tomatoes. Learned that with micros this winter, they looked good until the tomatoes got larger. They skewers I used were not enough, even though I used t 4 on each plant and used plastic ribbon to tie them up.

Good information . Thanks for mentioning the skewers - when I read about it on Renaissance Farms site I wondered how they could work.

Light and low temp of 16° is the reason nothing else

HU-99976576 tomato plants would freeze solid at 16F. Anyone whose ever been in a commercial greenhouse should know it's light and air movement that thickens tomato stems and makes them sturdy.

I think he meant 16 degrees Celcius, which would be about 60F. The main thing is light. Mine thicken up as soon as I started putting them outside. And the ones at Home Depot are outside, getting all the light they need, plus the cooler temperatures at night that slows the vertical growth.

Very helpful to know Gary.

I am new to tomato growing and will be trying to start my seeds on top of the refrigerator, then by the window without grow lights. As soon as the weather warms up I'll haul the seedlings in and out the door during the daytime.

Last year I started flower seeds indoors and hopefully made most of the trial and error mistakes on them.

Cool temperatures (I’ve been told no lower than 46F), bright light/sun, and a breeze produce stocky plants. I’ve had luck with south facing windows and an oscillating fan i take them outside any time the temp gets warm enough. having said this, there are much worse things than leggy tomatoes since they do well being potted up deeply.