As of: March 8, 2024, 5:32 a.m
By: Ines Alms
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There are a few stumbling blocks on the way from seed to tomato plant.
If you know the most common mistakes when growing tomatoes, you can easily avoid them.
The selection of tomato young plants in the garden center is manageable.
The range of tomato seeds, on the other hand, is huge, so that hobby gardeners have the whole world of tomatoes open to them - whether balcony tomatoes or meter-high outdoor specimens, whether with yellow, green or even purple fruits.
It would only be nice if the seeds also turned into strong, well-bearing plants.
Sometimes things go wrong along the way.
However, the most common mistakes when sowing and growing can easily be avoided.
Mistake #1: Sowing tomatoes too early or too late
Even if the tomatoes germinate successfully, good conditions are required for the seedlings to become strong plants.
© Zoonar/Imago
If you sow tomatoes too quickly, you will end up with large plants too quickly.
Since they are only allowed outside from the Ice Saints in mid-May, they grow tall, become thin, spiny and not strong.
In a greenhouse you do not face this problem.
Seedlings grown and planted too late may not have enough time to produce mature fruit before the end of the season.
Around mid-March is a good time to grow tomatoes indoors; you can also start growing tomatoes in the greenhouse at the end of February.
Mistake #2: The wrong substrate
Adult plants often don't mind if you don't provide them with special soil.
However, this can have serious consequences for seeds and seedlings.
If the substrate contains too many nutrients, it is counterproductive for the seedlings - they grow too quickly, but the roots do not form a wide network.
The plant does not grow strong and is wobbly.
Use peat-free potting soil, which is lower in nutrients.
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter from our partner 24garten.de.
Mistake #3: Tomatoes lack light
On the one hand, tomatoes are light germinators.
Covering the seeds with too much soil when sowing makes germination more difficult.
But even once they have germinated, the plants still need a lot of light.
Too little of it causes them to become long and thin, they become susceptible to disease and break off more easily.
Ideally, tomato seedlings should receive 16 hours of light per day.
If you don't have a growth lamp for plants, you have to keep the plants as bright as possible.
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Mistake #4: Too little or too much moisture
Proper watering is a key factor in the healthy growth of tomato plants.
Too little moisture nips the seeds in the bud; too much water causes the seedlings to drown and rot.
Therefore, keep the substrate evenly moist, but not wet, and choose a growing tray with drainage holes or a drainage layer.
It is best to place transplanted plants in their pot with a saucer to detect excess water.
Mistake #5: Incorrect temperature
Mediterranean plants such as zucchini and tomatoes like it warm and without major temperature fluctuations.
A good growing temperature is 20 to 24 degrees Celsius.
After germination, this is reduced to 18 to 20 degrees Celsius.
If you move the young plants from a warm house to a cool place within a short period of time, you risk them dying due to the temperature shock.
Avoid drafts and acclimatise the growing plants with cooler air every hour.
Pricked plants do well in a slightly cooler but bright place.