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| Although I have great success starting from seed, one question always puzzles me and all of the seed starting help that I've seen never addresses this problem... When starting seeds I always seed several varieties and many more than needed, and 100% of the time, they will sprout (break ground) at different times, albeit within a week or so. All the help I've ever read on this says to immediately move sprouted seedlings to light, for the obvious reasons. But they also say to never transplant until the first true leaf. So, if I have dozens of seeds planted and the first ones sprout, how do I get them to light without transplanting them and at the same time not disturb the majority of seed still(underground) in the germninating process which is not supposed to be exposed to light? I personally transplant the sprouted seedlings to small Dixie cups and to the light and put the rest back and let mother nature take care of the rest until they sprout. |
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| This is a frequent question up for discussion over on the Growing from Seed forum so you may want to do some more reading on that forum here. First, So, if I have dozens of seeds planted and the first ones sprout, how do I get them to light without transplanting them and at the same time not disturb the majority of seed still(underground) in the germninating process which is not supposed to be exposed to light? Nothing says un-germinated seedlings cannot be exposed to light. That only applies to a few flowers. Light/no light makes no difference to tomato seeds. But the standard practice is to transplant as they sprout OR if you spaced your seeding well just let them grow there until most of the other sprout. Second, they also say to never transplant until the first true leaf. is merely a recommendation not an absolute. Millions of seedlings get transplanted at the cotyledon stage. It is just a bit more difficult to do until you gain some experience and a bit more care is needed to avoid damaging the stem. Try some and you'll see how easy it is to do. Handle by the cotyledons and bury most of the stem. Dave |
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