Lack of lighting, incorrect temperature conditions, excess moisture and density of crops are the main reasons why seedlings stretch out. Thin seedlings are not a disaster, unlike blackleg, but such a plant will not be able to fully realize its potential and reward you with a harvest.

Therefore, we propose to talk in more detail about why do seedlings stretch, what to do to prevent seedlings from stretching, but she grew up strong and moderately well-fed.

Pulling seedlings: how to avoid it?

• Don't sow your seedlings too early unless you can provide additional light. It is the lack of light that is the main reason why seedlings stretch out. The problem is especially pressing for those who grow seedlings in an apartment and have, at best, 1-2 “southern” windowsills. But even on a southern windowsill in February-March there is still too little light. And at some point you notice that the seedlings stretched out- this is still a normal reaction healthy plant which strives for light. In this case, additional lighting of plants in gloomy weather, as well as in the evening and morning, will help. For these purposes, they do not use ordinary incandescent lamps, otherwise the seedlings will get burned, but special phytolamps or housekeeper lamps, fluorescent lamps. If you don’t want to burden yourself with additional lighting for the seedlings, plant them later, otherwise you are guaranteed thin seedlings.
• Too high a temperature encourages plants to grow, and the seedlings are stretched to the detriment of the development of the root system. You know that before the seeds hatch, the air temperature should be approximately 25 degrees, after the first shoots emerge, it is lowered to 15 degrees, and after a week it is raised again to 20 degrees (on average, for different cultures the temperature may be higher or lower, but in an apartment it is difficult to maintain such subtleties of the microclimate). The night temperature should lag behind the day temperature by 3-5 degrees. For an apartment, 15 degrees is, of course, cool, but you have to make sacrifices and leave the window open at night. Otherwise, don't be surprised why are the seedlings thin and long?
• Seedlings also become very stretched due to excessive watering. If at the same time the temperature in the room is high, you will create tropical conditions and you will get vines, not strong ones. For about a week after germination, the seedlings are not watered unless absolutely necessary, and then watered about once a week.
• Thickened plantings are another sign that the seedlings have stretched out. In the struggle for valuable light, without which photosynthesis does not occur in plants, the seedlings stretch out. If we are talking about tiny plants, pick them up. If the seedlings are closely grown, you can use the famous Jacob Mittlider's method and remove one or two lower leaves as soon as the seedlings begin to touch. When placed in a stressful state, seedlings stop growing and the stem “gets fat.” After about a week, the plants begin to grow again; if necessary, the operation can be repeated.

• Improper feeding of seedlings indirectly affects the elongation of seedlings. On initial stages For development to form a good root system, the plant needs, for the most part, phosphorus and potassium. Seedlings do not need shock doses of nitrogen at first. If you use soil for planting with fertilizers, and also soak the seeds in growth stimulants, the seedlings are not fertilized for the first two weeks.

The seedlings have stretched out: what to do?

If additional lighting is not available and the seedlings are stretched out, you can correct the situation using the following methods:

Adult seedlings, on the eve of permanent planting, can simply be planted, like overgrown ones, in deep holes at an angle of 45 degrees, with the root system to the south, sprinkled with soil right up to the leaves. What will it give? Over time, roots will appear on a long stem, and the stem, tending to the sun, will straighten, and you will get a strong plant.

For small seedlings that will have to languish in the apartment for a long time, we urgently stop watering them and be sure to lower the temperature. This “shock therapy” will cause the seedlings to stop growing for a while, and when they wilt slightly, carefully bend the stem into a ring and sprinkle it with soil right up to the leaves. If there is enough space in the container with seedlings, you can not bend the stem, but simply add soil to the leaves. Additional roots will appear on the stem, and the seedlings will grow strong.

To keep the seedlings strong, growth regulators (for example, “Athlet”) are also used, which promote the development of the root system and do not allow the above-ground parts to outgrow. These preparations are used both for spraying and watering at the root, but not before two or three true leaves appear. Although not all gardeners welcome such artificial intervention in the growth process of vegetable crops.

So, to prevent seedlings from stretching, it is enough to provide them with normal lighting and temperature, and not do a disservice with watering and fertilizing. But if the seedlings have a thin stem, this is also not a death sentence: watering is stopped, the temperature is lowered, and the plant itself is deepened into the ground down to the leaves. The use of growth regulators is up to you.

