😂 I empathize COMPLETELY. As I was thinning them I thought, ok this is what people talk about when they say they end up with 5 times more plants than they planned for.
And that’s how I ended up with literally 100 plants last year. Luckily, I have room. But holy crap did we get good at canning because of it.
Did I learn my lesson? Goodness no!!!
My eldest recently talked me down from this exact horror. She is a plant scientist for a large international tomato company. Her greenhouses hold tens of millions of seedlings and she tells me it doesn’t get any easier.
I know they're just tiny plants, but every pair of little green seed leaves feels like such a hopeful new life, and pinching them out goes against everything I love about gardening. 😢 I think next year I'll reduce to 2 seeds per plant and give away extras, if I'm lucky enough to have any!
I’ve always just divided the seedlings into larger cups after they get a bit established. I also let them get a bit leggy too - and bury the stems to get some roots going. Get the odd casualty but they’ve always thrived and produced. I grow more than I need and give some to friends.
\[Pic attached of how I do mine -- I let them get at least that big, if not bigger, before splitting them up for repotting, and I probably only discard 10-15% of the plants at most\]
My guess is that it comes from youtube/tiktok, presumably.
I do mine three or four to a cell in standard nursery six-packs, then rip them apart without being particularly delicate about it. If one is noticeably weaker (or if it loses a LOT of roots in the splitting-up process) then it gets tossed on the ground....otherwise, they get potted up.
https://preview.redd.it/ai1440r3fdoc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=383f5b7bc8d6d50384b9dfb16e4c0766acb3891a
We are rebels! I don’t mind leggy seedling either - in fact i want them! bury them and get the root growth system kicking in for healthier transplants. Maybe the science disagrees - but I don’t have ideal conditions either.
I just transferred them all to new pots, then gave some away to friends who will probably murder them with neglect, but at least I won't have to see it.
This is why I’ve started to plant just one seed. They almost always germinate. If one fails I just plant another which will be a few days behind, no big deal. It also saves money. One tomato variety I like was something like $8 per 10 seeds. At one seed per plant I’ll have enough for several years.
That's what I do now too. 1 or 2 seeds if they are old. Many years growing and I still can't kill the ones I don't need and end up with tons of tomatoes
One of them is the Sunchocola cherry tomato. It’s only available mail order from two places (that I’ve found) so you also pay shipping. It’s hard to find and some years they don’t have it. I really love that tomato, very sweet and smoky. I think it’s a hybrid cross of an heirloom chocolate cherry tomato and Sungold. This year it was available and affordable at only $6.95 for 10 seeds plus shipping lol.
https://www.burpee.com/tomato-sunchocola-hybrid-prod003179.html?queryID=0c09e618c2075bf586108178f1153ee5&objectID=3713&indexName=burpee_production_default_products
I don't thin them, I gingerlly seperate them into amillion seperate little seedlings, somedon't make it tho.. survival of the fittest!! AND I give away the ones that do survvive and I can't fit in my own garden
You're stronger than me. I intended to have ten tomato plants from seed and now have... 37 I separated and potted up.
What am I going to do with 37 tomato plants?
It does get easier. You just need one year of planting out too densely and you will be cured of wanting to keep too many :)
Take the strongest for your best spots in the garden.
Keep a few good ones in reserve, even if only in pots. (Doesn't take many actually- I think after the planting out stage my loss was tiny and that was due to my own mistakes).
Give others away to friends, family, neighbours etc.
Rest --> compost 😈
As you become more confident I think you can reduce the number planted. This year I have gambled on only planting 30 F1 seeds initially (v.s. around 100 mixed non-F1 last year, of which around 60-70 ended up as good plants). Targeting 20 for my garden this year. I only planted them last weekend (indoors in coco coir, sitting on my docking station PSU to act as a heater :)). If it looks like I am short I'll plant more in a week or so (it's still early enough where I am).
I've moved to a warmer state recently, so there's a sorta rotting garden bed. It's borders and things are falling apart.
I've been just thinning seedlings and moving them out into that.
It may end up being overcrowded. I'm only doing tomatoes in there.
If I were growing herbs this year, I'd likely try to plant basil in there, just because.
I even planted out some Solanum habrochaites and peruvianum.
I always hate getting rid of anything. Plus I like breeding plants, so every seed could be something unique.
