Seed starting under grow lights
Just as the rats must die, seedlings must die as well. Seed starting invariably involves the process of thinning, which is a nice way of saying purposely killing some of the plants. When I planted my tomato seedlings, I planted them four seeds to a pot. Sometimes germination is poor and the extras are there to make sure you get at least one healthy plant (hopefully) per pot. My tomato germination this year was really strong, which means I had to thin the plants. I kept the strongest plant in each pot and pulled out the rest. I also repotted the plants to bury the stem of the strongest plant deeper, since the stems will root and help create a stronger root system for the tomato plant.
At the same time I took care of the tomatoes, I planted eight packs of “Royal” sweet pea plants, two more lettuce packs (“Parris Island Cos” this time), a hot pepper combo mix, a pepperoncini, and a couple of packs of onion, “Candy” variety.
As you can see, I have no more space under my lights. I’m going to need some of these babies to move on out before I can get my other summer crops started. I’m sure more seedlings will die in the process, but so goes the circle of life in the garden.
Sandy
The 10 Year Challenge 
I did some thinning today as well – tomatoes and celery. Also doing some serious seedling shuffling as well t0 make room for the next big round of seed starting that I got underway this weekend. Next shuffling should occur about the time the broccoli and kale, and other more hardy items are ready to move out to the greenhouse for the first stages of hardening off followed by eventual planting up in the garden.
Your seedlings look like they are coming along nicely!
How many lights did you hang over the trays? I tried it for the first time this year (one bulb only) and everything flopped over. Yours look great!