After planting seeds, inexperienced gardeners can observe the following picture: the seedlings are very thin and grow higher and higher, and root system still weak. Why is this happening? Let's try to understand the reasons and correct the situation.

If the seedlings have stretched out, there are several ways to save the situation

Reasons for pulling tomatoes

If seedlings stretch, then there is no need to blame the wrong variety or look for other excuses. The reasons are quite simple:

Greed. Not everyone has the opportunity to grow seedlings on spacious balconies; usually there are 2-3 windows. Therefore, housewives do not spare seeds and plant them very densely. Such plants begin to grow in a dense forest, and each of them strives to receive a ray of light. As a result, the tomatoes race towards the sun.

It is difficult to obtain high-quality seedlings from such elongated seedlings

It is better to plant fewer seeds to get strong and healthy bushes. The harvest from such tomatoes will be much greater than from stunted sprouts.

Excessive concern. What does taking care of a plant include - watering and fertilizing. If you do this very often, the bushes will quickly stretch out. It is necessary to water only when the soil is completely dry. If there is no extreme heat, then after germination it is recommended not to water the sprouts for 10 days. Fertilizing should also be done carefully. It is very important not to feed nitrogen fertilizers. If this happens, the sprouts will begin to “thicken” and this will not benefit the plant.

Each bush should have enough space to grow

It is quite easy to identify overfed seedlings. The uppermost small leaves begin to curl inward. With severe overfeeding, the entire top will be twisted and dented.

Lack of light. In poorly or rarely lit rooms, tomatoes will stretch upward. Seedlings need to be provided with sixteen hours of daylight.

Stretched seedlings fall from their own weight

Therefore, it is necessary to purchase fluorescent lamps. It is advisable to turn them on in the mornings and evenings.

Thin seedlings

If, after all, the tomato seedlings have stretched out and become thin, then you can use the following methods:

Planting tomatoes in the ground should occur with deepening of the stems. This does not mean that the holes are dug deep; planting at an angle should be studied. You cannot plant seedlings deep, because the ground below is still cold and the roots may freeze. To begin with, grooves are formed with a depth of 8–10 cm. Next, they are filled with water and waited until completely absorbed. Then the seedlings are laid out along the grooves so that the tops of the plants are at a distance of about 50 cm.

Tomatoes are planted lying down with their roots facing south.

The roots must always face south. IN in this case the plant will straighten up faster, because it will begin to reach for the sun.

Severely overgrown seedlings are divided into 2 parts. We count 5-6 leaves from the roots and cut off the remaining top. Place the cut part in a container with water. After 7 days, roots will appear on such plants. You should wait until they reach 1–1.5 cm, after which they can be planted in pots or boxes. This method allows you not only to cope with the problem of elongated tomatoes, but also to obtain additional seedlings. The resulting plants form into one stem. On the lower part of the cut plant we wait for the stepsons to appear. They should grow to 5 cm.

Planting with depth to the first true leaf

20–25 days before landing in open ground pruning of the stepsons begins. The top two stepsons are left, and all the rest are removed.

Shortening seedlings before planting delays the first fruits

The plant has grown a lot, and there is still a lot of time before planting in open ground, so you can sprinkle it. This can only be done when there is still plenty of space in the pot. Before adding new soil, the seedlings are not watered for several days.

1. After this, the wilted tomato stems are laid in a spiral along the contour of the pot. Each new turn is covered with earth. The very last layer is compacted and watered abundantly.
2. If there is not enough space in the pot, you can pick tomatoes in a container with a higher height. The trunk is not twisted, but simply covered with layers of soil. Each layer is watered generously.

Nitrogen deficiency is manifested by yellowing of leaves

These two methods allow you to get rid of the problem. The buried parts of the trunk will soon act as roots. As a result, the root system will be strengthened, and the tomatoes will receive additional nutrition.

Urea slows down growth

Let's look at how you can slow down the growth of a plant using watering. If the plant begins to stretch and changes color, this indicates that it does not have enough nitrogen. In this case, it is necessary to make a solution from urea. To do this, dilute 1 tablespoon of urea in 10 liters of water. The resulting solution should be watered over all the seedlings. Next, all the boxes with tomatoes are put away in a cool place so that the temperature is no higher than 8–10 degrees. After carrying out this procedure, the seedlings will turn green again and slightly slow down their growth.

