Do not ever let your tomatoes dry out completely. In general, seedlings need watering about every other day, but household conditions and plant growth and stage can change this. If you have a dome covering your tomato seedlings-even if it is a clear dome-remove it when the seedlings have sprouted to keep the tray from overheating and to increase air circulation.
Remove domes as soon as tomatoes have sprouted. If you use heat mats to keep the soil warm while germinating, move the seedlings off the mat once most of the tomato seeds have germinated. 
Remove seedlings from heat mats after germinating. Light is not just about the right type and proximity it is also about making sure your tomatoes get enough daylight hours, which for tomatoes is 14 to 16 hours under artificial lighting. Keep grow lights on for a minimum of 14 hours per day. Some high-intensity commercial grow lights may be able to be further away, but in general, those that are being used in a home setting need to be closer than you would think. Artificial light needs to be kept within a few inches of the tops of your tomato plants. Keep lights close to the plants’ tops. Repotting tomato seedlings full#
If tomato plants don’t get the right kind of light (I.e., the full spectrum of cool and warm waves), they will still stretch to look for the light.
Make sure your grow lights provide a full spectrum of light. Most homes don’t have enough direct light for enough hours of the day to keep seedlings from growing leggy. Preventing Legginess in Tomato Seedlings If your tomato seedlings start to look leggy, adjust the lights, so they are just a couple of inches from the plants’ tops. But don’t ignore the other possible causes because if your lights seem right, something else, like heat or water, is what’s probably causing your legginess issue. Tomatoes can grow upwards quite quickly if they are reaching for the light. Of these, problems related to lighting are almost always the cause of leggy tomato seedlings, so start by addressing that. Water-overwatering means that seedlings cannot access oxygen and nutrients in the soil underwatering can cause them to react to water inputs in bursts of growth. Heat-high soil and air temperatures can contribute to legginess in seedlings because they cause rapid growth, and in the early stages, upward growth may be their only option. Inadequate light-including not enough hours of light, light too far away, and the wrong type of light. There are three main causes of legginess in tomato seedlings: Understanding those causes is key to preventing legginess, to begin with. The causes of legginess in tomato seedlings are the same as the causes of legginess in all seedlings. Correcting Legginess in Tomato SeedlingsĬauses of Legginess in Tomato Seedlings Tomato seedlings will grow thick, strong stems if they have the right light and it is placed close enough to the tops of the plants. Preventing Legginess in Tomato Seedlings. Causes of Legginess in Tomato Seedlings. Fortunately, at least for tomato seedlings, legginess is relatively simple to prevent and can be corrected when it does happen. 
Once broken, the plants will die.Īlmost anyone who has ever started seeds indoors has had this happen to them. Frequently, the stems will break from the top-heavy nature and unsupportable growth. It is characterized by young tomato plants that are stretched, usually pale in color, and that bend or twist as they grow.
Legginess is when seedlings grow tall, thin, weak stems.
Legginess in tomato seedlings is most commonly caused by light issues, but there are other possible causes. Legginess is one of the most-if not the most-common problem for people who start their own tomato plants inside.
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