[Willow_Warren]

Well I grew tomatoes from seed for the first time last year!

I chose sungold as T&M had them on offer for 20p (thought I could loose for that price!), I used B&Q multi purpose compost (didn't even sieve it  :blink:) and started them off in a plastic strawberry tray (you know the little ones from the supermarket), got 100% germination and thought they did well, potting them on as needed, even took a few side shoots to start more plants with.  Picked punnets worth at the height of the season and giving them away!

Being big headed I thought my home grown plants look better than any of the shop bought ones!

I wouldn't say they were cheap though, I got mine this year in the 50p sale last autumn but otherwise £2-3 per packet and only about 12 or so seeds in a packet!

Hannah

[ryetek]

I try not to waste anything, in fact the first side shoots to come off the tomatoes will get rooted to produce more plants, which in effect will give me 4 or 5 from one seed!

You learn something everyday on this forum and that's what I love about it. I did not know you could do that. Thanks DD.

Is there any special way to root the shoots or do you just stick them in some compost?

[pdblake]

I do pretty much what DD does, but I talk nicely to them while I'm doing it

[DD.]

I never said I don't talk to mine, in fact all my peas have names! 

Compost wise for rooting, any old thing will do. Surprisingly maybe, tomatoes are the easiest thing to root.

[ryetek]

Compost wise for rooting, any old thing will do. Surprisingly maybe, tomatoes are the easiest thing to root.

Thanks DD. I'll try that when the time comes.

[pdblake]

I never said I don't talk to mine, in fact all my peas have names! 

That's a lot of names. Surely you have to number them too

[DD.]

They have a middle name according to variety - that lets me repeat the first names. 

[gremlin]

Some interesting new ideas to try.   I like the earthing up technique
 
The main difference in what I do is to prick out the seedlings as soon as I can handle them and not wait for true leaves.  The main root thread was already too long for the new plastic cups 10 days after germination, so I cant bury them much deeper.   The will be buried to their first true leaves when planted out in the greenhouse in May.

The plant pots are where I sow the handful of seeds. They are now "reserves" to be left to their own fate, given away or composted.    White plastic cups where they have just been pricked out into JI No 1

I select for pricking out based on the thickest stem.  Ordinary tomato seedlings are amazingly varied. Six varieties this year. None of these are F1s.

Currently in the house by a window with tin foil reflector.

[Totty]

It's also noticeable that certain varietys are more likely to produce the 'perfick' little tom plant. Potting on some today and although all grown the same, sungold, Shirley, cedrico and goldstar are producing excellent plants, whereas flamingo, mortgage lifter and Sakura look paler and less stockey

Totty