What's your best tip for growing healthy and strong tomato plants from seeds?
*** Update:**\* A few people sent me DMs asking where I get many of my seeds each year and how to contact the program I mentioned.
For anyone curious, I usually get seeds from two places:
1. Local library seed libraries – check with your local library or city services (Based locally)
2. Free Harvest Seeds – a small online program that sends heirloom seed bundles to gardeners.
Email: [freeharvestseeds@gmail.com](mailto:freeharvestseeds@gmail.com)
Web: https://freeharvestseeds.com
Cheers and happy gardening. 🌱
by SophiaGeorgeLiving
11 Comments
Here’s all my tips in one place.
https://www.theunconventionaltomato.com/guides/starting-from-seed/
No tips since I’m a beginner, but I’ve had the best luck with coco coir, second rockwool, and dirt last.
I usually moisturize the coco coir, place the seeds on top, cover them with wet paper or cover the container so the seeds don’t dry, alternatively I lightly cover the seeds with the moist substrate. With the right temperature (around 80°F) you could see the small seedlings in a week or less.
Put seeds in pre wet seed starting mix.
Wait for it to grow.
Up pot as it grows.
Have a good grow light.
Once you’ve got the second set of leaves, a small fan blowing on them
For me, using a lot of perlite in the soil mix and watering very sparingly helped with bad seedling damping off problems.
[This vid](https://youtu.be/W1okwn5yaN8?si=5j7Yi1Z6u-mZ5swL) and channel are great.
Seed soil
For germinating? #1 would be a heat mat. Even better with the little temperature probe.
For strong vegetative growth, a good LED light.
Seeds, napkin a few days in a Ziploc then transfer to soil and an egg carton for a week or two. When the first leaf shows go to a pot until planting.
Keep the light an inch above them.
I always start mine inside, in a small indoor greenhouse, so I can control heat, light, humidity and air flow. One underrated aspect of healthy plants is making sure you grow sturdy stems by having a good, multi-speed oscillating fan to simulate wind. Makes for stronger plants overall.