tomato seedlings

Question

I’m planting seedlings for the first time (super noob). Could you please take a look at these tomato seedling pictures and give feedback?

For pictures starting with 1 and 2 – what to do next, should I keep what looks like the strongest seedling in the pot and snip off the rest of the seedlings in the pot or just let all of them grow? These are 3-4 weeks old currently. They will all be planted in the ground at 6 weeks after hardening off. One of the pots has 4 growing and they all look strong.

For pictures starting with 3 and 4 – Are these too leggy or are they ok? Will they make it eventually? Should I bother with them or just start off afresh. I think maybe I didn’t get them enough light when they were starting off. I got a couple of grow lights working on them now.

For the picture starting with 5 – How are these looking? Are these already too leggy? I saw seedlings in Home Depot yesterday and their stems were quite short and stocky compared to mine, though they were a bit older plants. Should I bother with the leggy ones or just start all over again ? Is it too late to start tomato seedlings now? I’m in zone 10a.

Thanks for your attention.

Norm

More pictures here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3v2zeHIr5n1UDhITVAwbjNrcm8

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3v2zeHIr5n1T09CZFByUTFfWms

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3v2zeHIr5n1SWlnUnh4czNENHM

Answer 1

You can thin the multiple seedlings by either doing what you said, cutting out the weaker or separating out the tomato seedlings and repotting individually.
I always have trouble just tossing or killing off healthy seedlings; even if I have enough plants, I can share extras with another gardener.
I would suggest you prepare a few extra pots with a good light potting soil.
Prick out the seedlings and carefully place them down into the soil. Plant the tender seedlings down as far into the soil as you can get them and gently tamp down the soil around the stem. One seedlings per 3 inch pot. This will help you with the leggy stems and help give them a good strong root system.
Then make sure you give them adequate lighting. Add a grow light if you don’t have a sunny enough window.

Your little tomato babies look very healthy, so keep up the good work!
These articles will help you.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/tomato/growing-tomatoes-from-seed.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/leggy-seedling.htm