Hi Melon,
I guess you did something right if all the seeds came up!
If you want to keep them all I would carefully separate them while they are still small, before the roots get tangled. When you re-pot them you may want to either fill the cups up more toward the top or cut some of the top of the cups off so the your babies get the most sun they can.

Melon, either separate as sunkisst suggested or snip off the unwanted seedlings with small scissors like the one's you use for trimming cuticles.

Thanks for the advice and late night/early morning quickness! :3

I will attempt to separate them, but if it doesn't work I will sadly be giving the runty ones the snip. I'll also adjust the height of the soil-- I noticed with some lettuce in a coffee can that I didn't pack quite enough soil in the thing so it's quite shady (but from what I understand that's okay with lettuce?) Luckily with clear~ish cups there is at least some light passing through and some of it is reflected inside the rims. I think the lack of southerly neighbors providing an unobstructed view of the Texas sun also plays a huge role in this~ but then again I have no idea what leggy tomato plants look like. I don't even know what baby sprouty tomato plants look like. This is a big learning experience for me :3

Wish me luck separating them, and look forward to hearing me either cry or cheer when it comes time to transplant the things :D This forum is amazing. I love you guys!

I don't know much about this but i have done this before.

They exact way i did this was to dig them out with a little shovel or something making sure that you dig all the way down without damaging the roots. Even better you can hold the cup upside down and give it a little tap so that the entire soil comes out of the cup.

Carefully remove the soil, when you get to the roots dont touch them, they should fall apart by themselves.Re-plant them all the way up to the leaves.

Hope this helps!.

Melonpocky

(Amusing name!)

The link below ought to set your fears at ease. So go right ahead and separate them as shown. Gently.

I'd do it now before the roots are any more tangled, and put each seedling in its own cup. They're surprisingly tough little critters. Just be careful not to damage the stems -- the seedlings can survive if some of the roots tear off, but the stem is its lifeline.

Next time, you can certainly sow a bunch of seeds father apart in one container with a larger soil surface area. The germinated seedlings will be easy to transplant to their own space then.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hunk-O-Seedlings

I just use my pocketknife blade. I stick it straight down between two seedlings, and pry one out like I was digging dandelions in a lawn. I don't knock off any starting mix and try to not expose roots. The younger the plants, the fewer tangled roots.

Just poke a hole in another container of mix and stick the plug with the seedling down in it. Press it down gently. I do this many times every year. Don't think I have ever lost a transplant.

I'm cheap, and like to use jiffy pellets. I usually plant 3 tomato seeds per pellet. I plant each in its own 1/3 of a pellet. If all germinate, I just divide the pellet into thirds at transplant time, and stick each third in a cup of starter mix.

Everyone, thanks for the additional responses!

Well I separated them before I got to this and saw the rest of your responses-- this is what my collection looks like now:

There are 16 total-- to separate the clods I ended up gently scooping the whole soil chunk out with a spoon and rolling the seedlings until the roots untangled. I sort of have a lot of time on my hands.

I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions for you soon as these guys get larger. I'm totally excited because I see tiny little buds at the junction of the two leaves on some of the plants (I guess those are the cotyledons?) so I'm looking forward to real leaves coming in soon :D

Hello , I did not notice if anyone mentioned that the cups need drainage holes. If not, you need to poke a few drainage holes in the bottom of the cups.
CDG

I agree with cdgtxs. Your containers need drainage. The soil needs aeration, too. I'd suggest putting the drainage holes on the sides near the bottom -- that way the holes aren't stopped up by the surface they're sitting on. It also gives a slightly better chance for the soil to "breathe" for the same reason. Just use a utility knife and cut out a couple of small triangles on opposite sides of your cups.

CDG and Anney~ Ah, I did not think about putting holes in the sides-- there are already nail holes in the bottom, but thanks for reminding me that proper drainage makes happier plants :D

I do what I call mass planting quite a bit so I end up with seedlings that are clumped together. When you get ready to transplant, just gently pull them apart. I've found that when the soil is a bit dry is best. You can transplant them now or wait a bit.

Good luck.

Randy