Hi. This is the first of two questions about my cherry tomato seedlings. I started them from seeds on 10 march. At this point they are between two and three feet tall. They have outgrown their light boxes twice and so I keep building bigger ones! I transplanted them into bigger pots, and I am pruning flowers that appear.
They seem healthy, with strong stems.
But they are double in height than last year! I am wondering if I have done anything “wrong” and if I should do something special on account of their huge stature before I put them into the ground in two weeks.
The picture below is of the taller half of my crop of 24 seedlings.
Thank you for your question and the photo of your tomato plants.
What a lovely “problem” to be facing. The fact that your plants have developed faster this year could be due to different growing conditions, different seeds or cultivars. It doesn’t look at all like you “have done anything wrong”
If you have concerns that the plants are too leggy and spindly due to lack of sufficient light please consider the suggestions outlined here: Growing from seed *
Also, running a fan nearby to gently create a wind by the seedlings several times a day generally curtails the plants from reaching much higher as they are fooled into focusing energy on root development instead.
From what we can see in the photo, the plants look quite healthy, viable and ready for hardening off to get in the garden. When transplanting to larger containers or directly into the garden, plant them more deeply, burying the lower stems. Adventitious roots will then develop, strengthening the plant’s root system.
Enjoy the “fruits” of your labour.