Monthly Archives: February 2010

Many types of seeds can be started early indoors. There are little planting tray greenhouses that you can use. Typically they will hold 25
or 72 plants to get you started.

I prefer to make my own soil less mix and fill the cells rather than using the peat pellets as they tend to dry out too quickly. They can also cause problems with root growth unless you remove the netting around them before transplanting. You can also use plastic or paper cups as long as you put a hole in the bottom of them.

Before I get into the pre-sprouting method I use, I'll give you my soilless mix recipe to get your pots prepared for the little starts.

4-6 parts Sphagnum Peat Moss
1 part Perlite
1 part Vermiculite

Or you can choose a prepared seed starting mix

Tomato Seeds:
If you're looking for a good source for quality seeds, I highly recommend TomatoFest! They have a vast assortment of heirlooms from around the World and the quality is outstanding!

Tomato Sprouts 4 days

If you don’t have two hundred or more types to grow, and you’re only sprouting 2 to 25 types, pre-sprouting works great! What this means is that I place them on a folded, moist (with a 10:1 ratio of water and hydrogen peroxide) paper towel and wrap my seeds up in it and place it in a small baggie. Then I put it in a warm place (I use a seed starting mat). Each day I take the paper towel out and check for sprouting. Sprouting can take place in as little as 3 days this way or as long as 10 days depending on the variety of seeds.

Once the seeds have sprouted, I carefully place each one in a separate cell of my seed planting tray.

seedlings in soil less mix

Okay, now for the method I prefer with large quantities of varieties of tomatoes. It is just a real pain, to have to open several hundred bags each day, to check on the status of those little sprouts.

Seedlings ready for transplanting

Use one of the seedling trays (I prefer the ones with the seperate cells that can be removed so that when I transplant in larger pots/cups, I can use the lower tray to hold those transplants) with separate cells. Fill the tray about 1/4 of the way with a 10 percent mix of water and hydrogen peroxide. Fill each cell with sterile seed starting mix and then firm down. Place 3-6 seeds per cell then sprinkle a thin layer, about 1/4 inch, of the sterile seed starting mix. Use a mister, filled with the same 10 percent hydrogen peroxide mix and spray each cell on the surface. Make sure that each cell is labeled and moist.

Seed Starting Tray

Either method you try, make sure the seedlings stay moist and place where they will get plenty of light. For this, I use a seedling light rack. After you see the first set of true leaves, your little seedling is ready to be transplanted into a larger pot. At this point, I usually use a very diluted mixture of Liquid Fish Emulsion on my tiny seedlings. They just seem to thrive on it.

After the seedlings reach 6-8 inches tall, they are ready for hardening off. This is basically getting them accustomed to the changes in temperature, wind etc. Though a bit of a pain, hardening off is done by placing the small plants outside during the day and bringing them back indoors at night. This process takes about 7 days.

Now your plants are ready for transplanting into the garden. Be sure to know when your last date of frost is. This information can easily be found in the Old Farmer's Almanac.

There are several ways to extend your Tomato growing season. From Hot Kaps to Wall O Water's. There is even another new type of Wall O Water called Kozy Coats. These are red in color and I've heard great things about them. According to studies, tomato plants do much better with the red spectrum of light. These reflect the red spectrum onto your plants and many folks have had great results. Plus I'll share another method that I've figured out and I'll post that soon.

Many of the books that I have in my library offer great information on temporary methods to start your season several weeks before the typical season. In fact, I've actually over wintered Tomatoes and Tomato cuttings to get a jump start on the following season. I'll offer more info on that a little later.

The method of planting your starts outside is very important. Make sure you have rich organic soil and dig a hole about a foot deep. Place aged manure in the bottom (different types of manure vary on how hot they get. The safest is rabbit, horse, Steer
or Cow Manure. If you use Chicken Manure, it will burn the roots if you don't put a nice barrier between the manure and the roots.) and cover with a layer of soil.

It's important to know that tomatoes will grow roots along their stem anywhere the soil touches it. This enables you to create a very strong root system with your plants. Break the lowest branches off of the tomato plant and place the plant at an angle in the hole. Cover as much of the stem as you can.

Keep your plants well watered and feed with an organic fertilizer about ever other week or so. I use Liquid Fish Emulsion which is nothing more than emulsified fish. Approximately, once a month I sprinkle a little Tomato-Tone around the area above the roots being careful not to allow any to touch the stem of the plant. Then I carefully work it into the surface of the soil. A small hand rake
works well for this.

There couldn't be a better time to start growing your own garden fresh vegetables. Not only are the vegetables healthier for you and your family, but the cost can help reduce your grocery bill tremendously and the variety of vegetables is HUGE!

Do you know there are literally HUNDREDS of different types of Tomatoes? Not to mention the amazing varieties of squash, beans and peppers. Where can you have a choice of different varieties of zucchini in a supermarket? If you're lucky they will actually have one type.

Well, we're here to help you find great vegetables to grow and to offer information on how to grow them.

Choosing to Grow Your Own in the Tradition

Why should you choose heirloom vegetables over hybrids? Well, there are many reasons to choose heirlooms, however there are some pretty great hybrids too. The choice for me is quite clear though, unless I can save seed from year to year, what is the point in planting a one shot seed? Unfortunately, hybrids do not come true from their seed, so you would need to purchase the hybrid seed each year to have the same varieties. Or you could purchase the well known, everybody has them, varieties already grown. However, they get expensive. Not to mention, you may want a few different varieties, so then what can you do?

Okay, sure seeds don't cost that much, but why should you have to purchase them every year when you can save seed from the plants that you grow? This ends up cutting your costs from year to year and enabling you to keep seed from those vegetables you really like. Not to mention, there are times that seed companies discontinue varieties. While it may be picked up by another company, it's not always easy to find the same types you've enjoyed in the past. So, if you choose heirloom or open pollinated varieties, you will be able to save seed from them and have the same varieties each year.

Let's take a look at my favorite vegetable (okay it's really a fruit) the Tomato. The basic varieties that you can find in the gardening section are Hybrid Early Girl, Better Boy, Sweet 100 then Heirloom Roma, Beefsteak and every so often you'll see a Rutgers or Brandywine. So how limited is that? 6 or 7 varieties to choose from and most people don't know that there are literally hundreds maybe even thousands of varieties.

Just to give you an idea, if you enjoy beefsteak tomatoes, there are Mortgage Lifter, Caspian Pink (oh this one is delicious!) Hillbilly and there are beefsteak tomatoes in almost every color of the rainbow. There are Reds, Blacks, Pinks, Purples, Yellows, Whites, Oranges and even Greens and then you also have multi colored and bi-colored tomatoes. So why be limited to what all the nurseries want you to have?

That same type of list above for beefsteak type tomatoes is the same for pastes, slicers, cherries and grape types. There is such a vast array of heirlooms and so little time to try them all.

Another interesting aspect of heirlooms is that no two types taste the same. Oh yes, similar, but some varieties are sweet, some are sour, some have an earthy rich complex flavor while others are simple and subtle. You also must know that one person may like a rich complex black tomato and another may not like it at all. So your only option is to try them.

Are you starting to drool yet? Well I have to say, I am! My mouth is watering as I type.