How to Grow Tomatoes in Pots from Seeds? – Step-by-step guide

All home gardeners know how satisfying it is to grow veggies from your own selected stored seeds and finally get to eat them. The homegrown ones are unbeatable over the injected ones and more healthy. Plus it saves money. Tomato is one of the vegetables that grow well and is juicy if you grow and care for them well just like Syngonium Pink Splash. The variety of tomatoes that you have already been familiar with or grown can be saved for a long time only via seeds. This time-saving technique indeed! Do you know How to Grow Tomatoes in Pots from Seeds?

Quick takeaways:

• Tomatoes are a berry that is delicious and comes in cherry size as well. It is easy to grow tomatoes in pots from seeds.
• All you need to have in pots, tomato seeds, potting mix, and sunlight.
• Then follow the procedure starting from adding the mixture of potting mix to the pots till fertilize them properly.
• Solanum Lycopersicum is the scientific name for tomato plants and loves heat, moist well-drained soil, and sunlight for a minimum of 8 hours a day.

Let’s simply get into the process of growing tomatoes from seeds step by step thoroughly.

Growing tomato plants from seed indoors

The tomato seeds can be sown inside the house into containers that have proper drainage holes 4 weeks before the last frost. This is the first step as the tomato seedlings need to be kept away from ice and low temperatures, so it is safe to start indoors.

• Water the seeds frequently but in light quantity keeping the seedlings dry and not wetting too much which can cause rot.
• Make sure the pot gets good sunlight, heat, and well-drained moist soil. The seedlings will appear within 7-14 days.
• Then you can transplant the seedling outside as the temperature rises from 59 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Keep in bright sunlight and well-drained moist soil.
• The tomatoes usually are seen after 2-3 months.

How to Grow Tomatoes in Pots from Seeds? – Step-by-step guide  

Things required

1. Tomato seeds

The seeds of the tomato need to be chosen first, as there are varieties of tomatoes from cherry ones to the slicer or those appropriate for making thick red sauce.

It is important that the tomato plant that you have chosen is disease resistant, and grows to good size either determinate or indeterminate.

2. Pots

The pots, if used for indoor planting of the tomato seeds, will need a container with good drainage holes on the very bottom side. The bigger pot if used has dual benefits as in the initial stage you can grow the plant with good space and air.

Later the roots will get enough space to grow at a low rate to get bound. That pot can be kept indoors as well but the spot should be sunny enough.

An ideal pot size for tomato plants is almost 14-15 inches. The container should be clean and biodegradable, using seed starting trays is also not a bad idea and you can also plant other plant with tomatoes in container.

3. Potting soil

Get a good quality soilless seed starting mix that is lightweight and drains poorly, keeping diseases and aphids at bay.

The potting soil should be of good quality having ingredients like peat, perlite, and vermiculite. Add about one inch of potting soil mix, add good moisture, and don’t let the roots sit in water.

4. Light

Plenty of sunlight and warmth is what tomato seeds need. You can use grow light or heat mat to speed the process of germination.

That is why tomato plants grow best in the summer heat and bright light with temperatures of about 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Method of growing the tomatoes from seeds 

1. Load the pot with potting mix

Now you have a clean pot or seed starting tray, plastic cups can be used though! You can load the pot with a potting mix of about half to one inch and keep it below the rim of the container.

2. Sow the seeds

Sow the seeds about 4 weeks before the last frost indoors and at a good depth of seed not much sunken inside the soil.

Keep the potting mix fluffy and airy. Avoid tightening too much. Place potting mix should be drained well.

Lightly cover the seed with a little soil and give some moisture on top as well by spraying it onto it.

3. Choose a sunny spot

Now place the pot or tray in a pot that is less disturbing and has enough light per day. The soil should get warm and moist to pop up the seed.

Also, it is vital that overheating shouldn’t happen and that the seeds don’t get too much light like Striped Dracaena, Cat palm tree, Kentia palm etc which can hinder them from growing.

4. Water the soil

Water the soil properly so that the potting mix stays moist but the tomato seeds can be overwatered very easily so it’s important that water is getting drained well and the soil is not wet for a long time.

You should not overwater the seeds, water them frequently but lightly as there are chances of overdoing them.

If the soil seems dry then go for watering. If the day is too sunny, you can spray some water near the soil to keep the seedlings dry.

5. Fertilize the soil

A water-soluble or liquid fertilizer can be a great boost for the seed or even the seedling stage. At the beginning of the growth phase, the tomato plants need a good amount of nutrients through the potting mix; giving some extra fertilizer after two weeks will help the seedlings grow healthy. The slow-release fertilizer is great for tomato plants.

6. Keep checking

Last but not the least, do check the pots regularly if the soil is getting too dry or staying wet for a long. The soil is getting drained well or not? The seedling is not showing any droopiness.

The seedling stage needs extra pampering and care with proper look-up. Make sure the leaves don’t stay moist as well. 

Final words

We hope that this article was beneficial for you in supplying the information and by now we might have understood how you will be growing the tomato plants from the seeds in such easy ways. We are happy to help and let us know how the growing process went for you. It is overwhelming to see that tiny seedling emerging from the seed. 

Thanks for reading! Happy gardening!

FAQs