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Growing Tomatoes

When to Thin Seedlings

12 years ago

Hi, I'm new here. I have always had a brown thumb, but have decided to give just tomatos a try this year. One of the ladies at the store suggested that I should plant three or so seeds in each seedling cup and then pluck out the non-thriving seedlings so there is only one seedling per cup. I asked about when I should pluck the extra seedlings and she just said "oh, you'll just know".

Anyone have any tips for when to pluck the extra seedlings out? I planted the seeds about a week and a half ago (maybe two weeks ago, Id have to check my calendar). They have been sprouting strongly for several days now, almost all look very healthy to my novis eye. Some are definitly too close to each other and some are right up against the side of the cup (I tried to properly place the seeds during planting, but without whipping out the tweezers they landed where they wanted). So, I'm thinking, leave the seedling closest to the center of the cup so long as it looks healthy (as in, thin right now or soon). Or should I wait and see which seedlings look the "healthiest"? So far at least one (generally morre like three to six) plant has sprouted in each of my 54 cups (yeah, too many :P, I'll be giving some away).

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Comment (1)

digdirt2
12 years ago
Hi and welcome to the forum -

I don't pluck. I start 10-20 in each cell/cup and then transplant them all to their own cells. And "plucking" isn't usually recommended because doing so can damage the roots of the remaining plants. If you don't want to transplant and grow the others just snip them off at the soil level with a small scissor.

As to when to snip? Any time really but I would wait until the first set of true leaves begin to form and it becomes really clear which is the best one. Don't worry about where it sits in the cup since they will need to be transplanted later anyway.

Hope this helps. And if you haven't already seen it be sure to check out the How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed FAQ here.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato from Seed FAQ
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