Same dilema every damn year.
I seed 2 per cell so I don’t end up with empty cells.
They get about here, I walk up, scissors in hand to thin, and I go “naa I could totally separate them!!”
But separating is risky, could damage roots and open up a pathway for pathogens, stress them out, and time consuming. Then I have twice as many trays to deal with. 4x if I up-pot to 3”.
Why so many? I install and maintain veggie gardens for a living so a lot of these are for customers. We like to provide cooler varieties for our customers than what you can just find at the garden center.
BUT ITS JUST SO HARD!!
Someone tell me it’s ok to thin them 🥲
by AJSAudio1002
31 Comments
It’s okay, I promise!!!
(Saying it for both of us)
It’s okay. Just thin them and be happy they all germinated.
Put em outside in indirect sun middle of the day for a couple hours. Thin them in a couple weeks
Totally fine to break them up. Toms are pretty tough and although they may take a couple of days to recover, I have no doubt that virtually all will do so and grow on well.
Thinning is hard on the soul. I find it better to have someone do it for me. Less painful that way
It is ok.
Holy tomatoes, Batman!
You have to pot them all on and nurture them to maturity, to do otherwise is wasteful……
Just kidding, be ruthless!
Thinning is going to be a good thing and it’s okay
I actually have never really had a problem separating them though. I just gave away a whole bunch of ones that I separated. Just be gentle and you can even use rinse water to help separate.
It works just fine. But you’re going to have an awful lot And you need pots to put your seperated ones into so just thin
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! >;)
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I can’t do it and now I have about 60 plants 🥺
Thin them, but put the ones you cut into some water to root. No stress on the chosen one and an extra plant (delayed by a week or two) if you want it.
They look fine to me!! 1-2 in each container. Ready for planting?
I do one seed per chambers because they always come up.
Off with their heads! It’s the right thing to do. Good for you for high percentage germination, but now it’s about helping them thrive.
Plants make a ton of seeds for a reason. Not every seed will germinate and not all germinated seeds will become mature productive plants. Embrace the way of nature. Do you have enough cells for the number of plants you want/bed since you have? Save yourself the stress and just thin them ☺️
Snip snip. Its easier if you name them after an ex or something.
The gods will curse you if you don’t plant every single one of them.
Every.
Single.
One.
(Joking, of course.)
You can absolutely separate them they will be completely fine and then plant the entire stem in the soil when you repot. I plant 10-20 seeds in a pot when I start off my tomatoes and then separate them out from there so I don’t waste a bunch of space at first. When I separate I’ll still plant about 5 in a pot to save space but allow for them to root out and grow more and then keep planting smaller amounts together as I continue to pot up. This also gives me a chance to plant the entire stem over and over and allow maximum root growth before putting in the garden. Then you will have extras so give away or sell if you don’t end up planting them all.
Sometimes you gotta be cruel to be kind
It’s ok to thin them. Your time and energy are worth more than a seedling that might get eaten by a critter anyway.
If you’re feeling ambitious for a decently large undertaking (and only if you have the time, space, and good mental place): you could start splitting up the ones that look like they would tolerate it best. Don’t prep multiples; just take it one pair through to up potting at a time. That way, you can stop whenever you feel like it. Again, it’s ok if you don’t! You do so much for your job and don’t need to feel like you’re having to do your job at home in addition.
I’m only a beginner home gardener with significantly fewer plants and it still took me the length of two movies to get through splitting all of mine. So far, I’ve only lost 3 seedlings of the whole lot, though. Those extra plants could go to community gardens, potentially food pantries, or just the curb/fb marketplace. I find it helps to figure out a plan of what you would want to do first, so then you can decide if that’s what you can take on currently. It’s very ok if that’s too much right now! Your job is already a boatload of work and these times sure are trying.
Culling plants is part of gardening. I feel bad every time.
Looks like tomatoes? If so you can easily propagate suckers directly into the ground if you need more this summer. Don’t worry about thinning now, you’ll have plenty!!!!
I never thin except to replant them. I use a chopstick to tease out the roots of the plants without damaging.
https://preview.redd.it/emjeacaeg0we1.png?width=742&format=png&auto=webp&s=e6628d8652246e821b0dfaa4533b77e11cf29686
It is okay. I turn into a seedling-serial-killer every spring. It’s okay. You want to select the best ones.
Why do you people start with these tiny cells for tomatos. I’ve been rocking 3.5 size pots start to finish for 4 years now. Three seeds a pot with 100% germination. Solid trays with bottom flooding and draining an hour later. The less stress you put on the plants the better off they grow.
I’m avoidant, and hate wasting, so I just plant one per cell and then either reseed the cells that didn’t plant or plant a different plant entirely. And the ones that grew I combine into a six-pack since they transplant cells easily. Problem solved.
they will separate easily, just go gently.
For sure, and I suggest you do it yesterday.