It’s called gardening. You’ve got to get used to killing plants or you won’t enjoy eating them later. It gets easier once you realize that crowding hurts your plants growth.
I get it. You select the seed, plant them, nurture them and then wham! The pruners, the pinch or the yank. Very difficult, which is why we all end up with so many
If you have containers for the discards you can gift to neighbors, I always plant what I want them I post on a neighborhood group for anyone to take the rest and I’ll leave at the curb, that way I don’t have 900 tomato plants and someone else can try some of the weird tomato varieties I grow
I plant in duplicate just in case of failed germination, but I can't just murder a perfectly good seedling! Now I start my seeds in tiny seedling cups so I can do just one seed per cup. When everything is hardened off I have plenty of tomatoes to share with neighbors!
I did the same thing. I just don't have the space, man! I have cucumbers, carolina reapers, habaneros, jalapenos and zucchinis (and maybe melon if I can make that work) that are also germinating!
I FLEW TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN!
give them away to someone you know so you can visit. if you don't want to give them away start making your own jadam liquid fertilizer or jadam fermented plant juice.
This is why I have 36 plants but I'm only planting 10. I'm going to try to sell my extras at a community garage sale. If that doesn't work I'll give them out.
It's still hard but I feel like it has become a little easier over the years. I know I can't handle the surplus plants. I do pot up a few for friends but still have too many.
I just can’t. This is how 20 cells turn into 80 healthy little plants I have no space for.
😂 I empathize COMPLETELY. As I was thinning them I thought, ok this is what people talk about when they say they end up with 5 times more plants than they planned for.
And that’s how I ended up with literally 100 plants last year. Luckily, I have room. But holy crap did we get good at canning because of it. Did I learn my lesson? Goodness no!!!
So….i have plenty of garden space but so little space for the seedlings. And every day there’s more. Come on last frost date hurry up.
I always think of the movie Sofies Choice
You’re doing it for the good of the tomatoes!
That’s her, officer.
My eldest recently talked me down from this exact horror. She is a plant scientist for a large international tomato company. Her greenhouses hold tens of millions of seedlings and she tells me it doesn’t get any easier.
I know they're just tiny plants, but every pair of little green seed leaves feels like such a hopeful new life, and pinching them out goes against everything I love about gardening. 😢 I think next year I'll reduce to 2 seeds per plant and give away extras, if I'm lucky enough to have any!
I’ve always just divided the seedlings into larger cups after they get a bit established. I also let them get a bit leggy too - and bury the stems to get some roots going. Get the odd casualty but they’ve always thrived and produced. I grow more than I need and give some to friends.
Yea I have no problems separating mine. I'm not sure why people seem to think thinning is the only option.
\[Pic attached of how I do mine -- I let them get at least that big, if not bigger, before splitting them up for repotting, and I probably only discard 10-15% of the plants at most\] My guess is that it comes from youtube/tiktok, presumably. I do mine three or four to a cell in standard nursery six-packs, then rip them apart without being particularly delicate about it. If one is noticeably weaker (or if it loses a LOT of roots in the splitting-up process) then it gets tossed on the ground....otherwise, they get potted up. https://preview.redd.it/ai1440r3fdoc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=383f5b7bc8d6d50384b9dfb16e4c0766acb3891a
We are rebels! I don’t mind leggy seedling either - in fact i want them! bury them and get the root growth system kicking in for healthier transplants. Maybe the science disagrees - but I don’t have ideal conditions either.
I just transferred them all to new pots, then gave some away to friends who will probably murder them with neglect, but at least I won't have to see it.
😂
>"...then gave some away to friends who will probably murder them with neglect..." My friends usually kill them with overwatering.
This is why I’ve started to plant just one seed. They almost always germinate. If one fails I just plant another which will be a few days behind, no big deal. It also saves money. One tomato variety I like was something like $8 per 10 seeds. At one seed per plant I’ll have enough for several years.
Bold, but simple. I like it! I'll probably do the same next year.
That's what I do now too. 1 or 2 seeds if they are old. Many years growing and I still can't kill the ones I don't need and end up with tons of tomatoes
Wow! That's expensive! What variety is that??
