Grow Tomatoes From Seeds and Exercise Complete Control of the Growing Process
Grow Tomatoes From Seeds and Exercise Complete Control of the Growing Process
If you're a "purist" about your gardening like I am, you appreciate the satisfaction of growing your tomato plants from seeds so that you can be in full control of the gardening process from start to finish.
Here is a complete rundown of the entire tomato growing process from seeds to delicious tomatoes on your table.
Seeds
Make sure your seeds are no more than 3 - 4 years old. Proper germination becomes less likely with older seeds unless they are specially stored.
Soil
Avoid ordinary potting soil as it can be home to pests and diseases that will destroy your delicate seeds. Always use a commercially prepared organic seed starting mix that you can easily obtain from your local garden center. Use mixes that are fertilizer free.
Starting Containers
You can use anything that will drain well. Commercially sold trays are best, but you can use paper or styrofoam cups that have holes poked into the bottom.
Always place your seeds in moistened seed mix. If you are using small individual cups you place some seeds together about 1/4 to 1/8 inch below the mix. Make sure the seeds are packed into the mix so they can absorb the nutrients and the water.
If you are using a large tray for planting, you can create shallow (1/4 - 1/8 inch) furrows with a pencil or similar object and place your seeds about 1/2 inch apart.
Where and When to Plant
Always start your seeds indoors so that you can control the temperature. Tomato germinate best at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Avoid temperatures below 50 degrees.
The most common reason for failure in starting tomato plants from seeds is caused by planting too early. Tomato seeds are generally ready for outdoor planting in 6 - 8 weeks, but shouldn't be transplanted to the outdoors until about 10 days after the last average frost date for your area.
In most temperate regions, this means it is safe to start your seeds around the beginning to the middle of March.
Germination and Transplantation
Germination normally takes about 10 days and does not require any light. After germination light is quite important and your seedlings should be placed by the window exposed to at least 6 - 8 hours of direct sunlight each day.
As the seeds germinate most growers let the seed starting mix slowly dry and then add water to make it moist. Your seedlings will first show "cotyledon" or baby leaves. After about a month the first true leaves will begin to appear. Within 6 - 8 weeks from planting the true leaves will have grown sufficiently for the seedlings to be ready for outdoor planting.
Hardening Off and Planting
Your seedlings must be introduced to the outdoors gradually. This is called "hardening off". It can be accomplished by transplanting the seedlings into protective enclosures for inclement weather periods, or more commonly by transplanting them to larger pots where they can be placed outdoors for certain periods during the day, and then brought back indoors when it gets too cold.
Once your seedlings have been sufficiently conditioned to the outdoor weather, they can be transplanted to their final, permanent location in the outdoor garden.
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