I stack the big ones up along the side of the garage, which is out of the way and doesn't mar my view of anything. The smaller ones are rinsed out and stored in a big plastic container inside the garage. I use them for various purposes - winter-sowing, spring sowing, over-wintering plants in the garage (this past winter I had approx. 40 containers of various sizes in the garage), plant swaps or giveaways, plant sales, and when I move from the current house I hope to bring LOTS of plants with me.

Make sure they get plenty of light (see "Do I need special lights") and fertilize weekly (see" I'm new to starting seeds...?). When they're big enough to handle,usually when they have 2-3 sets of leaves, it's time to transplant them to individual containers,or space them out if you have them in a community flat. Those sown in individual containers should be thinned to the strongest seedling by snipping off the extras with scissors. Now that damping -off is less of a risk, you may want to use a part soil mix for "potting on", 1 part sterile potting soil to 2 parts vermiculite or perlite and /or sphagnum or peat, for the sake of economy. If you need to transplant,very carefully dig up the plants, with a knife or wooden label,etc.,taking care to get under the roots. Separate them gently, handling them by the leaves rather than the easily-damaged stems . I often use a pencil to help untangle the roots, using the same pencil to poke a hole in the soil ,making it deep enough that the roots can dangle and the seedling can be placed at the same depth it was growing previously. Firm the soil around the roots, and water well. Repeat until you're cross-eyed,then start again the next day..... Weather permitting ,seedlings may be transplanted outdoors at this stage ,or grown on indoors for larger transplants. Before planting out, seedlings or young plants must be "hardened off" over a period of 10-14 days. Begin by putting plants out in shade, giving some shelter from wind, and gradually exposing them to sun, maybe an hour at first,increasing an hour each day. Cut back on watering,but don't let them go completely dry. Once they're hardened off, they're ready to go outside permanently (where they belong!!). If possible,pick a cloudy day . Again, try to handle the roots with care,and set the plant at the same depth it was growing (though tomatoes benefit by being planted deeper,roots will form along the stem)firm the soil around the roots and water well, a dilute solution of water-soluble 15-30-15(a teaspoon to a gallon of water) will help stimulate the roots. When all your plants are in the ground, fix yourself a tall,cool one and celebrate !

I put my seedlings in window boxes and see what I've got as they grow. Most of them come from a bunch of Fortunei Aureomarginata planted together in the front gardens. Their seedlings are usually very dark green and of good thick substance, plus they grow fast and bloom with vigorous flowers on stiff scapes. And they propagate like mad as do their parents. I've gotten one blue plant that is phenomenal from those Fortuneis. What I do now, since I have so many of these seedlings, is cut the scapes down after booming. I have one seedling in the back gardens that is interestingly odd. It has narrow leaves on long petioles and is very, very waxy. It's planted next to Lamium, so you can see how light it is next to those leaves full of white. Its wax holds all season. But the leaves are not dense; darn. I'm waiting for it to get more mature to see how it looks at 5-6 years old. Here it is in context from last season (I think), and a close-up next to its Lancifolia (!!) mommy from the previous season or the one before that. Lancifolia does not set seed in my garden, but one season it did and this baby was born. So it is is special in several ways. I don't throw hostas away, and I don't eat them either. I value them too much. They are all precious in my sight.

The reason why every seed is putting up multiple seedlings is because those are multigerm seeds. It means when the flowers were making their seed clusters multiple seeds grew together into one fused pod. It's common among many members of the beet family, including Swiss Chard. Heirlooms and older varieties tend to be multigerm more often. The trait of breeding for monogerm seeds is a bit newer and you can find them more in hybrid selections. I tend to let chard just do it's thing till they get to a big microgreen size before I start pinching down if I need to, if there are over three seedlings. Might as well get a little eating in while it's going. If I only get 2-3 seedlings that come up, I tend to leave those alone. 2-3 in a cluster is pretty good, but I've had pop ups of 6-7 from a big cluster, and that's too much together once they get bigger to me.