After the last article on tomatoes, you may be deciding which tomatoes you would like to grow this summer. You may also now need to decide if you are going to buy the plants later this spring or plant your own seeds and grow your own plants.
There are advantages to growing your own tomato plants. You have a wider choice of tomatoes to grow than what may be on the market at greenhouses or garden centers, especially if you want heirlooms or new varieties. But it is not always an easy task to grow your own.
It is too early to plant. Planting tomato seeds in the house or greenhouse too early is a mistake many gardeners make. Plants might get too tall, leggy and stunted in the container. Seedlings held too long indoors will have a difficult time adjusting to conditions in the garden. Seedlings started too late will delay the harvest.
So when is the right time? A guideline many gardeners use is April 1 to have the plants at the right stage to plant outdoors around May 15, the last date for frost in our area. With the warm temperatures this winter, it is going to be hard to predict the temperature range this spring. Starting tomato seeds directly in the garden is not advised because in our area it may be late spring or summer before the soil is warm enough for seeds to germinate and too late for plants to mature and produce tomatoes.
There are many seed-starting kits or supplies on the market. A soilless or organic seed-potting mix is the medium of choice for sowing tomato seeds. As for the container, there are jiffy pellets placed in a tray, cell packs (tiny plastic pots grouped together in a tray), jiffy pots, small pots, egg cartons, milk jugs or other suitable containers. Commercially, there are seed-starting kits.
Fill the container with potting mix to within one-half inch and place one or two seeds in each pellet or container. Planting two or more seeds is good insurance in case one does not sprout. You can pinch off the smaller or weaker ones if all of them sprout.
Cover the seeds with one-fourth inch of soil mix or compress the soil with your fingers. Good seed-to-soil contact is important for germination.
It helps to cover the pellets or containers with plastic wrap or the top of the seed-starting kit to keep the moisture until the seeds are sprouted. Do not over-water, just keep them moist.
Place the seed-starting pots, trays or seed-starting kit in a 70-75 degree room or use a heating mat. The seeds should sprout in three or eight days, on average.
As soon as the sprouts are up, remove the plastic wrap or lip on the kit and place it in a sunny window or under fluorescent grow lights. Be careful not to burn in the direct sun. The seedlings need lots of sun, but the direct sun through a window glass burns the little seedlings.
Another problem to avoid is not removing the covering or keeping the soil too wet. It must be removed as soon as seeds germinate to prevent damping-off disease (a fungal infection) that appears as brown and grey spots on the leaves, followed by the death of the seedling. Good air circulation is important.
Eventually, the seedlings will have their second set of leaves transplanted into larger jiffy pots, peat pots or other containers filled with a soilless mix. Once the seedlings are three to four weeks of age, you can fertilize them sparingly. They can usually be fertilized after they have been transplanted into the pots. Use one-third to one-half of regular strength water-soluble plant food or fertilizer about every week or 10 days.
The next article will discuss the hardening of the seedlings and transplanting them into the garden.
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