Cam Tomatoe seedlings stay in 72 cell tray until they're ready to go outside?

[Growdo Baggins]

This is my first time germinating tomatoe seeds. At first I thought I'd get away with leaving them in there until they were ready to go outside, but now I'm not so sure. I'm going to do some more research on when they can go outside and that'll give me a better idea on if I think they could stay in that 72 cell tray the whole time. But I wanted to see how other people did it. Here's the tray. They look kinda yellow to me. Is that normal for seedlings?

 

[Chuck]

This is my first time germinating tomatoe seeds. At first I thought I'd get away with leaving them in there until they were ready to go outside, but now I'm not so sure. I'm going to do some more research on when they can go outside and that'll give me a better idea on if I think they could stay in that 72 cell tray the whole time. But I wanted to see how other people did it. Here's the tray. They look kinda yellow to me. Is that normal for seedlings?View attachment 95457

You can keep them in those cells until they have at least 2 sets of true leaves. You can leave them longer, possibly until they have 3 sets but by then they will be getting root bound and the rate of growth slowing. You do not want to slow the rate of growth. The plants are yellow and beginning to get leggy. They are ready to be fertilized with a liquid plant food at 1/2 the rate. They are also beginning to need more light which is why they are starting to get leggy. If the weather permits now is a good time to start taking them outside into the sun for 2 or 3 hours per day.

 

[Growdo Baggins]

You can keep them in those cells until they have at least 2 sets of true leaves. You can leave them longer, possibly until they have 3 sets but by then they will be getting root bound and the rate of growth slowing. You do not want to slow the rate of growth. The plants are yellow and beginning to get leggy. They are ready to be fertilized with a liquid plant food at 1/2 the rate. They are also beginning to need more light which is why they are starting to get leggy. If the weather permits now is a good time to start taking them outside into the sun for 2 or 3 hours per day.

Dang I never saw this, thanks.

 

[lifegardener]

You can keep them in those cells until they have at least 2 sets of true leaves. You can leave them longer, possibly until they have 3 sets but by then they will be getting root bound and the rate of growth slowing. You do not want to slow the rate of growth. The plants are yellow and beginning to get leggy. They are ready to be fertilized with a liquid plant food at 1/2 the rate. They are also beginning to need more light which is why they are starting to get leggy. If the weather permits now is a good time to start taking them outside into the sun for 2 or 3 hours per day.

Get them accustomed to being outside as soon as you can, and planted - either into the garden, or in a larger growing pot.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Get a thermometer and check your soil temps. Definitely higher than 50f is ok.

 

[Growdo Baggins]

I ordered some 4 inch round pots this weekend. I'm transfer them and start bringing them out during the day for a few hours. All 72 of them! I don't know wtf I was thinking with 72 damn tomato plants. I was making them for me and my 2 neighbors, but even still, 72 is double what we'll all need. Maybe I can find them homes on Facebook?

 

[Chuck]

I start my tomatoes in 32 cell trays and by the time they are ready to start being outside I have culled about 30% of them due to different criteria and I will cull even more before it is time to transplant into the garden. I always seed many more tomatoes and peppers than I actually will transplant into the garden. You will not transplant puny spindly seedlings into the garden so why waste time and money trying to save something that you will not use anyway? Just keep the strongest most robust of the seedlings in the numbers that you will actually use.

 

[Growdo Baggins]

I start my tomatoes in 32 cell trays and by the time they are ready to start being outside I have culled about 30% of them due to different criteria and I will cull even more before it is time to transplant into the garden. I always seed many more tomatoes and peppers than I actually will transplant into the garden. You will not transplant puny spindly seedlings into the garden so why waste time and money trying to save something that you will not use anyway? Just keep the strongest most robust of the seedlings in the numbers that you will actually use.

Good point, I never thought about that. Lemme ask you this. What type of soil do you like to use when you transplant into pots?

 

[Chuck]

Good point, I never thought about that. Lemme ask you this. What type of soil do you like to use when you transplant into pots?

