Why are my tomato sprouts pale

[eWestie]

Hi all, this is my first time starting plants from seed so I’m still figuring things out. My Roma tomatoes have been growing pretty decently, but they’re starting to get a bit pale, and I’m wondering what I should do about it. Any advice is welcome, thanks!

 

[MowgFace]

What medium are you growing in? Is it something like a peat moss based seed starting mix?

 

[eWestie]

It’s not peat moss, it says it’s made with coconut coir.

 

[MowgFace]

Could be nutrient related (though your starting mix states it has food), or an overwatering issue (it doesnt look to be too wet in your photo).

The true leaves look better than the seedy leaves, so I'd maybe just take a step back and see how they fare over the next couple of days.

Whats your watering schedule looking like?

 

[eWestie]

I’m watering once a day unless the soil looks dry, then I water as needed

 

[MowgFace]

Once a day could be too often. I try to let ~50% of the cells to appear dry before I re-water the lot. Also, paying attention to the weight of the cells once fully watered, and again when "dry" to give you an idea of proper timing.

 

[eWestie]

Thanks! I’ll try letting them dry out a bit

 

[MowgFace]

Regarding each of the cells, do you plan on keeping ALL of the seedlings or are you going to thin them to 1 plant per?

 

[eWestie]

I’m going to thin them to 1 plant, I was just waiting til they get a little bigger. When is the best time to thin them?

 

[MowgFace]

Usually I am of 2 camps:

When I am feeling "on-top of things" I thin pretty early, just choosing the biggest strongest, and either repotting the thinned plants to gift, or do experiments with. say 3ish weeks?

When i am feeling lazy, I let them go for FAR too long. I think I currently still have some "extra" tomatos that are sitting in a 6-cell with their twins still alive (though stunted). They're at 6 weeks now.

When I first started gardening I was super diligent, and have relaxed as time has gone on. Through curiosity, I have often let things go in less-than-optimal conditions just to see how they fare.

 

[eWestie]

Ok great, so you can repot the thinned plants? I read online that pulling them out disturbs the roots of the one you want to keep so I was just going to cut the extras out, but if that’s not true I’ll definitely repot

 

[MowgFace]

It is possible to damage the roots of the Prime plant.

The younger they are the less established the roots are and easier to leverage out.

What I have found is popping the entire root ball out of the cell gives me an idea of how tangled the roots are. You can also wash away the soil to make it easier to untangle. Note: Damage is still possible.

 

[eWestie]

Ok thanks!

 

[YumYum]

Fertilize. The true leaves are greenish so they are pulling the nitrogen out of the baby leaves because you don't have enough in the media.

It does sounds like your watering too much in which the free nutrients flow with water and out of the container.

They also need stronger sunlight as they are a little leggy.

The peppers look nice and green but they grow slower than tomatoes so that may be why.

 

[eWestie]

Fertilize. The true leaves are greenish so they are pulling the nitrogen out of the baby leaves because you don't have enough in the media.

It does sounds like your watering too much in which the free nutrients flow with water and out of the container.

They also need stronger sunlight as they are a little leggy.

The peppers look nice and green but they grow slower than tomatoes so that may be why.

Thanks, do you have any particular fertilizer you recommend?