Growing a tomato plant inside my house-- help me make this successful

[newfoundland]

I am located on the East coast of England in Lincolnshire. Ours is a coolish climate compared to some and when the East wind blows in the winter it comes straight from the Russian Steppes. We are in a marshland area which often floods in the winter or some years it just get squelchy till about April. Not ideal for growing tomatoes but I have successfully grown them outside in hot years and always inside tomatoes have done well. Newfoundland is the name of the farm.

 

[bachbach1]

I must say I have never heard of putting a fan on them? You must, for example if you grow them in a greenhouse, open the window to prevent the atmosphere getting too humid, as this can cause problems with rot. Normally, if you grow them on a window ledge in your home, it will not get that humid as you would open a window anyway if the atmosphere got unpleasant. Keep the atmosphere bouyant and you won't need any fans, fancy equipment, lamps, exotic compost etc. These really are the cheapest, easiest plants to grow.

A fan will toughen them like the wind outdoors. Sometimes if they shoot up too tall and thin you can prevent it with a little artificial wind.

 

[Arielle]

I am located on the East coast of England in Lincolnshire. Ours is a coolish climate compared to some and when the East wind blows in the winter it comes straight from the Russian Steppes. We are in a marshland area which often floods in the winter or some years it just get squelchy till about April. Not ideal for growing tomatoes but I have successfully grown them outside in hot years and always inside tomatoes have done well. Newfoundland is the name of the farm.

Visited England MANY years ago--- loved the endless fields, like a crazy quilt bordered by rock walls and shrubs. London was ok-- I'm not a city girl. lol Glad you get to enjoy tomatos, even if it means growing them indoors.As you can see I neeed all the help I can get. lol


Update on the plants--

I put about 7 "pots" in the window sill, and only 2 have plants as of this morning. Looks like someone pulled them out.

So strange. WIll talk to my boys and see if one fesses up.

One plant has shriveled up and is dying. Others are showing signs of dying off again just like the others.

Removed 5-6 that showed no wilt, none at all, and moved those to window sill.

 

[Arielle]

Took 5 that are showing signs and moved them to north window which gets LOTS of indirect sun.

( My north side is the sunniest as is has no trees near the house.)

 

[hosspak]

Took 5 that are showing signs and moved them to north window which gets LOTS of indirect sun.

( My north side is the sunniest as is has no trees near the house.)

What is "LOT'S of indirect sun?" Sounds like an oxymoron... Can you find a place for a lot of direct sun? Once they have leaves they need sun to grow, before this they take nutrients from their seed coats and then from the soil. The sun is the best energy they can have. If you are still concerned about outside temps, you should build a makeshift greenhouse; plastic sheeting, cardboard box, maybe a wood frame. Put them out in direct sunlight and they will thrive.

 

[Arielle]

I moved more of them to the south windows. Filtered light thru the bare trees for now.

Maybe it is something about the location and the timing-- these have several true leaves, and the "first" leaves are wilting, and the tips of the true lives are wilting.

On several I pruned back to good stems. An experiment.

 

[hosspak]

I moved more of them to the south windows. Filtered light thru the bare trees for now.

Maybe it is something about the location and the timing-- these have several true leaves, and the "first" leaves are wilting, and the tips of the true lives are wilting.

On several I pruned back to good stems. An experiment.

Remember, more leaves mean more access to sunlight, more sunlight means more energy for building more cells, more cells mean bigger plants. Stop experimenting and grow them little suckers.....

 

[newfoundland]

I simply cannot understand what is going wrong here? You mentioned earlier in another post that the window was cold. Is it double glazed? Seedlings do need a fairly constant temperature, so if the heating goes off at night you will need to put the plastic lid of a propagator over them. If the window gets cold at night move them into the room for warmth. Once they are a few inches tall they are more hardy and will tolerate temperature fluctuations better. Only water them when the compost feels and looks dry, water to the rim of the pot and then leave them for about 3 days before watering again. As they grow, they will need more water. never use freezing cold tap water, leave it in the can for half an hour to get to room temperature. Could you have a mouse? these will demolish seedlings overnight. We must solve this mystery it is driving me mad!

 

[Arielle]

Red Spider Mite. Have looked over 3 plants very carefully and do not see any bugs. For the red spider mite, apparrently holding white paper beneath a leaf, gently shaking, then use a ______glass for a close up look. RX is soapy water.

All the pics showed well established plants. Often healthy ones side by side with a pale green plant.

On my plants, die off starts after true leaves have appreared; Seems to happen to all the plants at once; then tips of true leaves start to wilt.

This is about 60 plants!




If these all die off, I can still try a couple other options.

New pots, perhaps shorter, squatter type.

Microwave or oven treat potting soil.

Set up in new area.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

You say you're using red cups. Those plastic red party cups? The mystery failures have grabbed my attention too. I didn't notice if you mentioned where you got your seed.