I used to start tomato plants in those red solo cups or peat moss hocky pucks called jiffy 7’s, one seed at a time to save myself time transplanting them all later.
It didn’t turn out very well. I would end up buying my plants after all.
They would germinate, but stretched tall and spindly (I didn’t even know that was a problem), would frequently rot before they got very big, just as often would dry up even though they seemed to have plenty of water.
It wasn’t until I went to work at a small, local greenhouse that I discovered the several reasons my efforts were all for naught.
I didn’t understand that the goal for maximum production was to have short and rugged seedlings to support a maximum amount of fruit
Putting one seedling into a container doesn’t work on two levels.
First that little tiny seedling doesn’t have enough roots to absorb water fast enough so it doesn’t rot the plant
Second, that tiny seedling needs to be planted deeper than it is when it comes through the ground so it can develop more roots along the stem and support a much stronger plant.
Thankfully most plants for the budding vegetable gardener fall in the middle, there’s only a couple of things to understand
When they are watered they need to get thoroughly soaked, allowed to drain, then allowed to dry. Not dry, dry but dryer.
And after they have developed a set of tru leaves they need to be separated from each other, set in deeper and a bit away from each other. As they grow it needs to happen again.
The solution turned out to be sowing ALL my seedlings together in an oblong Chinese food take-out container.
I row for leeks, cause they take forever to get big enough, then whatever peppers I thought I wanted that year, then eggplant, then basil and tomatoes last ‘cause they’re the fastest growing
Then I had to get over thinking I could expedite the transplanting. It’s a bit like raising kids. You can’t treat them all the same, they’re all different, and its going to take a bit of time.
I might suggest you buy your first plants from a reputable greenhouse operation for your first couple of years until you get the hang of what you want to do.
I am now able to have enough tomatoes in my freezer for a year from a dozen plants.
My granddaughter wanted to try a rather big garden with a variety of tomato plants that weren’t offered in local greenhouse operations. I was able to coax her remotely and to this day she provides family members with the Kelloggs that are an absolute family favorite eating tomato by starting them in March in her living room.
If you would like a clearer picture, check out this video on my YouTube channel
If you are interested in trying your first garden or have been disheartened in the past with all the confusing information I am offering a membership for new gardeners where they can get the answers to questions right away so they can have fresh veggies their first year without getting discouraged.
If you have more questions, pick a time here for us to chat about concerns you may have.
Look forward to hearing from you!
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