Seed starting

Its very easy to make your own. Gather those 2-liter plastic soda bottles.
Cut them down to 4"-6" tall.
Hammer holes with a Phillips head screwdriver in the 5 lowest lobes of the bottles. (I take mine outside and hammer on the lawn)
With a sharp scissors, I cut a slit from the bottom holes up about 3 inches that is about 1/8th" or so wide.
Its ready.
Fill with your favorite growing medium, transplant your smaller transplant into this larger one, set it under lights and watch them grow for another 5 or 6 weeks into strong healthy seedlings.
If you are moving tomato seedlings to the larger pruning pots, bury the seedling deeper in this pot to strengthen the main stem.
When you transplant, water them first and they will slip right out of the pot when you turn it over with the stem braced between your fingers.
The root is not disturbed.
I washed my pots well with detergent to use them again next year.
If you are worried about transmitting diseases, you can wash with a bleach and water solution.

The air-pruning pots are the clear ones on the right.
You can remove the labels on the bottles or not. Its up to you.
I used 2" soil blocks after the seeds germinated and then transplanted those blocks into the air-pruning pots after 2-3 weeks.
When the roots of the plants reach the air, they stop growing around in a circle so you don't have that girdling problem when transplanting.

QuiltBea;

If you are moving tomato seedlings to the larger pruning pots, bury the seedling deeper in this pot to strengthen the main stem.

We were having this discussion in another thread & I didn't know why the transplants were partially buried each time.... just knew that was how we were taught.

So it's for the stronger stem??

Furbalsmom wrote:Acara, stronger stem and more roots. Roots will grow along any portion of the tomato stem that is in the ground. All those little fuzzies on the stem are potential roots.

Thanks ...

Just one of my many hang-ups .... always like to know "the reason behind the rules"

Furbalsmom......I had no trouble with the plastic bottle pots. And no trouble getting them out of the pots so no transplant shock to the roots.

I now like to cut my bottles about 6" deep for the tomato plants so they have room to grow more and stronger roots before going into the garden.
Cutting them 4" for other plants is fine, like broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, etc.

This was only my 2nd year at SFG and I learned from errors I made the first year.
You, too, will learn what works best for you.
A little experimentation now and then doesn't hurt. Things that work for me may not work for another person.

Thanks ...

Second question if I may ....

Do you trim the section that your going to bury while transplanting (how I was taught), or do you just bury it, horizontal stems, leaves and all ??

And of course ... the obligatory (why) ,,,if you know/suspect, have an opinion