Why Are My Tomato Plants Smaller?

I heard this comment made a few days ago about starting Tomato and Pepper Plants. One of my readers said, "My plants are so small compared to the Nurseries and Big Box Stores. What am I doing wrong?"



My Answer:

My plants are also small compared to the Nurseries! Not to worry.

I think I start my tomatoes at the right time. From the First of March through Mid April. They will be plenty big enough to hold their own when they are planted out at the proper time after all chance of late frost is gone.


However, Nurseries and big box stores know we are all anxious to get our gardens going in the very early of Spring. We're so sick of winter! So they get their plants to market way too early - knowing you will buy them!


Usually these plants are also given a good shot of "Miracle Grow" so they will grow big fast and look enticing to you. To much of a good thing I think.

Too much Nitrogen can turn a tomato plant into a gorgeous Bush - with lots and lots of foliage. You may end up with a beautiful plant with lots of leaves that may never flower or grows fruit. It's been treated so well that it doesn't think it will Ever have to grow Progeny. It thinks Winter will never come! It's going to live forever. A nice delusion for the Tomato or Pepper Plant, but not for your Canning plans!


This is not good. And, most beginners will give the plant another shot of Miracle Grow etc. during or shortly after planting it! My advice. Wait a few weeks after planting to fertilize. About half maturity. Give it a little fertilizer. Then a little more After it blooms to help it develop fruit. That's it.

Of course, by early April, we're all desperate to start Spring aren't we. And we're chomping at the bit to start our gardens - Now! Tilling might be in order. Planting Not unless you live in the warmer zones and even there you might get a late frost to kill your plants. Listen to the weatherman. If you have plants out and a late frost is threatening. Even a light frost.


Cover your Tomatoes and Peppers if you put them out early. Cool Weather Plants like onions, Lettuce, etc., don't worry to much unless a hard freeze is predicted. They love cool weather!


Usually tomatoes and peppers get planted to early by beginning gardeners because of the beautiful plants found in the stores. Then they wander why their plants just sat there doing nothing for a month - or worse yet - died from the cold ground or even a late frost.


The stores are not to concerned. They are just giving people what they want. "A quick "Shot of Spring" to bring them out of the Winter Doldrums. Then comes the disappointment and long faces when these beautiful plants don't live up to their promise.






The beginning gardener assumes that if it wasn't time to plant their Tomatoes and Peppers, the Nurseries  wouldn't be selling them. Wrong!


It is a ruse perpetuated by some stores preying on  naive new gardeners. The only thing safe to plant in early spring of course is potatoes, onions, and other cool weather crops. Learn what they are and you wont get burned. Tomatoes and Peppers are warm weather plants - semi tropical even. They want and need warm soil - or they will just set there. It's just getting warm enough for Peppers in late May or even the First of June in zone 6. 

Of course, people with experience shelter their warm weather plants (if they set them out at all) in mid April or the first week of May.


But Yes. I am going to start mine in December too next year. I start my own because I have complete control. I plan to shelter mine for several weeks . I know how to protect them if I set them out a little early. You can too if you take special care to keep them safe from late frosts etc. It is not to hard.


The problem with starting really early say February, is when they are leafing out and getting tall and need real sunlight and fresh air in March so they can grow strong; where do you go with them?


I am currently working on a Mini-Greenhouse that can be heated on cold nights with a small electric heater or even a few 100 watt incandescent bulbs or may be adequately protected by a cold shed or garage until the plants can be wheeled outside in the spring.

Hopefully it will hold a Hundred or so Tomatoes or Peppers that are up to 1 foot tall. I am projecting the cost to build it to be somewhere between 50 and 75 dollars. And maybe 10 to 15 dollars a month to run. Not to expensive to raise a hundred tomatoes. I don't see anything like that on the market so I will attempt to build it myself. I don't consider the small grow-light setups to be adequate for a hundred or so plants - and they are very over priced!

However, even if you feel that your Tomato Plants and Pepper Plants are too small. When it warms up in May, and you think you are setting them out late; they will undoubtedly catch up Fast with the Nursery Plants - which were put out too early and that are now expending their energy trying to recover from the cold instead of settling down to grow as you "late" tomato plants are quickly doing.

Don't be discouraged. Your small Tomato and Pepper Plants may even bear fruit before the early-bird Store plants. Watch them and you will see. Your plants will soon catch up!


Bob
GrandBob

Copyright 2010 Robert Mader

All Rights Reserved

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ARBORDAY PLANT HARDINESS ZONE MAP- [ Click on it to Enlarge]

Because of Climate Changes, the Arbor day Organization has an updated map since 2006.My location has changed from zone 6 to zone 7. Western Kansas was in zone 5 when I was a kid. Now it is updated to zone 6. Global warming? Periodical Climate Change, End of a mini ice-age. Who knows why, but these real changes in climate can effect your gardening drastically.

