What to to next with my cherry tomatoes and basil?

[Moh]

Dear all,

Thank you for all your help so far.

I have been growing a few cherry tomato seeds since 10 days ago and you can see what I have now in the attached picture. I have also attached a picture of my basil that I planted a month ago.

I have a few questions since I am absolutely inexperienced:

1- What should I do next? And when should I change the vase and/soil of cherry tomatoes?

2- How often should I water them?

3- I feel like the basil's growth is very slow, am I doing something wrong?

4- Should I use liquid fertilizer or is it better to avoid it?

Thank you for your comments in advance,
Moh.

 

[Chuck]

They both need much more sunlight. The basil is doing better than the tomatoes. It is too soon for fertilizer on the tomatoes but you could use a 1/2 diluted mixture of an organic fertilizer on the basil. You don't need to repot at present. Water when the top 1-2" is dry and water from the bottom up. Now is the most dangerous time for the tomatoes to get damping off disease. I would sprinkle horticultural cornmeal around the tomatoes to prevent it.

 

[Beverly]

I agree with @Chuck, the tomatoes are spindly because they are trying to find more sunlight and don't think they will grow faster if you give them more fertilizer or water at this point, because they will die. What i have noticed in novice gardeners is that they expect that growing things should happen fast. What one learns after a couple of years or so of gardening is patience. Mother Nature takes her own sweet time and the only thing you can do is to keep your plants healthy. Still (secretly) some gardeners with years of experience can become impatient too from time to time.

 

[Beth_B]

What Chuck said, as usual.

Is your weather warm enough to start getting those babies outside for some sun every day? You don't want to shock them with full sun right now, but getting them out and gradually increasing outdoor time will help a great deal in making them stronger.

I grow basil every year, it likes lots of sun and warmth (as do tomatoes.) Once the weather is right it will take off growing fast.

 

[Moh]

They both need much more sunlight. The basil is doing better than the tomatoes. It is too soon for fertilizer on the tomatoes but you could use a 1/2 diluted mixture of an organic fertilizer on the basil. You don't need to repot at present. Water when the top 1-2" is dry and water from the bottom up. Now is the most dangerous time for the tomatoes to get damping off disease. I would sprinkle horticultural cornmeal around the tomatoes to prevent it.

Thank you Chuck for the great advice. I took your advice and put them under more sunlight. Now, they are doing much better, as you can see in the pictures. Could you please take a look and see if they are doing ok?
How is up-side down watering? I have no clue about it!. And when do you think I need to repot them?
Thanks again.

 

[Moh]

I agree with @Chuck, the tomatoes are spindly because they are trying to find more sunlight and don't think they will grow faster if you give them more fertilizer or water at this point, because they will die. What i have noticed in novice gardeners is that they expect that growing things should happen fast. What one learns after a couple of years or so of gardening is patience. Mother Nature takes her own sweet time and the only thing you can do is to keep your plants healthy. Still (secretly) some gardeners with years of experience can become impatient too from time to time.

Thank you Beverly for your nice words.
I totally agree with you, patience is a key. However, after ruining some young basils, I am a bit scared that I would do that again, so I would like to keep posting about the progress of my tomatoes to be on the safe side ;-).

 

[Moh]

What Chuck said, as usual.

Is your weather warm enough to start getting those babies outside for some sun every day? You don't want to shock them with full sun right now, but getting them out and gradually increasing outdoor time will help a great deal in making them stronger.

I grow basil every year, it likes lots of sun and warmth (as do tomatoes.) Once the weather is right it will take off growing fast.

It's becoming warmer now, I think I can start putting them outside. However, it's also windy. I realized that these tiny creatures are not strong enough for that wind.

 

[Chuck]

Thank you Chuck for the great advice. I took your advice and put them under more sunlight. Now, they are doing much better, as you can see in the pictures. Could you please take a look and see if they are doing ok?
How is up-side down watering? I have no clue about it!. And when do you think I need to repot them?
Thanks again.

I would leave the basil as is for about 2 more weeks or until they get more true leaves and then repot, leaving both plants together. On the tomatoes I would repot now, very carefully so as not to damage the roots. The way I would do it is to gently wash away the soil and carefully separate the roots and then put them into separate mid sized containers. If there wasn't 2 plants in the tomato container I would wait a little longer but as it is I am afraid waiting longer will make both plants surviving much more difficult. You can start fertilizing with the approved rate of liquid organic fertilizer now on both basil and tomatoes. Watering from the bottom up is easy. Just put the containers into your kitchen sink and put enough water in the sink to reach a depth of about 1/2 way up the container. When water stands on the surface pull the drain plug and let the plant drain. After it drains for a few minutes slowly pour in you liquid fertilizer until it starts to come out of the bottom. The more sun they can get the better it will be.

