How many tomato seeds do you plant?

[Springf3v3r]

I always do too many.

Too many.
I planted a few plum tomato seeds which germinated but I thought it might need more, bought another pack which had 30 seeds in and they have all germinated. I also have yellow pair and black Cherry germinating too.

I am hoping to grow them outside this year as I can’t be doing with the constant watering in the poly tunnel, i believe I have chosen blight resistant varieties for this reason. Last time I planted tomatoes outside blight got them all.

Have you tried nematodes? I used them for a couple of years, not sure if they were working or not, so last year I didn't bother. Big mistake, last year was slugmageddon even though it was so dry.

This month is the ideal time to start applying them, I've just ordered mine.

Another trick is to scatter a few meal worms around vulnerable plants, as this encourages robins and blackbirds, who will happily eat any slugs they find. That's the theory...

@TonTonMacoutei haven’t used those, if the slugs persist I’ll have to get some thank you!

when is the best time to plant them ? and daft question can you chop a tomoarto from a shop and plant that in the pot ?

(yes theres google but i prefer garderners views and points etc)

Yes seeds from regular tomatoes will grow. I get them popping up on the compost heap, the gravel on the greenhouse floor where fruits have fallen, and last summer noticed a fine seedling growing under a picnic table outside a cafe, where someone had clearly dropped a bit of salad/sandwich. The variety may not be true, and germination rate could be lower though.

2 or 3 of each variety. I try to limit myself to 4 or 5 varieties but usually fail miserably. Currently I have 18 plants on the go which is plenty for Round 1 and more reasonable than usual!

I start Round 1 in late January and when they get big enough, I take off the side shoots and root them in water to start off Round 2. This gives me tomatoes from May to November.

Round 1 is usually early enough to escape blight but for Round 2 only the blight resistant varieties go outside.

Many years ago I lived in a house with a cracked soil pipe. I only found out about it when I noticed tomato seedlings popping up iin a straight line across the garden.

@MontyDonsBlueScarfoh wow I had never heard of doing that. Which plants are stronger and more productive, round one or round two?

always way too many
have space for 6 and have about triple in seedlings. there is always some loss though.
any extra go to a plant swap or to the communty garden.

I heard a radio programme about a gardening project in a really tough American prison. Some of the prisoners had started saving the tomato seeds from their meals and trying to grow them. They used paper cups and scraped up what soil they could from the exercise yard.

The wardens went to the top brass and suggested they set up a proper garden project as it was having such a positive effect on the prisoners.

I usually have about 20 plants and treat them like my children, whilst neglecting all my other veggies. Don’t know why but I fall into the same pattern every year 🤦‍♀️

I don't see a lot of difference between them. You do need somewhere light and warm if you're going to start that early though. I have a kitchen extension with a glass roof and patio doors and that gets taken over by tomatoes until at least June each year. After that they go outside or in the cold greenhouse.

I also use the rooting sideshoots to save on expensive F1 seed. If you just start one or two of each variety you can take off the side shoots as soon as they're big enough to be viable. They root quickly in water and aren't far behind the mother plants.

After much experimentation I don't think there's a critical length to aim for. I have (inadvertently) let them grow to several cm before taking them off to root and they still make good plants. They root all along the submerged stem so in some ways, longer is better, although it's more wasteful for the mother plant. If you're into raising plants for charity it's a really easy way to get lots. And because they're quite big with a decent root supply when you pot them up, you don't have to mollycoddle them in the same way as the early seedlings.

Too many 😂. I really like tomatoes though, and my friends’ kids eat them like sweets.
Last year I sowed 60, 3 varieties. It was a good summer, I was bringing home 2-3 punnets most days, till late in October. I have a full plot though, and two greenhouses, so I have the space for them.
I bring them home, roast them, put them in freezer bags and add them to my cooking.

Do 5 of each variety, keep 3, give 2 away, that’s what I’d do.

@MontyDonsBlueScarfthank you for the explanation, I’ll give that a go if I have room. I had never heard of that, so interesting it works well!

That sounds perfect. You'll probably get a better germination rate than that but you can give a few away. The great thing about tomato seeds is that if kept somewhere dry they can keep 5+ years so you can sow just a few from a packet each year.

Plant about 25 seeds - 4 varieties.
Ideally I keep about 10 plants. Some won’t germinate and any spare I give to neighbours

I have 26 tomatoes that have germinated. They will probably need potting on in a week or two, so I’ll have loads of pots all over the house. Realistically I can only fit maybe 20 in the areas I’d planned them to go. All indeterminate, so tall, although will pinch out the tops when they reach the top of my supports. The other six, I’ll either try to squeeze in somewhere, or gift. I don’t think I’ll need to try the planting cuttings @MontyDonsBlueScarfbur will try next year!