Watering with urea slows down the growth of seedlings

A little about temperature

Temperature is very interconnected with light. If there is a lot of light, then the temperature regime is allowed to be higher. Optimal temperature in good lighting it is +25 degrees. But on cloudy days, the favorable temperature will be + 18 degrees. It is not advisable to drop below +17 degrees for the first 3–4 weeks of growth. This can lead to the development of root rot. To insulate a cold window sill, you can place foam under the boxes.

The temperature for seedlings should be at least 24 degrees

Non-compliance temperature regime is the main reason for tomatoes stretching.

Lack of light causes sprouts to stretch

It is especially common among vegetable growers who grow seedlings in room conditions. After all, it is very difficult to achieve a certain temperature in an apartment without additional equipment.

Illumination of tomato seedlings should be at least 14 hours a day

There are three small tips that suggest applying experienced gardeners to prevent the plant from growing quickly upward:

• Using a piece of cardboard or just using your hand, move it over the plant 2-3 times with gentle movements. The seedlings will be squat and strong. This happens because when touched, the leaves release ethylene gas, which stunts plant growth. But this method is effective when there is enough light.

High-quality seedlings - low, dense, green

• Five to six times a day it is necessary to turn the pots or boxes so that the plant’s strength is spent on turning in the sunny direction.
• It is advisable to immediately transplant the elongated sprouts individually, then they will stop their rapid growth.

To prevent tomato seedlings from stretching, you must follow all the above tips and rules. Only then will it be possible to receive good fruits and satisfaction from your work.

At times, housewives who have planted are faced with the problem of pulling out their seedlings. We’ll tell you in detail what to do if tomato seedlings have stretched out and what methods can be used to prevent this.

Why do tomato seedlings stretch?

If tomato seedlings have stretched out, then there is no need to blame the variety for this and look for justifying explanations, the reason is banal - the owner did not pay attention (or over looked). Many will be surprised: “What could the hostess do wrong?” It turns out that this is the most important thing. Here are two basic rules for preventing tomato seedlings from stretching.

1. Light. Nature has thought through all its mechanisms down to the smallest nuances. Natural behavior of plants: there is not enough light - reach for it. Therefore, when planting tomatoes in boxes, do not be greedy. There is no need to try to cram as much as possible into one box. It would be better if you have fewer bushes, but they will be healthy and strong. Such seedlings will produce much more fruit than frail, stunted sprouts grown in cramped conditions. And you must agree, it is better to care for 20 bushes that bear fruit well than 50 that produce the same amount of harvest.
2. Extra care. This can also be very harmful to your seedlings. After all, if you overwater and fertilize young tomatoes, they will grow too quickly and begin to stretch upward. As a result, a problem with pulling will appear. Remember the main thing: you need to water only when you see that the soil is dry.

Correcting the situation

You now know how to prevent stretching. It remains to tell you what to do if this does happen.

1 way. When planting seedlings in the ground, it is necessary to deepen the stems. But this does not mean that you need to dig deep holes (the ground below may still be cold and not warmed up after the winter), it’s enough just to learn how to plant “on an incline.” First of all, form grooves 8-10 cm deep, pour in water and wait until completely absorbed. Afterwards, arrange the plants along the furrow so that the top of one bush is no closer to the other top than at a distance of 50 cm. A little trick: lay the roots to the south, so the plant will straighten, straightening out towards the sun.

Method 2. Severely overgrown tomato seedlings can be divided into two parts. To do this, everything that is above 5-6 leaves must be cut off and placed in a jar of water. After about a week, roots will appear on the cut tops. When they reach 1-1.5 cm, you can transplant the resulting seedlings into boxes or pots. This method will allow you to get additional seedlings, the new half of which will form into one stem.

Now let's talk about what needs to be done with the lower part from which the trim was made. Soon, stepsons will appear on the pruned bushes. Let them grow 5 cm and, leaving only the top 2, cut off all the bottom ones. Consider the main thing. Pruning of stepchildren should be carried out no earlier and no later than 20-25 days before planting seedlings in open ground.

3 way. Here we will consider a situation where the seedlings not only stretched out, but also changed their healthy green color to pale green. Both of these signs indicate that your seedlings are lacking nitrogen. Naturally, it is necessary to feed her. To do this correctly, you need to dilute 1 large spoon of urea per 10 liters of water and thoroughly water the seedlings with the resulting liquid. Then we put the containers with tomatoes in a cool room (8-10 degrees C) for several days. As a result of such actions, the seedlings will begin to acquire a good green color and even stop growing a little.

