I planted some tomato plants, by seed and they germinated and grew not too bad. The first bit of greenery is healthy and now they are looking like how a tomato should look.. but, some of the leafy bits are white in color.. i dont think ive over watered? any ideas

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I planted some tomato plants, by seed and they germinated and grew not
too bad. The first bit of greenery is healthy and now they are looking like how a tomato should look.. but, some of the leafy bits are white in color.. i dont think ive over watered? any ideas

Hope I'm not replying too late. Where are these growing? Indoors in small seed start containers, within an indoor greenhouse, a windowsill? This will be helpful info.

Usually white either means fungus / excess moisture, excessive sunlight causing scorching, or too little water which normally can be seen if the soil is "shrinking" away from their containers.

Also, how tall are they? As they grow it's a good practice to prune off any limbs that are growing too close to the soil. As they mature, clearing out some of the inward growing limbs to allow for air circulation. The more energy focused on good limbs, and not new growth, the more fruit the plant should produce.

With that said, tomato plans are pretty low maintenance. If our weather would ever improve, i look forward to getting our starts outdoors.

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On 25 Mar 2023, The Godfather said the following...

I planted some tomato plants, by seed and they germinated and grew no too bad. The first bit of greenery is healthy and now they are lookin like how a tomato should look.. but, some of the leafy bits are white color.. i dont think ive over watered? any ideas

Hope I'm not replying too late. Where are these growing? Indoors in small seed start containers, within an indoor greenhouse, a windowsill? This will be helpful info.

Hey tG, so the plants are indoors in a tray with a plastic dome and a grow light on top. I have it in the basement.

Usually white either means fungus / excess moisture, excessive sunlight causing scorching, or too little water which normally can be seen if the soil is "shrinking" away from their containers.

hmmm.. could be excess moisture.. i know the plastic dome always has condensation on it. Not sure about excessive sunlight unless you think maybe the grow light is the same as sun in that way. I have been turning it off later at night now, maybe I should be doing it earlier.

Also, how tall are they? As they grow it's a good practice to prune off any limbs that are growing too close to the soil. As they mature, clearing out some of the inward growing limbs to allow for air circulation. The more energy focused on good limbs, and not new growth, the more fruit the plant should produce.

they vary in size, two are about 7" or so and the rest smaller. I don't think they are too close to the soil. This is the first time I started plants from seed. Sadly, I won't me planting until mid May. I'm almost tempted to start another batch just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for the input here.
/)arkman /\lmighty

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Ok, gotcha. I'm growing my starts in a similar way, just with a 4 shelf bakers type rack with a plastic cover Amazon calls a "Greenhouse" (although I'm not sure it works as well as a real one but it gets the
job done :) A few things:

Wow, a bakers type rack. Huh. I suppose I could have gone bigger in my setup but its only one tray.

1. Yes the dome retains the moister as it evaporates and rains back
down on top of itself. So there is not a need to water daily, but still
a need to keep an eye on the soil. The plants soil should be moist but
not wet nor soggy.

Ok. check. yeah that makes sense. I have taken the lid off at night when the grow light on top is not in use. I haven't watered in a couple days, soil is moist but not soggy.

2. Excess condensation will leave the plant leaves wet which can cause fungus .. most notable would be spider web like mold on any peat moss
type containers and or mushrooms / toad stools within the soil, however also whitening of leaves. Within my "green house" I put a small fan, to provide air circulation to compensate for the grow light and heat mat's
I use.

I have noticed that the soil is green in some areas so while I may not have over watered it, the condensation maybe the blame. The whitening of leaves appears to be less since changing my approach. I thinking that could be the issue. I'll try a fan and see what that does.

In your case try watering less frequently if the soil is wet, while also seeing if maybe the dome came with any tips on adding air circulation or weeks until removing it completely.

Right. There are two vents on top for air on the dome.

I turn mine on and off based on what the sun does outdoors and have
found this to be not only a good reminder for my family and I, but also good for the plants. Leaving a light on all night by accident has
caused me few issues -- never turning it on has ruined entire trays
before :)

Since I have the setup in the basement, i left one light on with tungsten bulb to help warm the container.. maybe thats a mistake. The basement is about 68-70F so it should be ok. Ouch. Sounds like a balance of 'sun' is needed.

Oh wow that must be a huge dome. Maybe email me a picture of it, now I'm curious :) Yeah if they are that big and won't be going outdoors until mid May, I'd be finding a way to get them acclimated to air, and airflow between the leaves to keep the plant more dry. This will help reduce
the chance of any type of fungus / leaf / plant disease as a result of excess moisture on the plant.

Idk about huge.. its a standard size but the plants are touching the inside. Ok. I'll send you a pic. The other issue to consider is the soil depth is about 1" so I will have to transplant from tray to pot now.
Since most of the plants are for my parents, they will get the plants to care for soon :)

Thanks for the input here.

Hopefully it's helpful. I love starting my plants from seed, and while
it can be higher maintenance, I like knowing that from seed to table no pesticides nor artificial fertilizers / GMO's were used to grow my food. So hang in there, it'll be worth it!

It is. Thanks, due to your take on things I had changed some things.
I did have fun starting from seed and yes you are right, no artifical, all natural seeds here.

/)arkman /\lmighty

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