subject: Growing Tomatoes From Seeds - Insights And Benefits Of Doing So! [print this page] Growing Tomatoes From Seeds - Insights And Benefits Of Doing So!
A lot of gardeners start growing their tomato garden by buying seedlings from the garden shop, because they say, it's easier to do. I guess you do eliminate some time that you would spend waiting till your seedling is big enough to plant; but, by growing your tomatoes from seed you will have a wide variety to choose from as your garden shop probably will not carry to many varieties of tomato seedlings.
Many tomato growers start growing their seeds indoors because they live in cold conditions, at least six weeks before the outside temperature is warm enough for planting. Some use individual seed starters some use seed trays, it is up to you which one to use, the trays will give you an extra step in transplanting. If you are planting more than one type of tomato be sure to label them or you may find yourself waiting till they fruit to find out which is which.
If you are new to growing tomatoes you probably heard that they like warm conditions, well when you start your plants from seeds please apply the same principle as tomato seeds also love warm conditions. One trick that can help is to use cling wrap to cover your planted seeds to keep the soil warm and from drying out, just remember to remove the cling wrap when the seedling appears.
Make sure to give your seedling as much sunlight as possible, perhaps on your window sill. Another tip, to help your seedling to grow straight is to turn them, giving all sides equal light. Some choose to use florescent lights to start their seeds an seedlings, while it is another option do a little research to find out more.
If you planted your seeds in a tray, this is the extra step I was talking about. When they reach a height of about 1 to 2 inches you can transplant them to individual pots by lifting them by their leaves, as the stems can be easily damaged. Use care when doing this as they are delicate and roots can become tangled, dig a hole big enough to handle the roots, back fill and press firmly to get good root soil contact.
If you have planned right, after about six weeks its time to prepare your seedling for transplanting to you garden, also called hardening off the seedlings, or just getting them used to outside temperatures. You do this by putting them in a place where they can have partial sunlight instead of full sunlight, perhaps somewhere it can get a few hours of morning or evening sunlight then gradually increase the time. For me that meant putting it along side the house that caught about 3 hours of morning sun, then moving it a little further away from the house until it got full sun.
Now that you have hardened off your seedlings, they are ready to be planted. To develop a strong root system and therefore a stronger plant, I plant the seedlings deep, as usually by this time they have developed at least six leaves, I bury them so only the top four are showing. Having plants that are strong will enable them to keep the fruits off of the ground, as well as fight off any disease.
As many growers go out and buy their seedlings to plant to save them some time and extra work(only if you do not enjoy gardening), I feel that growing tomatoes from seeds will produce healthier, stronger plants, which in the long run will save you more time and effort as the stronger the plant the less likely it will have problems.
