Even More on Leggy Tomatoes...& Salicylic Acid

Another friend of mine who is an organic small farmer in NM had this response to the post of several days ago...

...about leggy tomatoes... It is most likely from not enough light. Tomatoes are very sun hungry and need at least( and preferably more than) 8 hours of DIRECT sunlight per day. Most house windows will not get this , which is why people use greenhouses or grow lights. Grow lights are not  that expensive. I got the long fluorescent tube holders with aquarium/plant tubes for pretty cheap in the past.

 

To deal with the legginess, you can also plant them very deep, for instance with maybe only 8 inches above ground and the rest buried. The stem that is buried will send out roots all along its length and it will be stronger therefrom.  Taking cuttings may set you back a little bit as the plant has to put so much energy into making new roots, rather than working off the roots that it has already established.

To make your own rooting hormone, to help them root faster, you can go cut a few willows and put them in water and the “tea” makes an excellent rooting hormone after a few days to water plants that need to root. You can make it faster by shaving the bark off the willow branches with a pocket knife and soaking them in water.

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Great advice; however, I still can't afford grow lights, so I'm pressing on without them.  About half my 50 plants (mostly tomatoes) are now on the back porch.  That porch is very "open", but it is covered; portions of it get maybe four hours of direct sunlight per day.  The primary problem there is that gusts of wind are sometimes very strong.  We'll see how it goes.

Regarding the hormone from willows...good idea.  I've read, too, that putting an aspirin in the container soil does the same thing AND triggers an immune response in plants that wards off disease.  I'm experimenting with that idea.  It makes sense because willows produce salicylic acid...aspirin.

I also like the idea of transplanting tomatoes deeper.  Just make sure only the main stalk is underground; cut off all the lowest leaf branches or they'll rot and likely damage the whole plant.

Thanks again, Alex and Dixie.

Happy Trails, and Be Well