Tomato & pepper plants question

[burntmuch]

My tomato & pepper plants are tall & almost ready to be planted, but the stems are kinda thin.  Its been raining almost every day here so I havnt been able to put them outside at all. Is there anything I can do to thicken them up a bit. It will stop raining eventually,, I hope

[Empty Quiver]

If you raised them from seed, what you need to do is called hardening off. Essentially you start "abusing" them so they can stand the real world.  Something I have seen many times is people will plant inside a piece of concrete drainage tile. This supports the plant and protects from wind. Don't see any reason why a plasic tile would not do the same. Google up hardening off if that is the issue.

[Old Syko]

For tomatoes and peppers there's no need to get fancy.  Just plant them deep, all the way up to the first branch of leaves and they will be fine.  Done them this way for years and had no problems.

[parkergunshop]

Old Syko,

Good point, on tomato plants that are too leggy, I dig a trench and lay them down with the  first leaves above ground, the stems under ground will develop roots full length and grow a super sized above ground plant.    I have planted tomato plants that were 3 feet tall this way.

[bilmac]

I pinch off the first two pairs of leaves so that I am planting the plant about half of it's height in the ground. Roots form on the buried stem and the plant is better off in the long run. "Leggy" plants are one thing you are supposed to avoid when buying them and you have a choice.

Hardening them off like Quiver says should slow them down some. You don't need to put them anywhere special though, Just out in the day and in at night if they might freeze.

I think you get "leggy" plants when they don't get enough sun, if they have become leggy there isn't much you can do about it, they aren't going to get any more branches or leaves on the bottom part, the trunk, of the plant. Just get them out as soon as possible and pray for sun.

[burntmuch]

Cool sounds easy enough. Thanks Guys    Jay

[Old Syko]

Plantin em deep gives a better root base and helps a bunch when the rains stop, and they finally will believe it or not, and the drought sets in to balance things out like it did here last year.

[longwinters]

It s a bit more work, but I take 2 lt pop bottles.  Cut the top off where they start to taper.  Punch some very small holes in one side of them.  Then I plant them next to the tomato plant (one bottle per plant(.  All my water and fertilizer goes in those bottles and so it goes right to the roots (I plant my tomatoes deep).  It works great.

Long

[av-doctor]

i used to use a small fan to help harden the sun stretched plants. just enough air to move the leaves it help when transplanting outdoors

[powderman]

Like BILMAC, I too pinch off the bottom stems and plant them deep. Miracle grow is great stuff. POWDERMAN.