I “planted” my mini-tomato pods on 18 December. The first shoot showed up on 22 December and 5 or 6 others came up in the same pod within 2-3 days. The middle pod has a single shoot that came up on 24 December. The third pod has nothing so far. My issue is that all the seedlings have some up right against the top of the cup’s “U” opening. I took the lid off which I know will change the environment a bit but I think that’s the lesser of the evils. Confirmation of that would be most welcome.
Now the third, still empty pod. I also too its lid off because I was concerned that a seed would germinate under it. There isn’t anything but I’ve left the lid off and put the dome back over the open cup.
How long should I wait for that third pod to product? If nothing happens might I transplant of the the shoots I’ll be thinning from the first pod?
Mini tomato plant pods may need up to two weeks to sprout. If the third pod will not sprout in time please submit a ticket to the support and such faulty plant pods will be replaced for free.
Until then, as tomato pods require thinning, consider doing some diy and transplant one of the extra to this empty third plant pod, as you were already planning to do.
I would also recommend to place the u-shaped lids back on, it will keep the pod nicely intact to the wick and prevent mold/algae. Your mini tomato plants will be just fine with the lid on
Thanks so much for your thoughtful answer. It was right on! The third pod did germinate. I thinned the first one. I left the strongest but I’m so impressed at how sturdy and well rooted the ones I had to discard were. So then of course, additional shoots came up in that pot and the one that had had the singleton. I let them get just high enough to be able to safely grasp them and then pulled them out. I figured it would disturb the roots of the ones I’m keeping less if I did it early. Anyway, I pulled the lids on all of them and, once it got going, the dome on the late one. Now they’re all doing well but I suspect that, without the lids, they may use water more quickly. Will keeping an eye on the float be enough to give them the care they need or should I try to fabricate something to partially cover the exposed dirt?
Again, thanks for your help and thanks to Click and Grow for making this available. It really helps to know help is at hand.
