Backup seedling batch good growing practice?

13 years ago

I was reading a thread on minimum night-time temperatures for tomatoes and noticed that many growers had a backup batch of seedlings. I am a first year grower and have exactly one plant of each variety I intend to plant in the spring. Am I in for some major disappointment? Should I start that second batch while there is still time and conditions are favorable? What do most people do with that second batch if first batch grows well?

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Comments (12)

mulio
13 years ago
I throw out what i don't need.

I plant a backup in about 2 weeks if certain things didn't germinate.

Other than that I do this: if I know I want 4 of something I transplant 8 into cellpacks/containers. Such as 2 - 4paks and I keep the two cell paks in separate flats.

This is because sometimes flats get dropped, things get mixed up, dried out or damaged (I had a dog jump the fence and tear through trays once). Then I have a back up.

Again anything I don't put in the ground eventually gets composted.
queenofthemountain
13 years ago
I start extras. When planting time comes the extras are easy to find homes for on FreeCycle or with neighbors. Sometimes schools and churches have gardens and can use seedlings. There is also the Free section on Craigslist. Honestly I would be very surprised if you were unable to find homes for extra vegetable seedlings. When I offer tomato plants on FreeCycle I have far more people respond than I have plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: FreeCycle Network
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corin99
13 years ago
I used to grow a couple of extras, but then I was always "finding" a place to plant them in the garden, which meant I was overcrowding things. But since I've never had a plant not make it, I now only grow exactly the number I need. Truth is, tomato plants are tough and once started, you have to mess up badly to kill them. And since your backups would probably have had the same treatment, they'd likely be goners too. If you're experienced with seedlings and have a good set-up you shouldn't have problems.

Of course, if you are accident prone or have an unsafe growing spot, that's another story.
kterlep
13 years ago
you make lots of friends giving away tomato plants!
k2marsh
13 years ago
I plant my tomatoes at different times. After 80 days and the main crop is produced you get less tomatoes from the first crop.

The tomato plants planted later when their 80 days come around you will get more tomatoes than from the first tomatoes plants.

I only plant the tomato seeds in 16 Oz. stirifome cups, one seed to a cup, that I grow.
I plant the tomato plants in the ground from the cups.

Karyl
robertz6
13 years ago
I usually plant about twenty tomato plants. Right now there are sixty seedlings growing down in the basement.

1) Some get dropped
2) Some get pulled when leaves look suspicious.
3) Some are given away
4) After transplant in garden, a few get Early blight
and are pulled up.
5) Some garden plants are destroyed in spring storms -- wind, hail

The older the seeds I am starting in the basement, the more seeds used.

I like to have plenty of seedlings in case the early garden plants are damaged by cold weather, you cannot always guess correctly. I transplant the seedlings over a period of three weeks or so.
sandy0225
13 years ago
Lots of people around here used to plant backup batches. Then my greenhouse became the back up for them since I grow so many different kinds. Now a lot of the falks around here don't start seeds at all, they just come here.
trudi_d
13 years ago
I always grow more than I think I'll need. This covers low germination, which could happen, any of my errors, which could happen, or mother nature's cruelty, which could also happen.

Anything leftover I donate to a charity plant sale. Anything left over from that goes onto the compost heap.
tom8olvr
13 years ago
I start 10 seeds of each variety. I try to limit myself 40 varieties. Of the 10 seeds I grow on 6 of each variety. I want the biggest/best of the plants. Of those 6 I plant 1 or 2 - may be up to 3-4. The rest is composted or given away. I don't have an optimal set up - and I'm a bit of a klutz - and I'm not all that militant about making sure every minut detail is perfectly perfect. As stated above, tomato plants are pretty forgiving. Each one goes in the ground and if a weather isn't that great I have plenty of extra to replace. Have fun with it!
timmy1
13 years ago
2 words sum it up!

CHEAP INSURANCE
gardenvt
13 years ago
I prefer to plant what I need with the exception being tomatoes where I plant 2 seeds per cell and keep the strongest. It takes less space, less germinating/transplant mix, lights, pots, etc.

If you have the room and don't mind keeping up with all of the plants, then you could certainly do back up plants.
connecticutbug
13 years ago
You can always share with a friend if you have too many!!!! :)

Backup seedling batch good growing practice?

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mulio

queenofthemountain

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