“I grow twice as many seedlings as I truly want. I plant 1/2 them outside about May 15. If they die from cold, I still have the second 1/2 inside; in any case, I plant the second 1/2 outside about June 1 or so.”
You do what JRandomFreeper, Johnny, does, grow a bunch more seedlings than he needs in case some die for whatever reason. I have trouble thinking about doing that as I can’t stand to think of dumping the extra seedlings that are alive. I have to get over that and grow more seedlings than I need. I’m new to growing this year so I need to do what you guys do.
/johnny
You needn't dump the extra seedlings. If you grow your seedlings in peat pellets or peat pots, they are portable until such time as you transplant them into the ground. You can either make room for the extras within your garden, or give the extras away.
As far as growing extra seedlings in the garden itself (in the ground; not in pellets or pots) and thinning out the extras, this is a common gardening practice. However, I do it only with species where I can eat the thinned plants. Many thinned plants such as lettuce, greens, etc. can be eaten although they are small. Some thinned plants such as corn, tomatoes, etc. cannot be eaten because they have not matured enough to produce food.