Seedlings, Day 5

The little pots of seedlings are coming along well—they spend their days basking in light. I'm keeping the soil evenly moist, but not soaked, which means I'm watering about every other day. The frequency of watering depends on your soil mix ... I'm using a fast-draining mix with lots of perlite, so I might have to water a little more frequently.

The seedlings pictured here are about 2" high, maybe a little more. At this point, the first true leaves still haven't emerged, but will probably do so in the next few days. They're also getting a little crowded, so I'll thin them out soon and leave just a few in every pot. Later, I'll thin them again, leaving just one in every pot. When you thin tomato seedlings, don't pull the young plants from the soil. You might accidentally pull up the whole clump. Instead, use scissors to snip them off. Take the smallest and weakest looking and leave the ones with the thickest, strongest stems and biggest leaves.