This time of year, we're busy sowing, pricking out, and tending thousands of baby tomato plants, also known as seedlings or starts. These are for our annual tomato plant sale which begins the end of March, beginning of April each year.
Keeping track of and keeping happy over 125 different varieties of tomatoes is difficult. Right now, we are keeping all the babies in my small greenhouse while our big one is being readied. We need to bring in every night and take out every morning about 50 flats of starts. Lisette is on the job taking the flats out into the sunshine. My heat mat is on the left, with smaller drill flats full of germinating seeds on it. I keep that mat around 80 degrees, about 5 degrees over the optimal temperature for the tomatoes, and about 5 degrees under for the pepper seeds also germinating there. Each flat holds 20 "drills" or rows. I sow about 50 seeds per drill. Each flat represents close to one thousand plants. Once the true leaf emerges (the second "set" of greenery), we prick each tiny plant out into its own pot. Then begins the arduous process of hauling them outside each sunny morning and bringing them in each night to the heated greenhouse. That's a lot of tomatoes. We can't wait for the big greenhouse to be retrofit. This process gets old pretty fast. But it is the way I've been doing it for a long time. These babies need babying. That's why it's called a nursery!
If you want to learn how to get a tiny tomato seed up and growing strong enough to plant out to the garden, consider one of my tomato growing classes. I've only got two left this season. You choose varieties from my exotic tomato seed bank of over 125 kinds, and take home a sown flat. You'll soon be bringing outside and taking back in your own fledgling plants.
You can find more information all about tomatoes on the World Tomato Society website. The site is open to the public until June 15, 2014. If you'd like to join the World Tomato Society to receive all of the member benefits, you can sign up here.
Water newly planted tomatoes well to make sure soil is moist and ideal for growing. Early in the growing season, watering plants daily in the morning.As temperatures increase, you might need to water tomato plants twice a day. Garden tomatoes typically require 1-2 inches of water a week.
Tomato seedlings are ready to transplant when they have their first set of true leaves. #1 Wait at least three weeks as your tomato seeds germinate and grow their first set of true leaves. At this stage they are ready to move up to a bigger pot.
Most tomato seedlings are ready to move from the seed starting trays and into a larger container when they are three to four inches tall and have three or more sets of leaves. They should be transplanted into a larger container at least four weeks before planting outdoors so the root system has a chance to develop.
If you start tomato seedlings indoors like we do, you want your seed starting mix to have the moisture levels of a wrung-out sponge — not too dry, not too wet. We typically water our tomato seedlings twice per day: once in the morning, once at night.
Yes, you can easily overwater your tomato plants. When this happens, the soil becomes waterlogged, making it harder for air to reach the roots (which is essential for growth). 'These plants need water and air just like humans.
The best time to water your tomatoes is early in the morning. This will allow any moisture that makes its way to the leaves an opportunity to dry before the heat of the day, and that can help to prevent diseases and burning of the plants. You need the water you're administering to be efficiently used.
Tomatoes love the sunshine. A position in full sun (that means an average of at least eight hours a day) gives the best results in most areas, though if you're in a hot climate you can get away with dappled shade.
To put it plain simple: plenty. Tomato plants need at least six hours of full sun exposure daily, but if you want to achieve the best results, increase the yield and grow sweeter fruits, you might aim to give your tomato plants at least eight hours of sun per day.
There is an important caveat about tomato seedlings and mini-greenhouses: If you're covering your seeds to keep them warm, you must remove the cover as soon as they start to germinate. Otherwise, they may succumb to damping off disease, a fungal infection that proliferates in still, moist air.
Begin fertilizing tomato seedlings weekly when they have two sets of leaves. Continue feeding with the water-soluble fertilizer until seedlings are transplanted outside. Look for a fertilizer that has a high middle number, which represents phosphorus, in the N-P-K analysis.
Introduction: My name is Patricia Veum II, I am a vast, combative, smiling, famous, inexpensive, zealous, sparkling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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This time of year, we're busy sowing, pricking out, and tending thousands of baby tomato plants, also known as seedlings or starts. These are for our annual tomato plant sale which begins the end of March, beginning of April each year.
My heat mat is on the left, with smaller drill flats full of germinating seeds on it. I keep that mat around 80 degrees, about 5 degrees over the optimal temperature for the tomatoes, and about 5 degrees under for the pepper seeds also germinating there. Each flat holds 20 "drills" or rows. I sow about 50 seeds per drill. Each flat represents close to one thousand plants.
Once the true leaf emerges (the second "set" of greenery), we prick each tiny plant out into its own pot.
Then begins the arduous process of hauling them outside each sunny morning and bringing them in each night to the heated greenhouse. That's a lot of tomatoes.
We can't wait for the big greenhouse to be retrofit. This process gets old pretty fast. But it is the way I've been doing it for a long time. These babies need babying. That's why it's called a nursery!