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Growing Tomatoes from Seeds, Cuttings, or Seedlings

Gardening Guide: The Everything Tomato Guide: All You Need to Know About Growing, Harvesting, Cooking, and Eating Delicious Tomatoes

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Growing Tomatoes from Seeds, Cuttings, or Seedlings

By Bill Dugan, Executive Editor

Tomato seedling in the garden

Getting your tomato garden started every season begins with the choice of how to grow your plants—from seeds or seedlings? Buying seedlings at your local nursery is quicker and easier, but your choices are limited to what they carry, and the cost of seedlings will likely exceed the cost of starting from seeds. If you’re growing heirloom tomatoes from seeds that you already have, then the choice is already made for you! Or perhaps you’re trying a mix of seeds and seedlings.

Seed Planting Process

When growing from seeds, you’ll need the right tools and a disciplined process for getting from seeds to plants that will produce a good harvest for you.

Besides your seeds, tools might include:

  • starting soil
  • containers
  • widger (a spatula-like tool for lifting seedlings without damaging them)
  • germination station
  • grow lights
  • heat mats

Depending on your set-up situation, you might not need all of these items—or you might be able to do-it-yourself (DIY) on some things. If you choose to grow your tomatoes from seeds, take advantage of all the options to select the varieties that you really want.

Plant your seeds in seed-starting trays under grow lights, and on top of heat mats, watering from the bottom. Keep the seeds covered with a plastic top until the seeds germinate and grow to about an inch long, then remove the cover and watch them grow until they’re ready to transplant. Plant them about 2 feet apart in your garden because they need room to breathe as they grow.

Growing From Cuttings

Cut off a 6 to 8-inch long sucker (a small shoot or leaves that pop up along the stem). Remove the lower leaves if there are any, and immerse the bottom in water in a glass jar. Keep it in a warm, sunny spot. Then, once it develops roots, you can transplant it to the garden or soil. Just treat it like a seedling and give it time to harden off and adjust.

Growing From Seedlings

Growing tomatoes from seedlings is perhaps the easiest way to grow tomatoes. Whether you grow your own indoors during the winter, or you buy them at your local garden center, you’ll have good luck planting seedlings that have already proven to be healthy and growing. Plant them 2 feet apart in your garden.

Have you tried growing tomatoes from seeds, seedlings, or both? Which method do you prefer—and why? Please tell us how you get your tomato garden started every year.

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Tags

grow lights, growing heirloom tomatoes, growing tomatoes, tomato garden, tomatoes

Comments
  • Alan S. May 2, 2023

    I planted seeds from a store bought “hot house slicing tomato” that the seeds sprouted internally in the over ripe tomato. Because they already started sprouting, I cut the tomato seed sacks directly into little cubes and planted the cubes in a potting soil under grow lights. I originally had 12 containers of seedlings with multiple stems. I soaked the soil cups and split them up to single stems. I now have 30 seedlings that are about 10-12″ tall that are hardening off outside and ready to give them away to neighbors and friends.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Curator’s Corner
  • Introduction
  • Feature Articles

  • Growing Zones for Tomatoes
  • Types of Tomato Plants: Standard, Hybrid and Heirloom
  • Preventing Cross Pollination of Heirloom Tomatoes
  • Classifications of Tomato Plants: Determinate vs. Indeterminate
  • Varieties of Tomato Plants
  • Growing Tomatoes from Seeds, Cuttings, or Seedlings
  • Growing Tomatoes in Open Land, in Containers, or in Raised Beds
  • Soil Requirements for Growing Tomatoes
  • The Right Sunlight for Your Tomatoes
  • Should You Fertilize Tomato Plants?
  • How and When to Water Tomato Plants
  • Harvesting and Pruning your Tomatoes
  • Storing and Preserving your Tomatoes
  • How to Spot, Treat, and Prevent Tomato Diseases
  • What to Do About Pests that Can Harm Your Tomato Plants
  • The Right Way to Weed Your Tomato Garden
  • Tomato Rot: How to Identify, Treat, and Prevent Blossom-End Rot
  • Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing Tomatoes
  • The 5 Best Tomatoes for Salsa
  • The 10 Sweetest Tomatoes to Plant
  • Plant Profiles

  • Green Beefsteak Tomatoes
  • Red Beefsteak Tomatoes
  • San Marzano Tomatoes
  • Roma (or Plum) Tomatoes
  • Grape Tomatoes
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Sunchocola Cherry Tomatoes
  • Recipes

  • Tomato Salsa
  • Balsamic Bruschetta
  • Authentic Italian Pizza Sauce
  • Fried Green Tomatoes
  • Stewed Tomatoes
  • Salsa Seafood Soup
  • Roasted Tomato Sauce
  • Cherry Tomato Salad
  • Additional Articles

  • Nutrition Facts about Tomatoes
  • Home Remedies & Health Benefits of Tomatoes
  • Resources about Tomatoes
  • Tomatoes Glossary
  • Related Articles

  • The Biggest Basil and Tomato Companion Planting Benefits
  • 7+ Perfect Plants for an Edible Front Porch Garden
  • The Best Vegetables to Grow in a Greenhouse
  • 5 Tomato Canning Supplies to Preserve Sauce Longer
  • How to Ripen Tomatoes Quickly Three Ways
  • Yellow Leaves on Tomato Plants? 5 Reasons and Remedies
  • How to Prune Tomato Plants, Peppers, Cucumbers and More
  • The 13 Best Grow Lights for Tomatoes and Peppers
  • How to Kill Aphids on Tomato Plants with Stuff from Your Pantry
  • The 15 Best Beefsteak Tomatoes To Grow in 2023
  • How to Stop Vegetable Blight from Ruining Tomatoes
  • Gardening Equipment Every Tomato Gardener Needs
  • How to Grow Your Own Pizza Garden for the Best Pizza Parties
  • How to Avoid Tomato Blossom End Rot
  • How to Make Chicken Cacciatore in a Crock-Pot
  • When to Start Your Tomato Seeds
  • How to Protect Your Tomato Harvest During a Rainy Summer Season
  • The 5 Best Tomatoes for Salsa

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