Sad tomatoes and sweet peas :'(

rosehenderson90

Hi folks, 

I have been growing some things from seeds in the house this year, and I've started to harden them off. 

I'm about a week in, and now leaving them outside all day and bring in at night. 

I live in Scotland. It has been pretty windy the past few days. 

One of my tomato plants has droopy leaves, the leaves are also faded and now white marks have appeared. The other ones I have are a much deeper shade. 






My sweet peas are also looking a bit sad. 
All planted in peat free compost, nothing else added, and regularly watered. 

I'm looking for advice if there's anything I can do to try to help them!

Thanks

Rosr

Fairygirl

Sweet peas don't need protection, except from rough weather.
When did you sow them?
They're best sown in deep pots of some kind, or two or three in a 3 inch pot, and then you plant the whole thing. The have deep roots. 

I find peat free compost useless - cue all the people having a go at me - and they look like they might need to be potted on too. Tomatoes really need to be kept undercover at this time of year. Warmth and light for them, and consistent watering regime - not too wet.
I don't know which part of Scotland you're in , but it's largely pointless trying to harden them off and put them outdoors up here. it's too early anyway.  Night time temps are often single figures in summer where I am. They need at least double figs consistently. 

rosehenderson90

Thank you!

The sweet peas I did what feels like ages ago, possibly February to early March. I really can't remember. I started them in little pots but they had outgrown them quite a bit so I put them in the bigger trough. Maybe I could move them into a different pot? Some of them are fine though so maybe I am worrying! 

Ah poor tomatoes. I will pot them on and stop subjecting them to the Scottish outdoors. I guess my view on what is hot weather and a tomatoes view is quite different :'). Will see how they go and sounds like I might have to accept defeat in the end with our weather! 

Thanks again

Rosr

Fairygirl

The sweet peas would have been better sown a bit later 
The problem is - they get leggy, and then, if you don't pinch the tops out, they just keep growing, and it's weak growth. Moving little seedlings into such a big container isn't good either - too much for them to cope with. 
Best way is to wait until mid to end of April, sow them in little pots, and then get them outdoors [if you've kept them indoors initially]  so that they grow on slowly. That way - you'll get good sturdy plants 
Yes - toms are tricky up here. They'll be fine though, it'll just have checked them a wee bit. If you don't have a greenhouse or similar, you could put them outside in a few weeks, weather permitting, and just keep an eye on them. If you can rig up a little bit of shelter for them to keep them protected from the worst of the weather, you might get away with it. 
Some areas are a little bit easier than others, and some gardens are more protected though.

rosehenderson90

Ah ok great! I will try that with sweetpeas next year, and I might see about getting shelter for the tomatoes for when I get them outside. They are now safely back indoors 😊

Thanks for your help, it's a great learning experience! 

Rose