Tomato quandry....!!!

[northepaul]

Hi all,
I planted my tomato seeds in propagator back in the beginning of feb. As soon as they sprouted I took the lids off and turned the heat off - they are against white background in south facing very sunny window anyway and have the radiator at night. I read somewhere they should be re-potted when they have two true leaves, however a friend who grows them all the time, swears they shouldnt be until they have 6 true leaves....??

The problem is they are very big now- about 4-5 inches and tend to fall over they have around 3 or 4 true leaves. I feel that I should re-pot them but dont want to loose the whole crop because of my naivety!

[Jillyreeves]

I personally would be tempted to re pot them if they are leggy, just handle with care and re pot up to just below the first leaves. If you are at all worried why not just re pot half now and when you are sure they are OK do the other half :-)

[kiwirach]

i repotted mine before they grew their first true leaves as they were very leggy due to the window they are in. i potted them deep and they have taken off, now have a good 6 true leaves each, and have had to be repotted again.....again planted up to the bottom leaves. now that the sun is warming up, i'm putting them outside when its out, so i'm hoping the leggyness will stop now....if not, repot!!.

[selfraising]

i repotted mine before they grew their first true leaves as they were very leggy due to the window they are in. i potted them deep and they have taken off, now have a good 6 true leaves each, and have had to be repotted again.....again planted up to the bottom leaves. now that the sun is warming up, i'm putting them outside when its out, so i'm hoping the leggyness will stop now....if not, repot!!.

I agree, some I have re-potted before true leaves to avoid them getting too leggy

[rustylady]

What size pots are they in?

[northepaul]

Thanks all, you just confirmed what I thought I should do, just follow my instincts but being new to growing them, I wanted to double check.
Rustylady, they are in a small seed tray that goes with the propagator.

[rustylady]

Rustylady, they are in a small seed tray that goes with the propagator.

They really need to be potted individually when they have three or four proper leaves. Otherwise they get really crowded, hence they are getting tall and soft and falling over. Pot them on asap into individual smallish pots (3 inch?) and bury them to the level of the lowest leaves.