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How to Start Planting Tomato Seeds (Step-by-Step Guide)

Here's a beginner-friendly guide on how to start planting tomato seeds easily at home. Tomato plants are one of the easiest to grow and I'll show you how!
Keyword: growing tomato seeds indoor, tomato seed starter
Author: Valya of The Farm Girl Blog

Ingredients

You will need

  • Tomato Seeds
  • Tomato Starter Container/kit
  • Starter Soil Mix

Instructions

Know When to Sow

  • Planting tomato seeds should be done four to six weeks before the spring average last frost date in your region. This gives you some breathing room in case a late frost unexpectedly hits your area.

Prepare Trays

  • Fill your seed trays with starting mix. Loosely fill each cell, then lightly tap the tray to get rid of any air bubbles.
  • The soil should fill the cells completely without compacting. The roots of your plants will spread out nicely in loose soil, but not in compacted soil.
  • Carefully smooth the soil's surface to make it level. Leave ¾ of an inch of space above the soil line at the top of the cells.

Sow Seeds

  • Spread the seeds evenly apart when you first place one on the soil's surface before adding the others.
  • Then sprinkle additional soil to cover the holes with seeds about a half-inch thick. Once again gently firm the sprinkled soil mix, and lightly pat the surface of the soil to smooth it.

Water Gently

  • Spray your seeds with water from a spray bottle until the soil is damp but not saturated.

Move to the Window Sill

  • Place your seed trays in your germination station, which can be a greenhouse, grow, dome, or simply your window sill which is my preferred way of doing it.

Provide Ample Light to Seedlings

  • Your plants will tilt toward the window if you use a window as a source of light. Rotate your seed trays every few days to fix this and get your plants to grow straight.

Take Daily Care of Your Seedlings

  • Your young tomatoes require daily maintenance. When the soil's surface is dry, use your spray bottle to water once or twice every day.

Repot and Harden Off

  • When the seedlings are about 2 to 3 inches tall and have 2 sets of leaves, it's time to transplant individual tomato seedlings into bigger pots.