{"id":5850,"date":"2013-04-18T03:54:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-18T07:54:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-13T18:03:15","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T22:03:15","slug":"how-to-grow-tomatoes-from-seed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2013\/04\/how-to-grow-tomatoes-from-seed\/","title":{"rendered":"How to grow tomatoes from seed."},"content":{"rendered":"
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It’s the perfect time to sow tomato seedlings. It’s ok if you accidentally sowed them too thickly like
\nthis, tomatoes transplant well at most any stage.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

If you’re anything like me, you have taken great effort to try and grow your own tomato seedlings, only to pass a table at your local Home Depot and see these incredible beautiful, thick, lush green and \u2018healthy\u2019 tomato transplants that make your own look like the leftovers, the runts of the litter, but let me assure you right now – you will never be able to get your plants to look as lush  or with stems as thick as the commercially grown plants, and that’s OK. In fact, it’s better than OK, and here’s why…<\/span><\/span>
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\nTake pride Mr and Mrs Tomato parent, for your tiny offspring will outgrow and out produce these high-school, one-hot wonders once they get going in June. Why? Well, those nice-looking plants that you see on the shelves at the big box stores are steroidally enhanced. They have been drenched with hormones with every thing from those that cause thick-stems and dense growth, to those that force long roots. They have even been hit with some that cause the plants to blossom at young age. In a plant-way, they are mentally disadvantaged,if not chemically messed up. In the end, your home grown ( even thinner) seedlings will still have a better chance of becoming a doctor, a hero or even the kind of the tomato world by the end of summer.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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\nSo relax, and grow your own tomato plants and get over the fact that no home grown tomato plant will ever look like a enhanced seedling from a big  <\/span>box store. But if you still want bragging rights, you can raise naturally healthy seedlings, and here’s how: <\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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\n<\/div>\n
\nHere
\nare my best tips and tricks for raising tomatoes from seed:<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n\n\n\n\n
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Some of the varieties I am growing this year. I can’t wait! What are some of your favorites?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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\n
\n
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\n\u2022 First choose your variety and have fun  <\/span>– <\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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\nI\u2019m
\nnot going to talk about varieties, leaving that choice up to you. There are so many choices today, that you can really have fun choosing the type that you like. Naturally,
\nthere are enough posts out there about choosing the best variety for your area,
\ntaste and growing methods, so go snoop around. I, personally, like a mix of colorful heirlooms and then some disease resistant hybrids. I am a sucker for those that have descriptions that say things like “this won our taste test last year”.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n

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\n
<\/span>
\n\u2022 Use
\nclean soiless mix and clean pots \u2013 <\/span><\/div>\n
\nThis means no garden soil, but a new bag of
\nsoilless mix like Promix or a seed starting formula you like. Just never use
\nold soil from last year, even if it is soilless \u2013 old soil is like drinking a
\nwarm glass of raw, pink chicken juice to tomatoes. They are highly prone to
\ndisease and virus\u2019.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n\u2022 Germinate
\nat high temps \u2013 <\/span>
\nTomatoes germinate best at 75\u00ba – 85\u00ba<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n\n\n\n\n
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If you didn’t sow one – three seeds per pot, thin young plants when the second pair of leaves
\nemerge. These were sown one seed to a pot, with a heating mat.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

So
\nuse a heating mat if you have one or place your seed tray somewhere warm for a
\nfew days \u2013 even if you have to place it in a cookie tray and place it on top of
\nyour refrigerator. I use to put ours on the furnace, and now I use the shelf
\nabove our Viking range ( we\u2019re fancy, but not fancy enough to care about dirt on the stove, or scratches).<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