If you are not sure where the division lines are in your state, just go to arborday.org and plug in your Zip Code. If your are new to gardening, you should be aware of "Micro-Climates". On a cold clear day when the sun is shining, walk around with a thermometer and make notes of the temperature and air-flow at different locations of your property. You may actually see changes of several degrees. For example, the North side of your house may register 35 degrees. The south side - out of the North wind and full sunshine may register much higher. In the spring, if you start your tomatoes in an open field, they may be exposed to wind chills that will easily kill them . If you plant them next to a tall closed fence that blocks the the North wind and gets lots of Southern sunshine, you might be able to plant tomatoes in this spot 2 weeks earlier! The only way to know for sure is to study the different areas and take notes for this spring and then test these areas out by planting in those areas.

A simple, inexpensive, and fast way to test an area (or soil etc.), is to sneak into your wife's supply of pinto beans in the kitchen. Plant them and see what happens. To the seeds that is... We know what will happen if your wife catches you in the larder sneaking her beans.

Remember the intrepid Austrian Monk - Gregor Johann Mendel who developed the theory of heredity and give us the first scientific study of Genetics. By planting beans and observing them? Taking notes on their colors, growing habits, dominance and recessiveness and other genetic factors? Yes, the scientific method in action even way back then. Contrary to popular opinion, and much misleading "ax to grind" historical propaganda, a la' the "Divinci Code".

Beans are a great way to Test your micro-climates in your garden and also a good way to test your soil nutritional properties. They sprout fast and they grow fast - and their cheap!

Testing Your Soil's Nutrition Value - With Beans

I recently tested 3 areas in my small garden plot (I designated 3 areas and took samples from each area planting 10 pots from each area. Within a week, all the beans in area A and area B were sprouting. Out of 10 pots, Area C had only one plant sprout! All got the same lighting, temperature and water. In the end, a few weeks later; Area A and Area B plants were a foot tall and every pot had a nice plant growing. The C pots had only 2 sickly plants (an 80% failure rate). Obviously, Area C soil was lacking something or had to much of something else!

Simple Test For Soil Composition

I later done a soil make-up test with a quart jar filled with 2/3 soil and filled to the top with water. I shook it up thoroughly then left it to settle out undisturbed for a few days. What did it look like. The soil sample was made up of 1/3 clay, clearly visible in the top layers of the sample. And the water smelled exceedingly Sour! Here was a possible clue why the beans (and other plants) grew so poorly in Area C in my garden. Tons of clay and sour soil! Very alkaline. Most garden plants like soil on the Acid side.

Using this simple test, you can even figure out the percentages of clay, etc. is in your soil. At the very top will be a thin layer of the lightest particles in the soil. bits of leaves, sticks, etc. Next will be fine clay then heavier clay. Just below that you will see a little courser material, this is the nutritional area of the soil usually, hopefully abundant. The last layer, the heaviest in the water mix is fine sand, course sand and lastly small rocks. You can actually put a ruler up against the jar and measure - then figure the percentages of each layer of material. Ask your neighbor for a sample of soil from the most productive parts of his garden. Do the fruit jar test on these and Compare his soil with yours. You might be amazed - and discover an eye-opener.

For the soils nutritional value, you can buy your own simple PH kits just about any plant store.

If your new to gardening, don't be afraid to test, test, test. That's how you learn and become an expert in your garden. And it needn't cost a dime.

If you enjoyed this article and found it useful, click on the comment area and leave a short note.

Leave a nickname if you like. (No one will call you while your just sitting down to dinner or send you silly junk mail with blank return addresses so you'll try to guess who it is. Nor will doing so cause you to receive fake "Your a Lottery Winner" notices in your e-mail etc.) You have my word. Your comments help me to know what kind of articles You like and what You want. This blog Is a labor of love of gardening and I do it for the pleasure of teaching people young and old the joys of experimental Gardening, food self-reliance and respect for Gods beautiful gifts of wondrous plants and flowers.

And for you oldsters. Gardening is the best exercise in the world. You'll get lots of fresh air. Lots of bending and usually light lifting which keeps you limber, keeps your limbs strong and the mental challenges keep your brain from rotting - unlike your TV and easy chair. It also gives you plenty of walking. (Who needs a mall?). It will also get you off your behind and maybe even take some weight off your sore feet and extended middle! And obviously, Gardening is also a very productive endeavor economicly. When you first bring in those fresh vegetables and taste and smell fresh onions and tomatoes from your Garden, as opposed to the plastic vegetables found in the "crisper" shelf of your frig; you'll know what I mean. Not only that, your tomatoes will be vine ripe and Round, not anemic pink, golf ball size and square like the ones bred for stacking in the vegetable aisle of your Super Grocer, Tire and Electronic Toy store!

Thanks for stopping by. Again, comments are always appreciated!

GrandBob