Is this right?

[Jason Cartwright]

Hi,

At beginning of march i bought a strawberry pot and a tomato pot (The £1.50 ones from asda)
On the 1st of march i planted 3 of the strawberry seeds (i wasn't careful opening the packet and they went everywhere. 3 was all i found) into the pot as instructed and planted the tomato seeds on 3rd of march.
2 of the tomato seeds seem to be doing really well.



I transplanted them into the only container i had available at time (2.5lr paint pot) and recently zipper clipped them to canes.

Out of the 3 strawberry seeds 2 shown as seedlings. I transplanted them into a pot that already has a strawberry plug in. One of the seedlings has dried up and i really want to keep the other. It stands about 1-2cm above the soil and has been that way for what seems like ages


(the brown stick things on left of pic is the strawberry plug)

Is this right? Does it look ok? And How will/do i know if the strawberry plugs are doing well. They've been in since 3rd march and don't show any signs of doing anything.

Thanks

[donnakebab]

The strawberry plug looks dead to me so I'd be inclined to pop your seedling back where it was for the time being. What are they planted in? what ever it is there are some big lumps in it.

Somebody better qualified than me should be along soon. Good luck!

[Matt94]

donna's right the strawberry plug is dead, i think you may be over watering them as the soil looks very wet, has the pot got drainage holes in it?

as for the toms, they look very leggy/weak and pale, you can overcome this by planting the stems deeper.

hope that has answer your questions?
all the best,
matt

[FB.]

donna's right the strawberry plug is dead, i think you may be over watering them as the soil looks very wet, has the pot got drainage holes in it?

Yes, I'm wondering whether the strawberry is too wet, badly drained, or perhaps was planted too deep.
Maybe the plug plant was dead when purchased.

The same type of fungi (Phytophthora) which will rot fruit tree roots in saturated soil will also attack soft fruits in similar conditions.

[FB.]

I just put someuseful links talking about crown rot on the following topic, with at least one of the links mentioning strawberries being affected:

> link <

[Jason Cartwright]

I bought them plugs from Wilkos. Bugger!

So i need to replant the seedling in a different pot with drier compost and don't over water?
Get rid of strawberry plugs, and maybe try again with some more?
And
Plant the toms deeper?

I'll sort that tomorrow.

[singleseeder]

Jason, I am the first to recycle anything to grow food in, but I'm not sure about using paint pots. Perhaps there has been some effect from some remaining paint.

You might have read about 'Morrison buckets' (black buckets that flowers are displayed in) that we all use on here. They are usually sold for 99p for 8. I have a friendly Lidl manager who gives the buckets away if you ask nicely. I picked up 10 tonight. These buckets are ideal for growing toms in.

Good luck with the plants you still have.

[Leeds_lad]

A good tip for transplanting tomatoes has been said. Always plant them deeper than before, they are vines, you know what feels like hair on their stems? those are actually undeveloped roots and any of that that hits soil will turn into some lovely roots to make the plant stronger =D.
A rule of thumb i use is plant it 2/3 deeper than it was in the previous pot. It grows up like magic!