Egg shell tomato seedlings issue

[Doelman]

I'm trying out starting my seedlings in egg shells this year, I like to recycle everything I can. Melons, squashes, beans, basil, zucs all have started fine. My tomatoes though... yeesh. 4/6 are looking pretty terrible, they're all leggy. I don't have a grow light or a window sill that gets any kind of reasonable light, so I place them in the garden when I'm at work if there isn't any rain in the forecast. Well there was three days straight of rain last week, probably the main reason for the leggyness.

Anyway, should I go ahead and plant deep the leggy 2 that look ok in the garden? Is overwatering probably the issue with the other 4 or is it the egg shells? They aren't damping off, they're just dying. I've already started more tomatoes to replace those 4 since I'm pretty sure they're goners. The peppers just popped up and I'm worried about them too, those suckers take so long to get started that I probably won't get any peppers this year if these seedlings don't make it.

 

[Rajesh Sethi]

They are cute!.
I think you just have dig a little and place the egg shell in it, it will decompose while the plant grows, not sure though as I haven't tried this method, It really looks cool.

 

[Plantdoctor]

The eggshells are are not porous enough for water to drain away,and they will not break up in the soil quickly enough for the roots to break out

Tomatoes need heat to germinate ,then a reasonable temperature and good light to get strong compact plants.

 

[Doelman]

The eggshells are are not porous enough for water to drain away,and they will not break up in the soil quickly enough for the roots to break out

Tomatoes need heat to germinate ,then a reasonable temperature and good light to get strong compact plants.

I opened a hole on the bottom of the shells for drainage. When I plant them, I remove the bottom half of the shell completely and crack the rest of the shell. It keeps it all together well enough for the transplant so the roots aren't too disturbed. The cucumbers, squash, and basil I've transplanted so far have done well up to this point.

Probably a water/light issue then on the tomatoes, thanks!

 

[roadrunner]

The funny thing I've noticed with my tomato plants. The ones that are out in the full sun are less productive than the ones that get some shade, i.e. shade provided by large sunflowers and other similar plants. Maybe it has something to do with our relatively intense sun down here in Jax, Florida (~30 degrees latitude).

 

[Plantdoctor]

A lot of plants slow down when it gets too hot,so that makes sense.