Tomatoes are the crop that is most often grown seedling method. If the tomato seedlings have stretched out, there is no need to panic or worry. First we need to determine why this happened. And then decide what needs to be done to stop the growth of seedlings.

Factors contributing to plant elongation

In order for actions to strengthen the stems of seedlings to be correct, it is necessary to determine why the stems have become longer. Let us name the main reasons for the sprouts to be pulled out.

• Insufficient lighting

Short daylight hours or cloudy weather do not allow plants to receive the right amount of light. Also, sprouts receive insufficient light when they are planted densely in one box.

Transporting the container with sprouts to a more illuminated place will help save the tomatoes from further stretching and blanching. Also, to eliminate this factor, you can use additional lamps, and you need to hang them not only on top, but also on the sides of the boxes with tomato seedlings, so that every part of the sprouts is illuminated. If the plants are planted tightly in one box, then they need to be planted in separate containers.

How to prevent the problem? Initially, seedling containers should be placed on the southern windows where the a large number of Sveta. In other places it is necessary to immediately install additional lighting, which will compensate for the lack of sunlight. These devices need to be turned on in the morning and evening to provide the seedlings with approximately 16 hours of daylight.

Also, to prevent seedlings from being pulled out due to lack of light, it is recommended to plant them in separate pots and replant them after the formation of the first pair of true leaves. This is done in order to provide each bush with the necessary amount of light and space that it so needs.

• Incorrect temperature

Tomatoes are heat-loving plants, for correct height and development they need optimal temperature conditions. If the temperature constantly fluctuates, then tomato seedlings become long and thin.

What to do? Lower the temperature by 4–5 o C so that the sprouts stop reaching for the light and direct their energies to strengthening the root system.

To prevent this problem from affecting you, in the first two weeks after germination it is necessary to provide the seedlings with additional lighting and a temperature from 15 o C to 18 o C, then to stimulate development, increase the temperature to 25 o C. As soon as the sprouts reach the desired height, the air temperature needs to be lowered again. If all conditions are met, the seedlings at the time of replanting are small lush bushes with a thick, slightly purple stem and dark green foliage.

If possible, you need to combine air temperature and illumination: in bright light, maintain a temperature of +25 o C - +28 o C, in low light - about +19 o C.

• Too active care of seedlings

Abundant watering and excess fertilizer also leads to stretching of seedlings. If there is a large amount of nitrogen in the soil, this can be determined by appearance plants: the upper leaves begin to curl inward, and the more fertilizer, the more the leaves curl.

In such a situation, it is necessary to balance the feeding and water less frequently.

It is necessary only after the soil has completely dried, and fertilizing should be done in optimal quantities.

• Nitrogen deficiency

If tomato seedlings are elongated, thin and pale, it means there are few nitrogen compounds in the soil.

It is necessary to feed the tomatoes. After watering the seedlings well with the solution (it is prepared from urea, taken in the amount of one spoon per ten liters of water), they are moved to a cool place with a temperature of about 10 o C. Despite a slight stop in growth, the color will become darker and brighter in a few days. After the color changes, the seedlings are transported to their original location.

To prevent nitrogen deficiency, it is worth applying fertilizers containing this element as needed.

How to reduce the length of a sprout?

Long seedlings can be planted in a deeper container if, before planting, permanent place There's still a lot of time left. In this case, it is necessary to gradually add soil before watering to cover the elongated stem.

You can reduce a very long stem using a slightly different method. For this purpose, it is slightly dried so that the sprout wilts a little. Then lay the stem in a spiral along the walls of the container, sprinkling each row with soil. After this, the soil is lightly compacted and watered well. Adventitious roots will form on the buried part of the stem, and the bush itself will develop better.

To normalize the development of tomatoes, you can also use growth regulators such as Epin or Zircon. It is necessary to dissolve two drops of the product in a glass of water and spray the plants. They should be back to normal by the end of the week. Of course, there is a certain risk in using this method, because it leads to an artificial stop in the growth of plant cells.

Transplantation into the ground

If, nevertheless, by the time of replanting the sprouts have stretched out, then they can be planted in a permanent place in the following ways.

• Bury the plants into the soil.

First prepare furrows about 10 cm deep and water them well. It is necessary to plant the sprouts at an angle so that the top is on the north side and the roots are on the south. There should be about half a meter between the bushes. Then the sprout is carefully sprinkled with earth, leaving the upper part above the ground. Soon, roots will form on the buried part of the stem, and the sprout will straighten and grow.