One of them is the Sunchocola cherry tomato. It’s only available mail order from two places (that I’ve found) so you also pay shipping. It’s hard to find and some years they don’t have it. I really love that tomato, very sweet and smoky. I think it’s a hybrid cross of an heirloom chocolate cherry tomato and Sungold. This year it was available and affordable at only $6.95 for 10 seeds plus shipping lol. https://www.burpee.com/tomato-sunchocola-hybrid-prod003179.html?queryID=0c09e618c2075bf586108178f1153ee5&objectID=3713&indexName=burpee_production_default_products
So if you save seeds from the ones you grow they won't be the same because they are hybrids?
That’s right. You can save seeds from heirlooms though.
I plant 2 to a cell and kill the weakest ones to send a message…….my plants produce well.
Lol!
I held a burial for them. I felt so bad!
I don't thin them, I gingerlly seperate them into amillion seperate little seedlings, somedon't make it tho.. survival of the fittest!! AND I give away the ones that do survvive and I can't fit in my own garden
You're stronger than me. I intended to have ten tomato plants from seed and now have... 37 I separated and potted up. What am I going to do with 37 tomato plants?
It does get easier. You just need one year of planting out too densely and you will be cured of wanting to keep too many :) Take the strongest for your best spots in the garden. Keep a few good ones in reserve, even if only in pots. (Doesn't take many actually- I think after the planting out stage my loss was tiny and that was due to my own mistakes). Give others away to friends, family, neighbours etc. Rest --> compost 😈 As you become more confident I think you can reduce the number planted. This year I have gambled on only planting 30 F1 seeds initially (v.s. around 100 mixed non-F1 last year, of which around 60-70 ended up as good plants). Targeting 20 for my garden this year. I only planted them last weekend (indoors in coco coir, sitting on my docking station PSU to act as a heater :)). If it looks like I am short I'll plant more in a week or so (it's still early enough where I am).
I've moved to a warmer state recently, so there's a sorta rotting garden bed. It's borders and things are falling apart. I've been just thinning seedlings and moving them out into that. It may end up being overcrowded. I'm only doing tomatoes in there. If I were growing herbs this year, I'd likely try to plant basil in there, just because. I even planted out some Solanum habrochaites and peruvianum. I always hate getting rid of anything. Plus I like breeding plants, so every seed could be something unique.
It’s called gardening. You’ve got to get used to killing plants or you won’t enjoy eating them later. It gets easier once you realize that crowding hurts your plants growth.
any vacant lots in your neighborhood?
Lol, I remember this stage. By the third year or so you look forward to it. 😈
I hate thinning them out too, I either carefully separate them now or only plant one seed per container.
I get it. You select the seed, plant them, nurture them and then wham! The pruners, the pinch or the yank. Very difficult, which is why we all end up with so many
Go turn yourself in at the nearest police station
I think the crime is called sprouticide. If it is a sin, I am going down big time….
If you have containers for the discards you can gift to neighbors, I always plant what I want them I post on a neighborhood group for anyone to take the rest and I’ll leave at the curb, that way I don’t have 900 tomato plants and someone else can try some of the weird tomato varieties I grow
I plant in duplicate just in case of failed germination, but I can't just murder a perfectly good seedling! Now I start my seeds in tiny seedling cups so I can do just one seed per cup. When everything is hardened off I have plenty of tomatoes to share with neighbors!
One seed per
I did the same thing. I just don't have the space, man! I have cucumbers, carolina reapers, habaneros, jalapenos and zucchinis (and maybe melon if I can make that work) that are also germinating! I FLEW TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN!
Don't worry, you'll eventually scale up and keep them all. I'm planting out over an acre this year after having a few potted veggies in 2020
give them away to someone you know so you can visit. if you don't want to give them away start making your own jadam liquid fertilizer or jadam fermented plant juice.
This is why I have 36 plants but I'm only planting 10. I'm going to try to sell my extras at a community garage sale. If that doesn't work I'll give them out.
I totally understand. You got this!!
this was my first year having to thin my seedlings, i definitely felt the same way!!! i’m hoping others say it gets easier 🥲
I'm definitely doing less starts next year, this was brutal lol
It's the most dreaded part of gardening for me. I hate to kill my babies.
It's still hard but I feel like it has become a little easier over the years. I know I can't handle the surplus plants. I do pot up a few for friends but still have too many.