Pricking Out

[johnjohn]

I'm pricking out my tomatoes today and always do this when they have their seed leaves but before the true leaves develop.

I'm aware it's common practice to wait for the first true leaves and was interested in what others here do and why, and what influences the decision - time, variety etc.?

[burnie]

I've not even sown mine yet, will be at least another month, I know you're in sunny Leicestershire(where I was born and raised), but I can't help thinking you're early. I usually wait until the plants are quite vigorous just to get a bigger root ball.

[veggiechicken]

I wait until they have their first true leaves and use the seed leaves as a "handle"

[Bigmallly]

Due to Tomato plants being a prolific cropper & not needing many plants, I find it advantageous to sow 1 or 2 seeds per 3" pot & let it grow until ready for planting out, I don't find the need to use trays & pricking out:

[johnjohn]

I've not even sown mine yet, will be at least another month, I know you're in sunny Leicestershire(where I was born and raised), but I can't help thinking you're early. I usually wait until the plants are quite vigorous just to get a bigger root ball.

Thanks burnie, I'm intending to grow them on under growlights along with my chillis, they won't see the light of day, or feel the cold until they get hardened off end of April or so.

[johnjohn]

Due to Tomato plants being a prolific cropper, I find it advantageous to sow 1 or 2 seeds per 3" pot & let it grow until ready for planting out, I don't find the need to use trays & pricking out:

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They're nice looking plants BM, mine are always about 3 or 4cm tall before I get them into decent light, your seed leaves are very close to the compost,do you germinate them under the lamp?

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

I sow mine in the "Super Seven" Although regarding BM's post am having a change of thought for this year!



Once up, under light!



Then once true leaves set, into their own pot!

Like Burnie, gunna sit on my hands this year as I sowed em far to early!

But they did come good in the end, but was a lot of hassle n faff holding em back!

[johnjohn]

Nice one Deano, looks great, so another one for waiting for true leaves then, cheers.

[Alison]

I won't be sowing mine until next month but when I do it'll be in little newspaper pots which will then be potted on whole into 3" pots etc so no root disturbance or damage to the stems

[mothhawk]

I put tom seeds into individual pots the same as BM, and I only sow two seeds of any variety. If I want more plants, the sideshoots can be planted without seeming to suffer any check in growing and soon catch up with the 'mother' plant, which saves me space for other seedlings on the windowsills.

[Penellype]

I sow tomatoes into individual 9cm pots where they stay until roots start to come out of the bottom of the pots. I then pot them up into bigger pots or plant them out depending on what they are and where they are going.

These 2 Shirleys are nearly ready to pot up into 3l pots - I'll plant them upto the bottom of the seed leaves. They will stay under the lights for another month or so, then move to their permanent home on the sitting room windowsill.

[Bigmallly]

They're nice looking plants BM, mine are always about 3 or 4cm tall before I get them into decent light, your seed leaves are very close to the compost,do you germinate them under the lamp?

The seeds were sown in 3/4 pot depth of compost knowing that they would most likely get leggy, once they were above the pot, I topped up the pot with compost up to the seed leaves & then put them under LED Growlights.

[Bren In Pots]

I won't be sowing mine until next month but when I do it'll be in little newspaper pots which will then be potted on whole into 3" pots etc so no root disturbance or damage to the stems

I do the same as you Alison, thats for Tom as well as most of my other seedlings.

[johnjohn]

The seeds were sown in 3/4 pot depth of compost knowing that they would most likely get leggy, once they were above the pot, I topped up the pot with compost up to the seed leaves & then put them under LED Growlights.

Brilliant BM, and simple, that's great. Absolutely obvious now you've said it but I wouldn't have thought of doing it

[Bigmallly]

Brilliant BM, and simple, that's great. Absolutely obvious now you've said it but I wouldn't have thought of doing it

Cheers John, that's what 'appens when you think outside the box.................