The Demo Garden Blog

Just two weeks after planting, and the aroma near the light stand is quickly turning to the addictive miasma of tomato plants. As I was watering everything this morning, I saw that most of the tomato seedlings and even some of the peppers and eggplant are beginning to put on 1, 2, or even 3 true leaves. They are growing quickly!

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, “true leaves” are considered the first leaves of a seedling that show characteristics typical of the mature plant. The true leaves of the tomatoes in the above picture look like you would expect tomato leaves to look. This is in contrast to the first pair of leaves that seedlings grow, sometimes called the “seed leaves” or “cotyledon leaves”.

You may also have noticed that the above seedlings seem to be stretching a bit. I have the lights set on a timer so that the lights are on about 20 hours a day, and the lights are also adjustable up and down. I think I’m getting a little bit of stretching on some of the plants because I had the lights up a bit too high. I remedied that this morning, so hopefully that minimizes the effect.

Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve posted a picture of the whole light stand setup. (Don’t be jealous, this is definitely the Cadillac of light stands!)

For those of you interested in knowing exactly what varieties of tomatoes and peppers we have started and what percentage of each variety germinated, check back later this week!