 

[Moh]

I would leave the basil as is for about 2 more weeks or until they get more true leaves and then repot, leaving both plants together. On the tomatoes I would repot now, very carefully so as not to damage the roots. The way I would do it is to gently wash away the soil and carefully separate the roots and then put them into separate mid sized containers. If there wasn't 2 plants in the tomato container I would wait a little longer but as it is I am afraid waiting longer will make both plants surviving much more difficult. You can start fertilizing with the approved rate of liquid organic fertilizer now on both basil and tomatoes. Watering from the bottom up is easy. Just put the containers into your kitchen sink and put enough water in the sink to reach a depth of about 1/2 way up the container. When water stands on the surface pull the drain plug and let the plant drain. After it drains for a few minutes slowly pour in you liquid fertilizer until it starts to come out of the bottom. The more sun they can get the better it will be.

Thanks again.
I will repot them tomorrow very carefully as you suggested. I hope they all survive. Will keep you posted.

 

[Moh]

I would leave the basil as is for about 2 more weeks or until they get more true leaves and then repot, leaving both plants together. On the tomatoes I would repot now, very carefully so as not to damage the roots. The way I would do it is to gently wash away the soil and carefully separate the roots and then put them into separate mid sized containers. If there wasn't 2 plants in the tomato container I would wait a little longer but as it is I am afraid waiting longer will make both plants surviving much more difficult. You can start fertilizing with the approved rate of liquid organic fertilizer now on both basil and tomatoes. Watering from the bottom up is easy. Just put the containers into your kitchen sink and put enough water in the sink to reach a depth of about 1/2 way up the container. When water stands on the surface pull the drain plug and let the plant drain. After it drains for a few minutes slowly pour in you liquid fertilizer until it starts to come out of the bottom. The more sun they can get the better it will be.

Chuck I am very excited. After a week of repotting my tomatoes they all feel well and have grown a lot. Right now, they are under direct sun, I take them indoors whenever it is too windy. I think now, I have to wait for them to grow enough to be ready to move to a bigger vase. Thanks for the tips.

 

[Beth_B]

Chuck I am very excited. After a week of repotting my tomatoes they all feel well and have grown a lot. Right now, they are under direct sun, I take them indoors whenever it is too windy. I think now, I have to wait for them to grow enough to be ready to move to a bigger vase. Thanks for the tips.

Wonderful! Just FIY, a breeze (obviously not heavy wind) is good for growing tomatoes. Makes them stronger

 

[Moh]

Wonderful! Just FIY, a breeze (obviously not heavy wind) is good for growing tomatoes. Makes them stronger

You were right, I kept them out when the wind was not that strong, now they look much stronger

 

[Moh]

UPDATE: You can see my tomatoes in the pictures. I think now it's time to repot them, am I right? Some of their roots are coming out of the vase holes. How can I repot then wothout hurting the roots? :-(.
Do they look healthy?

 

[Chuck]

UPDATE: You can see my tomatoes in the pictures. I think now it's time to repot them, am I right? Some of their roots are coming out of the vase holes. How can I repot then wothout hurting the roots? :-(.
Do they look healthy?

Yes, either repot them into 5 gallon buckets or larger or place them into the ground. To get them out of the container first squeeze the sides of the container to loosen up the soil. Then place your left hand with your fingers spread and the plant between your fingers turn the container upside down and squeeze the bottom of the container and remove it with your right hand.

 

[Moh]

Yes, either repot them into 5 gallon buckets or larger or place them into the ground. To get them out of the container first squeeze the sides of the container to loosen up the soil. Then place your left hand with your fingers spread and the plant between your fingers turn the container upside down and squeeze the bottom of the container and remove it with your right hand.

Thanks again for the help.
I repotted them today. I watered them a few minutes after repotting to make them more stable in their new homes. For now, I am planning to keep them indoors because it is too windy here.
One thing that concerns me is their leaves. As you can see in the pic, the leaves are kinda not looking healthy (or it is my wrong perception because they are pointing downwards). Do these look normal to you?