Tomato
300-400 g of seed per hectare as a transplanted crop. Sown 0.5-1.0 cm deep, it germinates in 5-10 days at 20-25 °C.
Tomato seed rate and depth
A transplanted tomato crop takes 300-400 g of seed per hectare, and the seed goes in shallow — 0.5-1.0 cm deep. Held at 20-25 °C it germinates in 5-10 days, and at the standard 60 × 45 cm spacing one hectare carries about 37,000 plants.
Three figures that answer the question
Scroll the strip sideways — 6 cards.
300-400 g of seed per hectare as a transplanted crop. Sown 0.5-1.0 cm deep, it germinates in 5-10 days at 20-25 °C.
Germinates in 8-14 days at 25-30 °C — slower and warmer than tomato, so it goes into the nursery calendar earlier.
Best at 15-20 °C and largely stalled above 30 °C. The seed needs light to germinate, so it lies on the soil surface rather than under it.
Seed often drops below 70% germination after 12-24 months in storage. Old lots need a 400-seed test before sowing.
Like onion, carrot seed often falls below 70% germination within 12-24 months. Cool, dry storage slows the decline.
The durable pair: bean and pea seed can hold germination for 3-5 years in cool, dry storage.
Every period shown here comes from the same seed specifications used in the tables above.
| What is measured | Value |
|---|---|
| Seed rate, transplanted crop | 300–400 g per hectare |
| Sowing depth | 0.5–1.0 cm |
| Germination temperature | 20–25 °C |
| Days to emergence | 5–10 days |
| Row × plant spacing | 60 × 45 cm |
| Area per plant | 0.27 m² |
| Plant population | ≈37,000 plants per hectare |
| 1,000-seed weight | 3–4 g (≈250–330 seeds per gram) |
For a transplanted crop the commonly quoted rate is 300-400 g of seed per hectare.
The rate assumes seedlings are raised in a nursery first and transplanted to the field, not sown directly where they will crop. Because tomato seed is small — 3-4 g per 1,000 seeds — 300-400 g works out to on the order of 75,000-130,000 seeds per hectare.
Set that against the target stand: at 60 × 45 cm spacing a hectare holds about 37,000 plants, so the seed supply is roughly two to three times the final population. The surplus absorbs germination losses and the culling of weak seedlings before transplanting.
Before sowing, confirm the lot still germinates well: the standard test counts 400 seeds as four replicates of 100 and reports the percentage that sprouts within a fixed test period. The method is described on the germination temperatures page.
Sow 0.5-1.0 cm deep and hold the seedbed at 20-25 °C; emergence follows in 5-10 days.
Depth and temperature work as a pair. The 0.5-1.0 cm band is shallow, and the 5-10 day emergence window is quoted for a bed held at 20-25 °C; outside that temperature band the 5-10 day window no longer holds.
Other crops want different conditions. Pepper seed germinates in 8-14 days at 25-30 °C — warmer and slower than tomato. Lettuce is the opposite case: it germinates best at 15-20 °C, largely stalls above 30 °C, and its seed must lie on the soil surface because light triggers germination.
The practical consequence is that one bed cannot suit every crop at the same moment. Check each crop's window before setting sowing dates; the crop-by-crop table sits on the germination temperatures page.
Every figure on this page is drawn from standard vegetable-seed specifications: quoted seed rates, germination windows and storage rules of thumb. Where a number is derived — such as the 37,000-plant stand — the arithmetic is shown next to it. No field trials, prices or brand data are included.
Where the numbers come from
The list below names the specification types behind each figure rather than linking to any commercial source.