I’m a few months into this season’s grow cycle and I’m realizing that I made a few mistakes early that I’ll try to avoid next time.

The biggest regret is the size of the tomato plants. I had forgotten how fast they get big and unruly. They are too big for their current home (the propagator tubs inside on a shelf) but the weather here in Upstate NY is still a bit to cold to feel comfortable putting them outside right now. It’s not a fatal problem but it’s not ideal for them to be crowding each other and growing up into the lights. Since I’m using regular LED shop lights they don’t really get warm and hurt the plants if they touch. The leaves just block the light so others cant thrive.

The solution to my problem is simple: Next year start the tomatoes at least 2 weeks later than I did this year. It’s kinda cool to have the blogs because I have exact dates of when I planted and I can learn from each cycle.

The peppers, on the other hand, are continuing on at a steady pace.

Right now there isn’t much to do with the hydro system beside just “let it run”. The lights are on a timer (18 on, 6 off) and the air stones are going all the time. I change the nutrients every couple weeks and top up with fresh water as the plants drink it down. Other than that it’s just raise the lights if the plants start getting close.

Next week I’m traveling and I don’t have any real concerns about what I’ll find when I get back,.

Tags: Common problem, Seedlings, tomatoes