Does anyone else save plants when they've overseeded a starting cell?

Every year I start tomatoes and I never feel confident enough to just sow one seed. So I remove all but the strongest seedlings and pop the rest in water for about a week. The hairs develop roots and you end up with a ton of extra plants.

This year I started 7 tomato plants, but now have over 20. I'm probably just going to give the extras away.

I'm also growing pepino melons for the first time and they re-rooted just as well.

I like this idea. hadn't thought of doing this yet.
I'm always overseeding, but then just end up removing most of the sprouts. Saving them could be a nice idea.
Do you pull the sprouts out, roots and all, or do you just break of the top above the soil and plop that into water?

Yes.  I often transplant from my starting effort.  Yesterday, I moved some Basil and Oregano.  Overall, I have had good results.  There always seems to be an extra place  in the garden to add a plant..

S. Bard wrote:do you just break of the top above the soil and plop that into water?

Yup! I use scissors and cut at the soil line. Some plants (like lettuce and basil) I just eat. But tomatoes are the only ones I've been able to reroot. I also managed to divide 4 borage who all sprouted in the same cell.

The bad part is, I didn't label these. So there are 3 different types (a red, green, and black). So if I give them away it's all a gamble.

I typically plant around 50 tomato seeds into a pot. Then after they germinate I dump them out, and transplant them into individual pots.

Joseph, do you break the roots apart or cut at soil level?

Also, an honor to speak with you. I'm growing your astronomy domine corn this year. I was going to buy some seed packets off you, but thanks for turning me onto the experimental farm network via your website. I was upset to see some varieties not listed, but my yard is only so big anyway.

I'm new to starting veggie seed indoors this year, but I grew extra with intent of sharing with my friends and family.  I't just pain silly, but I can't bare to yank out the little seedlings and chuck them. They are my babies now and I will care for them.

I move them earlier and don't mess with water as an intermediate stage.  At or before the first set of true leaves I move the plants right to new cells.  Simply gently pull the plant like it is a weed root and all, poke a hole in the soil in a new cell, poke the roots in the hole and firm the soil around it and water.  Loss rate is only about 5% typically and most of those because I accidentally break them off pulling them.  At that young age they transplant really well.  Usually I can't tell the ones moved from the rest from the growth rate.  At that early age it seems to have no noticeable effect.  PS I usually start 2 seeds per cell and move the spare plants to other cells.

I tend to yank them out like weeds and then immediately replant in a new cell.

Like right now I have only space for eight trays under lights inside. Say maybe 5 weeks from now I'll be out in the greenhouse with lots of space. Some important tomato seeds got their own cell. Seeds I grew myself got kind of sprinkled in heavily.

Another possibility I also like is just keeping the whole clump as if it were one multi headed plant.

Though not every plant has to be maximally productive for me as I am mostly just amateur tomato breeding and tend to have thousands of small tomato plants rather than a few really big plants.