“That makes all your seeds that have been planted up and going, huh?”
The bit of green in one cup with sweet baby bells in it, hadn’t popped up this morning, but that one small green spot should pop up today or tomorrow I would think.
Yes, all the rest of seeds are up. I think I can pat myself on the back for being able to grow from seed - I’ve got that part down. There are 20 cups under the grow lamp. Because I have numerous seedlings in every cup, I think I’ll have to transplant the actual number I want into containers larger than those cups as some are crowding those cups. I think every tomato seed came up so I have many growing in every cup - there are 5 different type tomatoes and they all look very good. I guess I could just remove a bunch from every cup and keep three or four selected ones growing in each cup. That makes sense and I wouldn’t have to transplant now.
Do any of you have an opinion as what I should do at this point? If you have a bunch of something growing in a 5 oz. paper cup, what would you do?
I thin to the strongest, healthiest one.
/johnny
Let’em grow, You can cull the runts as they grow and when it comes time, for me about 6wks, I plant only the strongest, healthiest, bushiest ones, for me, it will be the nicest 2 of each this year. The rest can be given away or pitched.
If you have too many in a cup, I would separate before their roots become entangled together causing damage to the roots as you tear them apart.
Congratulations on your first seed starting, class of ‘14.
Finally on the way home from Austin. This time, I’m staying home. Wierd to be posting from a Greyhound bus. ;)
/johnny
Marcella, tobacco and tomatoes are two plants that allow you to break the rule: keep it at the same planting depth when you transplant. If your plants are spindly, like from overcrowding or not enough sun, then you can bury them up to the bud and they will love you forever. As long as you leave some green above the soil level, then your plant will make roots on top of its old roots. Any other plants will keel over, but tobacco and tomato have the ability to sprout roots from the stem if buried deeper than original level. The plants will be sturdier and healthier. This works for field or container grown.
Another trick, when you move your tomato plant to its final destination, squeeze flat and bruise the bottom leaves. This releases a tomato pheremone that makes it less appealing to bugs. Not to worry. Tomato plants are very very forgiving.
Many people thin out the plants at this stage and just leave one or 2 of the best in each cup. Others have trouble throwing them a way, and so they transplant the seedlings into another cup.