I can't offer any suggestions regarding your WS tomatoes. I've never seen that purpling. My WS has been very bad this year also. At least a third of my jugs have no sprouts. This year I decided to start my tomatoes indoors which worked out great since WSing was so bad. On nice days, I'd put them outside and bring them in at night. A few jugs (zinnia, lupine, thyme, perilla frutescens) are doing great but most of the others only have a few sprouts if any.

My tomatoes are the same as yours, just totally stagnant. Earlier last week I started to transplant to individual containers and they're showing signs of growing true leaves now. But they're way behind where they normally are. I've been doing this for years and it's the first time it feels like a massive failure for the tomatoes. Only the cherokee purples formed true leaves on time and they're now in the garden and seem to be doing fine.

I wouldn't question the technique -- I used the same potting soil I always use and many other plants came up just fine. Not sure where you are, but our weather was cold and damp with little sun through most of the winter and early spring.

I did start three tomatoes inside to use with the walls o'water. They went in the ground near the beginning of April and they're about a foot and a half tall now, so at least there's that. I also had a few volunteers under one of the walls o'water so I potted them up and just planted them out on Saturday.

I also used your idea on the peppers and eggplant -- put them in the window till they sprouted then right outside. They seem to be doing fine, much better than the tomatoes. And of course as soon as I had done that, the peppers I wintersowed came up. Isn't that always the way? :)

Caryl

Hi Emc, I am sorry to hear about your WS seedlings not doing so well. So you used the same Pro mix in both the WS containers and inside? Wow what a difference!

The only thing I can think is that it has something to do with the growing conditions outside. Temperature or rainfall? Sometimes if there is a lot of rain, and the container isn't covered, I think it could leach all the nutrients out of the container.

I used Promix as usual and my seedlings have been exceptionally nice this year. Mine are still mostly covered. Also the annuals are under the eaves of the house so I have to water them regularly. After they get their true leaves, I try to water the seedlings with a dilute liquid fertilizer every week or two.

This year tried some thing a bit diffrent. Tall solo cups with potting soil then put them in a large clear tote. I ws all my seeds this way this year ( shortage of milk jugs). I left them on the porch near the house till they sprouted kept the lid on , seems it cracked so sort of vents well. One thing they been doing great with these strange new lows temps, tonight it is getting colder so moved closer to the house on the porch. Moved other non ws tomato plants into unheated garage with fig trees.

Figure my WS ones will be fine no matter what hits tonight. 39 now and dropping.

ML

I had purple stems years ago on some seedlings I did indoors. Feeding them some diluted plant food helped them grow out of it and get back to putting out some green leaves.

~StLGirl

If the phosphorus deficiency isn't from cold then it's probably time to give some nutrients as far as the purple coloring goes. However, I'm wondering were they in shade and moved to sun too fast? Sorta looks like the leaves got scorched a bit?

Vera

A week or less after transplanting from the jugs to individual cups has really helped my tomatoes -- they're all starting to put out true leaves now. They'll be in the garden by Sunday (I hope). I read somewhere that just transplanting them can help wake them up and it seems to have worked. I'm really hesitating about giving even a diluted feeding to something so small, just afraid of burning them out.