Urban Farmer -Wasssss Dooowwwwnnn!

My tomato seedlings have been getting stockier, reaching up to the lid of the cold frame. Yesterday morning I stepped out to see that at least two of the varieties had fried tops.

When you go to the nursery, its easy to imagine that all the seedlings are all that the nurseryman started. But only the best make it to the tables and racks (if not, you just walk away, right?). At home, starting just a few seedlings, the pressure is on to get it right.

So was the culprit the cold temps two nights ago? It never got down to freezing that night and the seedlings were in the cold-frame with a bottle of warm water. Was it the diluted fish fertilizer I put on them a few days ago? Its hard to imagine that the 2-4-1 diluted liquid did them harm and why some yet not the others? The sun is getting stronger and despite low temperatures, in the cold-frame greenhouse its quite warm. The tomato tops are close to touching the polycarbonate. I suppose the culprit really was my carelessness, but I think all but one will recover.

Then there's the orange pixie problem. I started two of those in February with all the others. But they never passed an inch tall, stunted, wierd. Both fried in the cold-frame. This week a new one I seeded in a tp tube has sprouted and looks considerable healthier, although it is having trouble shaking its seed pod from its cotyledons. I've been tempted more than once to try to pull it off like a sweater stuck on its arms and head. The pixie is supposed to handle pots and planters well.
We'll see if it ever gets there.

I will move the tomato seedlings out to the ground during sunny days, cold-frame at night and rainy days. I hope I can get a good run out of my snap peas before I have to clear the way for these tomatoes!