Leggy plants and tiny flies... HELP!

[Rooted]

First time sees starter!! So, I know they are getting leggy... I'm planning on getting a grow lamp this week.
I have them right now in a windowsill that gets probably 6-8 hours sun... but apparently it's not enough. I have read to replant and cover bottom of stem....
Should I go ahead and transfer them to bigger pots?
Also, I noticed several days ago this tiny fly... today there are about 30-40 of them:(
What are they?
Where did they come from?
And what do I do????
HELP!!

[rainbowgardener]

They are all tomato plants? For tomato plants, burying more of the stem does help, because they are able to grow roots all allong the buried stem. Most plants can't do this and burying more stem may just cause the stem to rot.

Your little "flies" are very dark colored and mostly walk around on the soil until they are disturbed, when they flutter up a little and then settle back down?

If so they aren't actual flies, they are fungus gnats. They are very common in indoor seed starting. Their eggs were probably already in the potting soil when you bought it. They eat fungus in the soil. The fungus and therefore the fungus gnats thrive in conditions of continuous moisture and little air circulation. Getting a small personal fan for the area helps. Being careful not to over-water helps. It helps to water only from the bottom (put your cups in a tray and only add water to the tray and only enough to reach the bottom holes in the cup and just touch the soil, then the soil can wick the water up). By bottom watering, the surface of the soil doesn't get so wet, so the fungus/gnats don't survive as well. It also helps to put a little bit of powdered cinnamon in the water you water with. The cinnamon doesn't kill the gnats, but it is a natural anti-fungal, that works against the soil fungus. Less fungus = less gnats. But it will take a few days to see the results of this.

And yes, you really need some grow lights, which can be just ordinary fluorescent tubes or bulbs. No special grow lights needed. But the light needs to be VERY close to your plants, hung so it can be raised as the plants grow. No more than 3" above the plants.

[Rooted]

Thanks so much! Yes, you described the gnats (flies) perfectly. I will make the adjustments... can't wait to see the improvements!

[rainbowgardener]

Welcome to the Forum! Keep us posted on how your tomato babies fare!