More questions...

[Dogs and Veg]

I hope I will begin to get the hang of things quickly (or stop panicking about these plants) so I can stop bothering you all with so many questions!

I was transplanting tomatoes tonight because they were crowded - as with everything i've sown so far...it was a scatter gun approach rather than one or two seeds per pot! It was also, use the entire packet of seeds at a time not thinking about the amount that might actually grow at once!

Anyway, tonight there were these brown things on the ends of the tomato leaves, I don't think it was soil as i don't think they were there this morning? As i was transplanting them all into separate pots they rubbed off but any ideas?

Also, I think the soil was completely sodden, it was more of a really wet clump, i think all the seedling pots are like that, i've obviously gone from under watering to too much...should I re-pot with drier soil?

Thanks in advance - you all really have been so helpful to this newbie!

[Jungle Jane]

They’re the seed cases they usually come off without doing anything,if they’re stuck on you can try a drop of water on it to help loosen it,sometimes when you try & take it off you can accidentally decapitate it. If the composts wet it will be easier to separate the seedlings & put them in the new pots. After I pot everything on,get a feel of how heavy the pot is,I sit them on a tray of water & let them take up what they want for four or five minutes,feel the weight of the pot again,then you’ll always know if they’re lacking water or not

[nickdub]

Jane is spot on with her advice - if the compost is too wet best bet is to put the pots in question on top of somewhere warm for an hour or two like a radiator to dry a bit. Obviously take it a bit steady, you don't want to go from one extreme to the other.

Hopefully the weather looks to be warming up a bit, so that should make it much easier for growing things like toms from now on.

[muck lover]

Bury those seedlings up to their necks when you are putting them into individual pots.
You will have enough plants to supply the entire country.

[Dogs and Veg]

ML...if they all survive I’m going to need to open a veg stall somewhere!

[Cadalot]

Mine were leggy and looked like palm trees



Bury them deep when you plant them on



The hairs on the stem will become roots and you will end up with a nice rot system and healthy plant, ready for a larger pot in a couple of weeks time.