Lingering questions about long term viability

C

Cobrargc

[SIZE=medium]First I want to thank everyone for the help I received with an earlier post.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=medium]I do have some questions about the viability of my plants.  100% of my garden will be grown from seeds.  This is a major departure from previous gardens when I bought live plants.  I’ve learned a lot and made a few mistakes along the way, but that’s what makes things interesting.[/SIZE]
 
  1. [SIZE=medium]My pepper plants are looking much better with additional leaves and better color.  However when I compare my plants with those I’ve seen at garden centers, they just don’t look the same.  The plants at the garden centers are larger, but that’s not the issue.  The issue is the stem size of my plants. The garden center plants have much larger stems than mine.  Once I get my plants moved into the garden, will they “come into their own” and increase stem size?  If not, will I need to support the plants the entire season?[/SIZE]
  2. [SIZE=medium]Will the stunted growth of my plants effect the long term growth and yield of fruit?  Another words, will the plants not produce as well because they got off to a rough start?  [/SIZE]
  3. [SIZE=medium]This is tomato related.  My plants are nearly 10-12 inches tall.  They look healthy but have very spindly stems from mistakes made early on.  The live plants at the garden center have tree trunks stems compared to mine.  I took my plants outdoors on Sunday to begin hardening and take advantage of the rain we had.  The stems are so small, and the plants so tall, they all bent over due to the weight of the raindrops.  I keep the grow lights as close as I can to the plants to prevent futher stretching of the stems.  I do intend to plant my peppers and tomatoes a little deeper to help support the plants.  [/SIZE]
  4. [SIZE=medium]How on earth do the vegetable growers such as Bonnie or Richters get their plants looking the way they do when they reach the stores?  Often times the plants are flowering and have some small fruit already forming.  What’s the secret?  [/SIZE]
 
Sorry, not much time now, need to go, but for 3. I can say you have to put a support near your tomatoes, a stick, wooden, metal, plastic, whatever, and make a tie (check what kind of tie, not to hurt the tomato), to support the plant and protect it when is windy. I always do that, no matter how strong is the plant, this will help later when will grow, and you have to tie it again and again, during the grow.
 
To sum things up, you are worrying too much. :-)
 
Stem thickness is related to how much stress the stems put up with (ie: wind movement). They will thicken and harden to resist wind movement. When you take your plants out and as they get older the stems will thicken and strengthen and even lignify. Don't worry too much about it.
 
For tomatoes, they are technically vines, so you shouldn't expect them to stand on their own. Without support they should be expected to bend over from the extra weight of the water. If you are growing a lot of tomatoes, I would invest in an A-frame trellis with string supports that you wrap around your main stem. Also since your tomatoes are already a foot tall, I would try to bury as much of that main stem as I can. New roots will form on the sides and you will have a MASSIVE root system to support plants growth.
 
Commercial plants look better because, well they are pros are they not?
 
     A lot of plants (including peppers and tomatoes) will grow thicker, stronger stems in response to wind or other force on the plant. I'm guessing you didn't have a fan on your plants as they grew… Your plants will grow thicker stems if you force them to. When you harden them off, they will gradually strengthen in response to the stress involved with living outdoors. In the mean time, you can either place a fan near them to gently blow on the plants, or you can brush your hand over them a couple of times a day. Either of these will tell the plants they need to start toughen up so that they can continue to stand upright.
     As rghm1u20 said, you will need to support your tomatoes. I would recommend a cage for bush plants, and some kind of trellis (look up florida weave) for vines. I would not recommend staking pepper plants. With supplemental support, your plants will never have a reason to grow a stronger stem and will always be weaker (the "use it or lose it" principle). And a flimsy stem stands the chance of snapping where extra stress is placed on it where it is attached to the stake. 
     You could plant your plants deeper, but you need to be careful with this. If your stems are still soft and green, they will have no problem sprouting adventitious roots. But if the part of the stem you bury has started to harden and turn brown and barky, it's too late. The cells in the stem have already differentiated to the point where they no longer have the ability to sprout roots - deep planting will only result in crown rot at this point. Good luck!
 
 
     Check out the thread about supporting tomato plants in the "growing other" forum. Lots of good ideas from accomplished growers in there!
 
Tie them to bamboo sticks, they are sturdy and cheap. Planting them deep helps too and they will grow roots from the buried stem. You can prune the top of the plants if you want to.
 
filmost said:
When you take your plants out and as they get older the stems will thicken and strengthen and even lignify. 
 
 
Click to expand...
 
     Props for using the word "lignify", Fil! That's exactly what I'm talking about when I mention cell differentiation. Once stem tissue starts down that road, the dormant lateral meristems that would've been able to sprout roots shut down for good. Do/did you study plant anatomy and physiology?
     Also, +1 on your tomato advice. I don't think they ever completely lost their ability to sprout adventitious roots. I always plant them DEEEEEEP! 
 
Filmost has it covered...
Staking your plants can help, but they do need the stress for stronger stems...
And the Bonnie plants are clones, it allows them to get high numbers of them out and also why such small plants have fruit already.
 
dash 2 said:
Do/did you study plant anatomy and physiology?
Click to expand...
 
Once upon a time, long long ago in AP Biology haha. Actually though I only learned the word "lignify" last year. I forget why I learned it though.
 
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