Try TikTok's Simple Tomato Seed Starting Hack To Help The Germination Process

What's a summer garden without tomatoes? They're a highlight for many gardeners, so getting them to grow is important for a good gardening year. Tomatoes are a beginner-friendly plant since they grow so quickly, and they offer a "bonus feature" that makes them even easier: They don't need light to germinate. As TaDa Greenhouse on TikTok shares, you can cover up the planted seeds with a newspaper and keep it watered, and in three days, you'll have tomato plants.

As long as your seeds are warm, they shouldn't have any problems germinating. During the process, you can keep your seed trays on a heat mat in the dark. But, once the seedlings pop up, they'll need sunlight or they'll become leggy. They'll also look white or yellow since they're not receiving enough sunlight to develop chlorophyll, which is responsible for the green color. Don't let your seeds sit in the dark longer than three days, or you'll risk having sickly-looking seedlings.

Newspaper is ideal for the germination of tomato seeds because it's lightweight and allows water to seep through. If seedlings germinate early, they should still be able to grow upwards and not be crushed. However, you're not limited to using only newspapers, which is good since they're becoming harder to find in the internet era. Like with growing microgreens, you can cover them with other seed starting trays with no holes to keep them in complete darkness. You can also use a thin dishcloth or paper bag.

Seeds need to stay moist, so don't choose anything that will hinder them from receiving water. If necessary, remove the cover to water and put it back when you're done. The benefit of not lifting the cover is that it will help retain heat, but you can avoid losing heat by using a heat mat. Tomatoes benefit from receiving bottom heat and keeping seeds warm will speed up germination. Keep your covered seeds on a sunny window sill if bottom heat isn't possible.