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\n
<\/span>
\n\u2022Thin
\nseedlings to one per pot.<\/span>
\n I know, it\u2019s hard, but if you sowed 2 or 3 seeds to a
\npot, this should be easy. Just gently pull out the goofiest one, or sacrifice
\nthe others. Never cut seedlings out, as the remaining stem will rot and can
\ncause an outbreak of something nasty ( i.e. raw chicken juice thingy).<\/o:p><\/span>
\n
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\n\n\n\n\n
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Heirloom tomatoes are not only beautiful, and often more tasty, they are
\nalso be more vulnerable to disease and virus – often becoming vector plants hosting
\nan outbreak, so keep them as strong and healthy as possible. No tomato is immune from
\nthe air-borne spores which cause late blight, but with care, you can delay an outbreak.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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\n
\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\nTransplant
\nseedlings to individual pots if you sowed too thickly. It\u2019s OK, tomato
\nseedlings transplant easily.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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\n<\/div>\n
\n\u2022 Grow-on warm, but then adjust to gradually cooler temps.-<\/span>
\nIf you want strong stemmed seedlings, provide
\nthem with the strongest light possible, and bring them outdoors on warm, sunny
\ndays, as the wind will provide some free Crossfit sessions \u2013 it will help the
\nweakling stems become strong, as the tension and flexing will stimulate the
\ncellular walls to strengthen. The use it or loose it theory.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n\u2022 Fertilize
\nweekly and weakly \u2013 <\/span>
\nThis point is so essential for success, that you have to promise me that you
\nwon\u2019t forget \u2013 your tomato plants are babies, and they need vitamins and proper nutrients. Period. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Last year I grew some plants in felt bags, the larger the better. The black helped
\nplants absorb heat, and I used sterile soil mix with tomato cages. The only
\nproblem? These had to be watered twice a day.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\nKnow that most sterile soilless mixes can\u2019t provide enough nutrition ( check if your brand has fertilizer already added). Here where it gets squidgy
\n\u2013 sure you can use organic fertilizers, but since you\u2019re using a peat-based
\nsoil that has been somewhat sterilized ( no soil is completely sterile),
\norganic fertilizer needs time to breakdown, and, well, organisms ( think yogurt
\nin belly or gut flora). Without going into great detail, trust me here too \u2013
\nwater soluble salt based fertilizer augmented with micro nutrients is best, and
\nI save the natural, organic stuff for the garden or pots, since in order for it
\nto break down properly, I have to add it to my outdoor soil in the autumn. <\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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\n<\/div>\n
\nBTW- a note about organic fertilizer vs. water-soluble salts – <\/span>ask any chemist, most water soluble
\nfertilizer is basically the same thing. Chemicals are chemicals, and it\u2019s just
\ngood horticultural practice to know that a lot of this hubbub about \u201corganic\u201d
\nget\u2019s a little crazy when it comes to fertilizer for the home gardener. But
\nthat\u2019s another post. If it makes you feel better, at least choose a fertilizer
\nthat is low in nitrogen, and higher in phosphorus, but some nitrogen is OK for
\nthe baby\u2019s first 8 weeks when it need to grow green leaves. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nA
\nhigh phosphate ( the second number) fertilizer is ‘THE SECRET’ for awesome
\ntomatoes. You don\u2019t want to mess around with nutrition and food crops, especially if you are serious about growing tomatoes as they are
\nespecially heavy feeders. Miracle-Gro 10-10-10 formula is just ‘white bread’ fast food for them.Sure, you will end up with giant, lush 15 foot tall, dark green plants but they will produce few tomatoes ( sorry sis, but I keep telling you this!).  <\/span><\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\nCommercial
\nbrands marketed as ‘Tomato Fertilizer’ are also not all the same thing – many have more nitrogen ( the first number) and other don’t. I can never figure out how so many brands can be so different? Just be sure that the middle number or the last number is higher than the first. I personally don’t use Fish Emulsion fertilizer as I use a peat-based mix so I need a more synthetic mix, I also need micro nutrients, so I look for brands that have boron other micro nutrients.<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\nIn the garden I need to plan a year in advance, as I use manure. DO NOT add manure in the same year that you are growing plants, and all you will get is foliar growth. Tomatoes LOVE manure, but almost too much. Your plants will look amazing, but you will only get 2.5 tomatoes per plant. I promise. Dig in manure a year in advance if you can, or do what I do – turn it in at the end of the summer.<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\nI use a good leaf-based compost and slow-release organic fertilizer dug into the ground in the autumn so it can start working, and then I augment with a liquid or granular feed (like 5-17-12) in the summer. I don\u2019t
\ncare if you don\u2019t tell anyone and you just tell them that you use fish emulsion
\nand organic monkey poo from the Amazon, (but don\u2019t use that black gold
\nfertilizer sold for growing Mary Jane that comes from the Amazon River mud, it
\nmay have heavy metals in it).<\/o:p><\/span>
\n
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\n\n\n\n\n
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Tomatoes are so prone to disease, that great care must be taken to keep plants as disease
\nfree as long a possible, as most diseases come from the soil, or from the airborne sources
\nattaching to the plants when the foliage is wet. I avoid disease for as long as possible by
\ngrowing plants in containers with sterile soil, placed on hot gravel that helps the leaves dry off
\nafter a morning watering. Fertilizing is key under these conditions.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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\n
\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Grow
\nyou tomatoes in a new place each year, or in pots.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nI
\ngrow most of my tomatoes in large tub or pots, and usually they are the ones
\nthat grow best. I use expensive Pro-Mix peat-based potting soil, and I never
\nre-use it. When I do, my crop is less than half as good, so I learned my
\nlesson. I think the Scott\u2019s Miracle grow mix is good too, but remember, it has
\nfertilizer in it, which will leach out by the time your fruit is ready, just
\naugment it with Phosphate.<\/o:p><\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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When planted out into garden or field soil, plants do best if you can find a new
\nplot of land each year. Trying to grow tomatoes in the same place each year
\nonly encourages soil-borne disease, and it’s almost impossible to avoid them this way.
\nUse a plastic mulch to keep soil from splashing onto the foliage.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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\nIf
\nyou plant your plant out into a garden, a raised bed or in the ground – transplant them into medium-rich  field soil and space 12-24″ apart for determinate varieties, 24-36″ apart for
\nindeterminate ( the sort you don’t stake) For those that you do stake, space them 14-20″.  <\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\nWater young transplants with a high-phosphate fertilizer solution after transplanting. For the earliest crops, set
\nplants out around the last frost date – avoid setting
\nout unprotected plants until night temperatures are over 45\u00b0F (7\u00b0C). Any frost will
\ncause severe damage!\u2028<\/b><\/span><\/o:p>
\n
<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span>You can\u2019t fake it with tomatoes, they seem easy, but the proof is in your harvest! Feel free to send me any questions you have, and I will try to answer them in a follow-up post!<\/span><\/p>\n

\n  <\/o:p><\/div>\n

<\/span>
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s the perfect time to sow tomato seedlings. It’s ok if you accidentally sowed them too thickly like this, tomatoes transplant well at most…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-5850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-seed-starting"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to grow tomatoes from seed. - Growing With Plants<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2013\/04\/how-to-grow-tomatoes-from-seed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to grow tomatoes from seed. - Growing With Plants\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s the perfect time to sow tomato seedlings. 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