I usually pot up when seedlings have 2 complete sets of true leaves with the 3rd set just starting to show. I use a 50/50 mixture of my actual garden soil and the potting mix my seedlings were started in. An important factor when determining when to pot up is the size of the cells. Trays of cells have either small cells or, in my case, large cells. The size of cells that I use are 1 1/4" X 1 1/4" X 4". The smaller cells should be potted up when the seedlings have 1 COMPLETE set of true leaves. By that, I mean that the leaves are fully formed and usually have a second set clearly showing. You do not want your seedlings to be so root bound that watering becomes an issue or that growth is slowed.

 

[Growdo Baggins]

I usually pot up when seedlings have 2 complete sets of true leaves with the 3rd set just starting to show. I use a 50/50 mixture of my actual garden soil and the potting mix my seedlings were started in. An important factor when determining when to pot up is the size of the cells. Trays of cells have either small cells or, in my case, large cells. The size of cells that I use are 1 1/4" X 1 1/4" X 4". The smaller cells should be potted up when the seedlings have 1 COMPLETE set of true leaves. By that, I mean that the leaves are fully formed and usually have a second set clearly showing. You do not want your seedlings to be so root bound that watering becomes an issue or that growth is slowed.

I don't have any original seedling mix. I just used the pucks that were in the tray. I guess that would be peat. I do have some peat. I also have some pretty decent compost around. I've got some ideas of something I can put together. But tell me this, does it need to have good aeration, the potting soil I mean? My thought is, I can take some of my native soil, mostly clay, and mix it with some top soil I have and some compost and then some aeration. I was also thinking about putting something in for nitrogen. Maybe a little alfalfa meal? I'm just kinda shooting in the dark here.

 

[Chuck]

I don't have any original seedling mix. I just used the pucks that were in the tray. I guess that would be peat. I do have some peat. I also have some pretty decent compost around. I've got some ideas of something I can put together. But tell me this, does it need to have good aeration, the potting soil I mean? My thought is, I can take some of my native soil, mostly clay, and mix it with some top soil I have and some compost and then some aeration. I was also thinking about putting something in for nitrogen. Maybe a little alfalfa meal? I'm just kinda shooting in the dark here.

 

[Chuck]

I would not add clay to a seedling. Yes, aeration is very important to a young plant. You don't want something heavy and dense, you want light and airy for seedlings. I would not use peat either. It has zero nutritional value. In your case I would mix the topsoil you have (if it is a good topsoil) with the compost. 75% topsoil and 25% compost. I would also throw in a generous amount of perlite for aeration and moisture retention. Alfalfa meal would be excellent to mix in with the mix. Probably about 2 heaping tablespoons per 4 inch container.

 

[DirtMechanic]

ImO use very little nitrogen. Some swear by osmocote but P and K are the big detail. And various micronutrients of course.

 

[Growdo Baggins]

I would not add clay to a seedling. Yes, aeration is very important to a young plant. You don't want something heavy and dense, you want light and airy for seedlings. I would not use peat either. It has zero nutritional value. In your case I would mix the topsoil you have (if it is a good topsoil) with the compost. 75% topsoil and 25% compost. I would also throw in a generous amount of perlite for aeration and moisture retention. Alfalfa meal would be excellent to mix in with the mix. Probably about 2 heaping tablespoons per 4 inch container.

The topsoil I have is great. I went to get some more top soil from home depot this weekend and that shit was terrible. It looked like a bunch of pieces of tree bark! I didn't get any. But I do have a bag of coast of Maine topsoil, that I scored for free. Because I stole it from my neighbor. That was a joke. I got it got free when I bought a bunch of their compost. That was for another growing project. Unrelated to the garden.

That's all very helpful. I've got a bunch of other amendments on hand too. Gypsum, feather, bone, blood, alfalfa, kelp, potassium sulfate, epsom, phosul which is srf with sulfate in it. I've been collecting thx stuff all year last year for that other project.

 

[Chuck]

The topsoil I have is great. I went to get some more top soil from home depot this weekend and that shit was terrible. It looked like a bunch of pieces of tree bark! I didn't get any. But I do have a bag of coast of Maine topsoil, that I scored for free. Because I stole it from my neighbor. That was a joke. I got it got free when I bought a bunch of their compost. That was for another growing project. Unrelated to the garden.

That's all very helpful. I've got a bunch of other amendments on hand too. Gypsum, feather, bone, blood, alfalfa, kelp, potassium sulfate, epsom, phosul which is srf with sulfate in it. I've been collecting thx stuff all year last year for that other project.

What is your soil Ph?