Can I Plant a Sprouting Tomato? A Guide to Growing Tomatoes from Sprouted Seeds
As an avid home gardener, I often find myself with an abundance of ripe tomatoes come late summer. It’s a wonderful problem to have! But occasionally when slicing into a tomato, I discover something unusual – little white sprouts emerging from the seeds inside. At first this phenomenon seemed bizarre, but I’ve since learned it’s a natural occurrence called vivipary or “live birth.”
Though strange, these sprouting seeds present a unique gardening opportunity. With proper care, the sprouts can be planted and grown into brand new tomato plants! In this article, I’ll share my tips for successfully planting and growing tomatoes from sprouts found inside ripe fruits.
What Causes Seeds to Sprout Inside Tomatoes?
Vivipary happens when the gel sacs around the seeds break down, usually because the fruit is too ripe. This lets the seeds sprout early while they are still inside the tomato. Tomatoes that are left on the vine for too long are most likely to get it, but other fruits can too.
The key to success is selecting seeds with small, young sprouts just beginning to emerge. Mature sprouts with long tails have often already depleted their stored food reserves. Optimal sprouts are no more than 1/4 inch long. Gently remove the gel sac with sprout intact for planting.
Step-by-Step Guide to Planting Sprouted Tomato Seeds
With care and optimal conditions, sprouted tomato seeds can grow into robust, fruiting plants. Follow these steps:
- Extract and Dry the Seeds
Carefully scoop out sprouted seeds and surrounding gel. Place on paper towels to dry for 2-3 days.
- Prepare Seed Trays
Fill trays or pots with seed starting mix. Moisten soil prior to planting. Peat pots work well.
- Sow Seeds Close to Surface
Gently place sprouted seeds on soil, sprouts facing up. Cover with just 1/4 inch of mix or less.
- Provide Warmth and Moisture
Keep planted seeds around 70°F – 80°F with bright, indirect light. Keep soil evenly moist but not saturated.
- Transplant Seedlings Outdoors
Allow transplants to get hard for 7–10 days before moving them to the garden after all danger of frost has passed.
Caring for Tomato Transplants in the Garden
With attentive care, tomatoes grown from sprouted seeds can flourish just like those from unsprouted seeds. Here are some key tips:
-
Bury leggy seedlings deeper to establish the root system.
-
Use stakes or cages to support plants as they grow. Prune suckers for best results.
-
Water at base, avoid wetting leaves. Apply organic mulch to retain moisture.
-
Fertilize according to variety needs, avoiding excess nitrogen.
-
Harvest when fruits reach mature size and color for that variety.
The Takeaway on Planting Sprouting Tomatoes
Discovering seeds sprouting inside ripe tomatoes may seem peculiar, but it offers resourceful gardeners a fun propagating challenge. With careful selection of young sprouts and proper planting methods, those seeds can grow into productive tomato plants. It’s a great way to expand your garden variety! Just be sure to discard overripe fruits with extensive sprouting rather than eating them.
So next time you slice into a too-ripe tomato, don’t discard those sprouts. Give them a chance to flourish and enjoy homegrown tomatoes from accidental beginnings!
Conditions for Germinating Tomato Seed
No heat mat? No problem. Find a warm spot to germinate tomato seeds. Pictured here: Germinating a flat of tomato seeds beside a heat duct near the basement ceiling — a warm location. (The wine is unrelated…I didn’t have a lot of space in that house!).
Room temperature is fine for germinating tomato seeds, but you can speed up seed germination if the temperature is warmer.
Here are ways to give your seeds warmer conditions:
- Place them on a heated floor
- Set them on top of a hot-water radiator
- My light tray has fluorescent lights that give off heat, so putting seed containers on the rack above them makes the light tray hot.
- Some things give off heat. Check to see if the fridge’s top is warm.
- Or, get a heat mat, which is a heating pad for plants that won’t get wet.
Once a half to three quarters of the seeds are up, I remove the container from the heat.
As a seed germinates, it needs moist surroundings until it grows roots and can take up water on its own. If it dries out at this vulnerable stage, it’s game over.
But the air in centrally heated homes over the winter is often quite dry.
You can keep the humidity higher right around the seeds by covering them.
- The clear plastic domes that are meant to go on top of plant trays are what I use.
- Or, put a sheet of glass or plastic over a tray, or put a plastic bag over a single pot.
- Another option is to use plastic cling wrap
Remove once the seeds emerge.
Don’t worry about light for tomato seed germination. Some types of seed need light to germinate; not tomatoes.
The seedlings on the left are uncovered, to get air circulation. The seeds on the right are covered with a plastic cover to keep the humidity high during germination.
So in summary, as you’re getting your tomato seeds to germinate, think warm and humid. I used to put my seeds to grow on a shelf in the basement, close to a heat duct high up, because it was nice and warm there. ).
Containers for Starting Tomato Seeds
You can buy purpose-made containers for starting seeds. Or you might already have things you can reuse for seed-starting. (Horticulture creates a lot of plastic waste…and a bit of creativity with seed-starting containers is a great way to generate less waste. ).
Here are ideas for seed-starting containers for tomatoes:
Plug trays are an option if you want to start lots of seeds.
- Cell packs. These are the plastic pots with many holes that are common for bedding plants. They are a good choice if you want to grow a lot of seedlings.
- Plug trays. Plastic trays with a lot of small holes that are usually found in commercial greenhouses
- Pots.
- Crates. I’ve used wooden mandarin orange crates.
- Newspaper pots. Remember that paper pots quickly dry out and soak up water, so adjust how much you water them as needed.
- Egg cartons. Like egg shells below, they’re not big enough to grow tomato plants to the point where they can be moved, but they work for starting seeds before moving them to a bigger pot if that’s all you have.
- Egg shells? Don’t bother. There are lots of cute pictures of seeds growing in egg shells on the web. My suggestion is don’t bother, they’re impractical.
Newspaper pots are easy to make. They can be planted directly into the garden as the roots grow right through the newspaper.
If you’re using biodegradable, natural-fibre pots (peat pots are common, and I’ve even seen pots made from cow manure) a word of caution: Bury the entire pot when planting in the garden, or the whole thing is a wick, wicking water away from plant roots.
Easily Propagate Tomatoes |3 Simple Steps|
FAQ
How to plant a germinated tomato seed?
How to Plant Tomato Seeds: First, make sure the seed-starting mix is very wet. Then, fill the containers up to about 1/2″ of the way to the top. Place two or three seeds into each small container or each cell of a seed starter. Water to ensure good seed-to-mix contact. Place the pots in a warm spot or on top of a heat mat.
How to grow tomatoes from Vivipary?
Put the seeds in a pot and wait until they are big enough to separate. Then, when it gets warm enough, put the seedlings outside. Because it’s not a clone, it won’t look like the parent tomato plant, but you’ll soon have tasty tomatoes.