So I followed the package instructions to add 4-5 seeds per cell and all of them sprouted and look healthy/strong.
What’s the best way to split the cells, do I split the cells or do I just pot to 4” rounds?
by Klujata
So I followed the package instructions to add 4-5 seeds per cell and all of them sprouted and look healthy/strong.
What’s the best way to split the cells, do I split the cells or do I just pot to 4” rounds?
by Klujata
12 Comments
Just get a fine pair of scissors or pruning shears and snip off all but the strongest one in each cell. You have plenty. It’s no big loss. I know it’s painful at first, but you get used to it and you’ll be rewarded with bigger, stronger plants as a result. Trust me, unless you’re feeding a literal army, you do not need 200 tomato plants.
No need to split each individual seedling. Snip the weakest ones in each cell at the soil level unless you plan on having tomatoes for the next 50 years of your life. These need more time before potting up. Wait until at least first true leaves.
Asking here will likely get you a ton of responses. I suggest you look up Craig LeHoullier and his methods. He has made a ton of contributions to the tomato world and many consider him the expert.
About 11 min into this vid he goes through his procedure for splitting.
You have a ton of seedlings and not sure you can use them all or have enough friends to give away. Perhaps there’s a community garden or places of faith that could use them.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IxMQdDhapw&t=685s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IxMQdDhapw&t=685s)
Its usually best to just thin them out rather than trying to separate roots. Just get some needle nose pruners and take out the weakest links. Tomatoes are pretty hardy though, so proceed at your own risk with a few of them if you would like, but not the peppers. For the future, just do 2 or 3 per cell, and maybe 4 or 5 per cell if the seeds are a few years old. Also, dont repot just yet as these are only cotyledons, wait for a few of the true leaves to grow before up potting.
Now just sharing personal preference, I’m not a fan of these tiny, single use starter cells. They tend to promote root binding and damping off in my experience, plus it just feels wasteful to have to chuck it at the end. They’re nice for a first timer, but if you intend to do this for many future years, invest into some of the more sturdy 6 cells, not only for the benefit of just washing and reusing, but also many of them have beneficial construction to promote better airflow for the roots, better absorption when bottom watering, etc. Best of luck with your garden this year!
Edit: Another thing to add, always a good tip for beginners, get those lights closer. Im not sure what your setup is, I use LED shop lights, but I generally have them set about 4 or 6″ away from the top of the leaves at most when the seeds start popping.
Honestly, I planted all of mine just like they grew in the pods. What survived after I transplated is what survived. What didn’t, didn’t. After they grew bigger then I chose the bigger one and pulled up the smaller one. If I thought it was worth it, I planted it somewhere else and let it do it’s thing. Grow or not. Didn’t care as it was the weaker one.
This is probably not the best advice but everyone follows different methods. I’m a firm believer of just letting things grow however. I would 100% be a scatter gardener if I had the room. Just throw the seeds out there and cover and see what happens. Lol. The only thing I’ll do is water and fertilize if need be.
I recommend buying good quality seed and planting 1-3 seeds at most per cell. Some suppliers like Johnnys print the germination test results on each packet. So if your packet says 80% germination plant 1 or 2 seeds. If one cell doesn’t sprout with the others, plant another seed.
First, I’m gonna need to know what brand of seeds those are.
https://preview.redd.it/ko74brhhb8yg1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5ecfcd20862d2eb1a69f57ed8e070729df6a6a70
It was a massacre but they’ve been thinned, looks like my cucumbers are starting to form their true leaves too
This is hilarious! You did not have to use the entire packet. For the ones that are very close together – almost all – just use a pair of scissors and snip at the base.
Wait until you’ve got a few sets of leaves before splitting.
I wouldn’t rush in thinning, for the most part that can wait until you get true leaves (these are seed leaves). Split or thin depending on how many you’re wanting to plant. I usually keep double initially.
tho you do want to get them growing, since you could plant outdoors in 2-3 weeks possibly
Woah, you were bold with the seeds! I usually go for 3 per cell max if I’m not sure about seed quality. Only split up as many as you need/want. As others have said, just cut or snap off any extra seedlings at the base – pulling them can damage the other seedlings you want to keep.
I don’t thin. I let them grow and untangle and pot up the strongest. It works.