• A few weeks before planting, cut off elongated seedlings just above the fifth or sixth leaf.

Place the cut top part in water until roots appear. When the roots reach 1.5 cm in length, the sprout must be planted in a container. Thus, from one long sprout two short ones are obtained. When transplanting the lower part, a plant with two stems is formed, leaving two upper stepsons when pruning. And from the top a single-stem bush is formed.

• You can reduce the length of the plant using the Western method.

To do this, use a sharp, treated blade to cut off the sprout at the roots and top. Connect the upper and lower parts, secure the junction with ordinary tape, and plant the sprout in the ground in the usual way.

• You can also plant an elongated tomato in a double hole.

To do this, make another hole in a prepared hole about 10 cm deep so that a container with seedlings can fit in it. First, the sprout must be planted in a deep hole. After it has taken root, the top one is filled in.

If the tomato seedlings have stretched out, become thin and pale, do not worry too much. You need to take the necessary measures in time and do everything possible so that by the time the time comes to plant the tomatoes in a permanent place, the sprouts are strong and healthy. After all, an elongated sprout takes longer to adapt during transplantation, begins to bear fruit later, and is more susceptible to various diseases and produces less yield than healthy and strong seedlings.

Tomato is one of the most common vegetable plants in the world. Since information about its origin is very scarce, many researchers believe that the birthplace of this fruit is the mountainous regions of Ecuador and Peru. Tomatoes are very beneficial for the human body and are a treasure in the kitchen, so don’t miss this opportunity and eat them more often.

What can be made from tomatoes? A mass is prepared from these fruits delicious dishes. They are eaten fresh, fried, boiled, canned, squeezed, stuffed, made into jam, desserts and even pies. By the way, Italian cuisine is rightfully considered the leader in the number of tomato dishes.

Anyone who wants to enjoy the taste of these fruits, especially those collected in their garden, often overcomes a lot of difficulties, since growing tomatoes at home requires a lot of patience and effort. To get a successful tomato harvest, you need to grow seedlings, which are quite capricious and require constant attention and care. And if you don’t follow the rules, then it may not survive to be planted in the ground. Especially often, novice gardeners have a question about why tomato seedlings are stretched. At the same time, she turns pale and begins to hurt. Then get from such seedlings good harvest becomes impossible.

What should I do to make her grow up strong and healthy? First of all, you need to determine the reasons for such stretching.

Reasons for pulling seedlings

Firstly, it comes from a lack natural light. If the window is
where you placed the seedlings faces north, or the climatic conditions are such that daylight hours are very short, then the plants will be drawn to the sun, which they really lack. But even in case good lighting, this can happen due to dense seedlings blocking the sun's rays.

Another reason why tomato seedlings stretch? The reason may be due to excessive high temperatures. And this is a paradox: for seedlings to germinate, plants need a lot of heat, but after they appear, the heat should be in moderate quantities so that the seedlings do not grow earlier than required for planting in open ground.

How to prevent this unwanted process?

It turns out there is nothing simpler. It is enough to follow a number of simple rules.

1. Additional lighting of young plants. Usually seeds are planted in March, when there is little daylight and the weather is constantly cloudy. As a result, the seedlings do not receive enough natural light and stretch out, so illuminate the plants with fluorescent lamps. But do not place them closer than half a meter from the seedlings. They should burn continuously until disembarkation, or until there is enough sunlight.

2. Compliance with temperature conditions. The most effective way is to maintain a low temperature in the room with young plants. Before seedlings germinate, it should be high, approximately 25 degrees. As soon as the seeds have sprouted, the temperature should be lowered to 15-20 degrees.

3. Planting density and proper watering. If you have a question about why tomato seedlings are stretched, then correct picking will help solve the problem. It stops growth for a while and provides an additional influx of light to each bush. You should not water the plants too often or abundantly. Twice a week is enough when they begin to fade slightly.

How can you achieve all this at home?

To do this, it is enough to place the pots with seedlings on the balcony or loggia and maintain the temperature at about 15 degrees. At the moment of additional lighting, the temperature will rise slightly, by about 5 degrees during the day, and in the evening, when the lamps are turned off, it will decrease. To avoid planting density, grow plants in separate pots, which need to be spaced out as they grow.

Subject to these simple rules, you will never again wonder why tomato seedlings grow, but will enjoy wonderful dishes from this amazing fruit grown with your own hands!