Oh, I did not do a great job with seed starting, I think. I mean, I did okay with the first batch of putting seeds in self-watering containers (key for how harried I am — one set was not in a self-watering container, and really suffered from lack of consistent watering), but:
a) first I overstuffed many of the containers, so I had a ton of seedlings that needed either snipping or division (and division is a bit traumatic for them, and sets back their growth, I think)
b) then I was busy and didn’t deal with it for more than a week, so they just kept getting squished (and sometimes dried out)
The end result is that if you compare a store-bought tomato seedling with one of mine, eep. It’s quite the difference.
Ah well. I’m going to try again with a second batch today, I think, and as the semester winds up, I’m hoping to be a little less harried, and can take more care. On the plus side, I’ve picked up a few more self-watering containers, so that should help, at least.
And hey — all those extra seedlings mean that I can pot up some of my puny babies to give to a friend. (Picture 2) She’s more painstaking than me, so I bet she’ll be able to cosset them back to health. (I tend to be a bit slapdash in many things…)