Brush tomato seedlings 1-2x/day
We sure spend a lot of time babying our seedlings. We start them indoors where it’s safe from the elements. We start our seedlings in excellent soil. Sometimes we use warm water or a warming pad underneath to help germination and growth. They bask under grow lights to keep them from getting spindley or leggy.
But guess what? Your tomato seedlings need a good workout every now and then, too.
“A workout ?”
You bet! The one thing that tomatoes miss from being outside is the wind. Movement helps build strong, thick stems, just like a Pilates workout will strengthen your “core”.
Older seedlings can use a more vigorous workout!
Exercise regimen:
- When the tomato seedlings reach about 2-3 inches, gently brush the tops of the plants with your hands once or twice a day
- Once they have their true leaves, and seedlings are over 4 inches tall, your tomatoes can handle a more vigorous workout. For nostalgia and entertainment, whip out those old Jane Fonda or Richard Simmons videos to get you and your tomatoes in the mood. Grab the stems and bend them back and forth. Do this to the higher part of the stems so that you won’t disturb the roots. A couple of times a day should suffice.
A research project from Cornell University and the University of Torino, Italy, showed mechanical brushing results in tomato plants that are shorter but stockier, have thicker stems, and are less likely to suffer transplantation stresses than seedlings that did not get a workout!
Love it!
… looks like I’ll finally have exercise partners that will have to stick with it with me! heheh
That’s awesome! I’ll definitely give that a try this year.
Phoebe, bre and Matt: There was a look of utter horror on my wife’s face when I told her that I’d have to “emulate some wind” to get the tomatoes to grow more vigorously!
Our sprouts aren’t quite ready to begin their exercise, but thanks for the instructions!
I wonder if a fan would work also.
Carol – maybe just a few minutes, also making sure your seedlings don’t dry out. If you have a lot of seedlings, you can just use the back of a broomstick to gently brush over the trays like Cornell does here. Carbon-footprint-wise, I’d go for the manual approach as it doesn’t even take a minute to do nor consumes electricity!
Good point about the energy consumption! I have also used the technique you described with good results. I do use fans in my greenhouse though, mostly to keep the air circulating.
You have a great blog BTW!
Thanks, Carol
Sounds like you’ve got quite an elaborate greenhouse. We’ve only got a cold frame due to lack of space, but luckily, we can grow many veggies year round.
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So glad for the warming pad tip!!! Why didn’t I think of that? I’ll be doing that today with the 2 flats of cucumbers/peppers,zuchinni/tomato plants that are TRYING to germinate! It’s too cool in the house I think. Thanks! Never heard of the work out but I will be trying it this year!
Wow.. You know, I usually brush across them whilst watering just because I love the smell of tomato plants.
But today I’ll put on the some music and …. emulate wind? Hahahaha… no, we’ll all exercise together! Thanks!