You sure can start in 2in pots. That's what I do. You still have to mark them though, and you will have to mix and fill your own soil. Move a bunch of small pots may be a hassle, but I put them on racks and move the racks. The flats are just for convenience.

I use yogurt cups an write the variety on the outside with a sharpie. I bought some flats and the little green house 2 years ago and haven't used them yet. Maybe next year?

I've been buying tomatoes planted 10-15 to a 3" pot. They need to be transplanted promptly -- usually 3" tall with true leaves when I buy them. I take reasonable care and get more than 10 survivors. This works out to $0.25 a plant for me.

Planting groups in the 3" pots takes up less space under lights and works well. Planting my own, I spread them out a little on the surface of the pot.

It's funny how one persons nightmare is another's nirvana. I moved away from 3" pots to 72 cell flats just to be able to make charts and lists on my PC, rather than do all the individual labeling.

All my seedling data is in a Filemaker database and I can finally make scientific decisions. No more guess work or washed out labels for me.

Granted, I'm an engineer so all this is standard operating procedures for me.

Good luck with whatever cool thing you figure out!

I'm not good with charts so this is how I do some of mine. With
your tomatoes don't fill the flats all the way to the top, that way
the seeds won't spill over into other cell. I bought mini blinds for
$3.00, you can make them any size. You can do it when your
watching TV. I make the same labels for my peat pellets.

you don't use this method to grow on do you? many years ago I found trays that had a trough instead of cells. I've washed these every year and use them again and again. I don't know what I did without them.

roper if you use a watering tray you don't have problems with seeds spilling over and it's much easier than watering each cell.

I start mine in 16 oz. clear beer cups (so I can see the roots fill out.) I fill each cup about 1/3 with soil. I tamp it down and put 4 seeds to a cup. As they seedlings grow, (once they have true leaves) I back-fill with soil up to the first two leaves. Sometimes the seedlings are up over the top by the time I have true leaves and in that case, I fill up to the top and tamp down.

This way, I have roots going all the way up the plant and by the time I plant outdoors, they all have a great root system. BTW, I pinch out all but one plant to a cup once I see who is the strongest. Also, I poke holes in the bottom and bottom sides of cups with a soldering iron. This system makes it easy to label right on the outside of the cup and there is no need to transplant anything until right into the garden in June. As soon as the days are warm, they will be outdoors/inside at night until risk of frost is over.

I'm like you, I have a small 575SQ garden so I only need two dozen plants. So, I start them individually in 3oz Solo bathroom cups with a few knife slits at the bottom for drainage, you can get a pack of 80 at any grocery store for under $2. I then pot up at 3 weeks into 16oz drinking cups for another 3-5 weeks based on the weather, then they get set in the garden.

Tom

I went to styrofoam cups long ago, mostly because that way I can sort them according to who is sprouting and growing well, and who is lagging behind and needs some heat. It also is less pressure on me to transplant NOW, because those little cells don't allow for much wiggle room in the "too big" dept. But then I have over 100 varieties going, so transplanting is a big proposition.

I put potting soil in the bottom of the cup, and seedling starting mix in the top for sprouting. That gives me the best of both worlds--fluffy mix for the seedling to break through, and food for when they are ready to grow.

Carla in Sac

I haven't used cell flats in years to start any seeds. I use 2oz or 3oz little plastic cups - the kind you get sauce in at taco bell, arby's, etc.... I spread the seeds across the surface so there is space between seedlings. After they sprout as seedlings get their 1st set of true leafs I prick them out and transplant them into larger plastic cups such as yogurt, 5 oz solos, etc...., then upward in size as needed until plant out. Also as Carla stated it's a lot easier to sort, move, transplant who only needs to be, etc... I get 32 2oz cups in a flat. I grow 50+ varities of toms, 50+ varities of peppers, and tons of annual flowers this way.
Sandy

I'm afraid I make it real simple - as seeds are cheap. I pot into 4"pots which I place in standard flats. I label each pot and put 3 seeds in each. Then I thin to one plant in each. This way I never have to repot. The flats are kept under shop lights hung with twine and pulleys ($1.50 each) from the shelves of a cheapo plastic set of shelves. The setup has lasted me for years. Plus it allows me to adjust the lights upward as seedlings grow. My setup also includes a fan set on low to keep a slight breeze on the plants. I end up with stock healthy plants and no damping. The plants go from there initial pot right to the garden.

If using cell flats, wet the soil 1st. Plant your seeds. Then keep soil moistened with a spray bottle.

Don't forget that most of those 72 cell trays can be separated into smaller cell packs. This makes it easier to sow one variety in a section of 4, 6, or 9 cells and you can remove the ones that have germinated without disturbing the others. If you buy young plants at a nursery, you may have noticed that you have to separate(struggle, rip and tear)that one cell pack at the back of the table that you want, lol. I save as many cell packs from nursery purchases that I can and use them for as long as I can. I also use a spray bottle to keep the medium moistened. I add a little weak chamomile tea to the water to help prevent damping-off.
I do a lot of potting up(I don't mind it). I start some seeds in baggies(usually peppers and toms), plant sprouted seed into a cell or 8oz cup, then into 16oz cups before it's time to harden things off. Some things I'll start in the cell packs, others(larger seeds), like cukes, zukes, sunflowers, I'll sow in 8oz cups.

Well I guess it depends on how many plants you need/want to get started, how much room you have, and how much trouble you feel like going to. I prefer the 72-cell flats because when I sow 2 seeds per cell they allow me to cram a whole lotta starts in that small area which takes up as little space as possible in one of my grow racks. These flats also minimize the amount of seedstarting mix required to get each plant off and running - I cannot be filling yogurt cups or similar with starter mix for one plant! I grow hundreds! Yes, the transplanting is CONSIDERABLE toil, but I see no way around it to get the number of plants I want for my own garden and for resale to other gardeners in my area. I like the idea of carmen grower to use a small amount of starter in the bottom of a cup and then add potting mix as the plant grows taller and develops true leaves - I think I would do that if I ever decided to just grow enough for my own garden - or if I got a greenhouse so that space would not be an issue. In the end you do what works best for your purposes and what you feel you can deal with.

I do use seed flats, but like what I read about Carmen's method. Plus, her comment about waiting to see "who is the strongest" made me smile. I thoroughly anthropomorphize my little guys, too.

Rain

I like Carmen's method also. But I may not get much planted if I drink a 16 oz. beer for every seed I plant.

I decided to use some this year with the different varieties and the increase in the amount I'll be growing. After trimming them they fit perfectly in these drawer organizers I found at a garage sale. 6oz yogurt cups also fit perfectly in these organizers. I can get 4 1/2 6 packs(72 cell) or 10 yogurt cups in the large one. 4 yogurt cups fit in the small one.

I have been doing a little of both. I have about 600 starts going and I think I am going to go with the 50mm peat pellets from now on. So far the cheapest I have found is .12 each. I think this way I dont have to pot up or have the added cost os peat pots or potting mix. I would like to hear some advice from anyone willing to offer it.