Tomato Seedling (Click to Enlarge)
Photo by Tom MacCubbin
If you have been waiting to start the
next tomato crop, the time is here. Not by setting plants in the ground
but by starting seeds available at garden centers and through mail order
companies.
My seeds arrived a few weeks ago and the seeds are now
in the cell packs and pots and growing as pictured. These plus some I
purchased locally and saved from past sowing are going to be the spring
crop. They will need about 5 to 7 days to germinate during these still
chilly conditions.
Why do I go to so much trouble when
transplants will be available at garden centers? Because I want certain
varieties, I want plants when I am ready and I want pest free plants at
the time of planting
Here are some tips to get the tomato seeds
up and growing.
Sow seeds in cell packs or small pots
so you do not have to do transplanting.
Use a good potting mix or germination
mix to fill the containers
Sow one or two seeds to a cell or pot
Keep the soil moist and in a bright
location
Keep the planted containers warm —— 70
degrees or better.
Set seedlings in full sun when the
green shoots are noted
Keep moist
Feed with a liquid fertilizer at half
the normal rate weekly.
It takes longer to produce a transplant for the garden at
this time of the year - usually 6 weeks. Now is also the time to start
peppers and eggplants.
