Am I too late?

[cythaenopsis]

These little guys are growing fast! I fear they're going to be too crowded, having placed so many seeds close together.

[taboule]

They look nice, and not that late considering how cold it's still out there. You'd be amazed how quickly these babies will start growing.

You may want to start thinning them, at least the BK before they're big enough to separate for transplanting. Use a pair of pointy scissors to cut a few stems -dont pull them.

[cythaenopsis]

Thanks for your reply, taboule.

I got you on the thinning. Pulling would likely disturb the roots of the ones to keep, so I see why you suggest clipping. How do I decide which ones get to live? Are there certain qualities to look for? Is it more productive to eliminate those that aren't looking optimal? Or is it simply clipping to make greater space between them?

Also, is there a rule of thumb on sprout height that means it is time to transplant into a larger pot?

[coronabarb]

I always sprout mine that close together. I just gently lift out the group and tease them apart. Then I replant each in their own pot or pick out the one or two biggest if that's all I want to keep. They do fine. I see that you are using an egg carton. There's not much space for the roots in those and the roots are already an inch or more long when you first see the plant appearing. Replant them as soon as you can.

[SharonRossy]

Ideally you want to transplant into a larger pot, 4", when the first set of true appear. That being said if the sprouts are too leggy it's okay to transplant earlier. And bury them deep, righty up to the coteyldons. Don't worry tomato seedlings are tougher than you think!

[clkeiper]

Tomatoes are tough. Handle them by the cotyledons/leaf, though, not the stem. I never wait until there is a true leaf before transplanting. I do thousands and don't have the time to spend getting the transplanting done waiting on the first true leaf. I grow to sell, though, so I transplant into cell packs, not 4" pots.

Give the seeds time to germinate that haven't started. I volunteered to start for a friend who went to S. America for a winter/spring missions trip. I was incredibly worried about the germination of his two tomato varieties. They both took two weeks. they were the latest to germinate of all the tomatoes I started this spring.

[cythaenopsis]

Great advice -- thanks everyone!

@coronabarb -- yep, I didn't have a seedling tray for this (my bad--lost track) so I went with the foam egg cartons. Given how long the roots became from just resting in a wet paper towel, I can see what you mean by that egg carton slot space being too small. I'm heading out this evening to buy some 4" pots.

@SharonRossy -- ah yes, I remember last year when I transplanted from 4" pots that advice was to sink the plant down with the soil line just below the first branches. Sounds like a great idea to submerge deeper for better stability on these longer sprouts. Today, they are several millimeters longer now--incredible how fast they grow. Remarkable how much energy is packed into those little seeds!

@clkeiper -- I remember a few people remarking about how scattered tomato seeds in a backyard resulted in tomato plants pioneering on their own without any special care, so I do see what you mean by them being hardy. As an experiment, I'm growing a few seeds separately in regular potting soil (which is often discouraged) and they're growing just a little more slowly... but still impressive. Those Sara Galapagos seeds are like 1/4 the size of my Black Krim seeds, so maybe that's part of why they need more time? I'll give them another 10 days.

[SharonRossy]

As they grow, if there's room in the pot, I keep adding potting soil. It gives stability and the plant grows roots along the stem in the soil. I also gently brush my hand over the tops to make them sturdy.

[taboule]

>>>> How do I decide which ones get to live?

I start by deciding how many I want to keep, both total and within each clump. The biggest ones have the higher survival rate, but also how close to another one that you want to separate. If too close, i pick one or the other but don't try to salvage both.

Although tomato seedlings are tough as others have mentioned, I prefer not to tug too hard on their feet .

[cythaenopsis]

Call me silly, but I feel a bit sad seeing a little sprout and deciding that it is going to die. I know nature does that all the time, but deliberately snipping one... I almost feel like I should give it a lottery chance. Plant it outside somewhere and let its hardiness be tested by nature, rather than killing it off with my scissors.

Incidentally, PBS NOVA created a program (link) about plant communication. They're far more sophisticated than most people ever imagined. Plants live on a different time scale than us mobile creatures. But they are aware of their surroundings and communicate either with each other or insects. I was blown away by that program.

---

The Black Krim is the hardiest of the bunch. Already a few of them are showing a second set of leaves sprouting forth, suggesting it's high time to get them out of there (I had to work late last night and couldn't get to the store for some pots). I brushed my fingers over the clusters and already I'm picking up a little bit of plant scent from them. There are definitely some standing out taller than the rest and a few that have struggled... a couple not even being able to shed the seed casing, forming a set of pinched leaves.

This is my first time growing from seed. It's really an eye opening experience. I just hope that these sprouts will grow forth at a good clip with the fertilizing techniques I learned last year and reach maturity in a reasonable time frame.

[cythaenopsis]

First, the carnage...







So many seedlings, so few pots!

Seriously, I was not expecting so many seeds to germinate. My anticipation was that half of them would... and that among those, only a few would really show promise. But alas, a high majority of them germinated... some slower and some faster than others. What I didn't show here was that when I pulled the "egg balls" of the Black Krim, the bottoms were swirled with roots, some of them trying to poke through the drainage holes. The Black Plum and Russian Oxheart sprouted about the same time, but definitely did not flourish as quickly.

The foam eggshell cartons really worked well. Getting the egg balls of potting mix out required only a little push from underneath--really easy to extract. And overall, much success on the sprouting, yielding plenty of worthy candidates. It was hard to decide, and in some cases a toss-up. Due to space constraints, I really can't grow more than two of each variety. Btw, the seedling medium I used is rather light and "airy", which broke away fairly easily. It didn't take much to separate the seedlings. No clipping required.






I decided to try growing two Russian Oxhearts in the same pot to see which one dominates... letting that one win the honor of being planted into a larger pot.

Anyway, low and behold I had a nice surprise. The Sara Galapagos is starting to sprout! My fault was not paying attention, and I read up later that these seeds require about 5~10 days more to germinate.



I'd read most tomato seedlings will look alike for the first month, so I marked the foam egg container with initials to keep track. Interesting in that the cotyledon leaves of the Sara Galapagos do look a little different than the others.

Anyway, with all of these left over seedlings... I'm going to plant them in the wild and let them have a go with the challenges of open nature. I feel badly just throwing them out. I know, it's not like they'll live past a given season but still... if some are hearty enough to survive without direct human care then those might be worthwhile to cultivate the seeds from for next year's growing season.