Post by macmex on Feb 28, 2017 12:36:32 GMT -6
Starting tomato plants from seed is not very hard to do. One of the benefits of doing this is cost. For the price of one single transplant, it is possible to purchase an entire packet of seeds. Another advantage of starting from seed is “selection.” I would venture to say that the number of tomato varieties, available in seed form is hundreds of times greater than what is available as plants.
There are other advantages. But suffice it to say, that if one wants to be sustainable in the area of tomatoes, it is really helpful both to be able to save seed and grow from seed. Some of the varieties I regularly grow have been difficult to impossible to find in seed companies. Most of my favorites are now available through seed companies. But this is largely because I saved seed for years and sent the seed to the seed companies with a recommendation!
So how does one start tomatoes from seed?
First of all, it is generally recommended not to start them until 6-8 weeks before the last average frost date of the area in which you intend to grow them. If you start too early, it is possible that you’ll have sick, spindly or dead plants, come planting time.
If you start from seed, you need to have a good light source for the little plants. They’ll sprout and need this light within five to ten days of being started. An unobstructed window with any exposure except northern, will often work acceptably well. Grow lights or florescent lights often work. If you decide to go with lights, research the proper intensity of bulb and distance from the little plants, for good results. Generally speaking, artificial lights are much weaker than sunlight, and the bulbs need to be pretty close to their leaf surfaces in order to provide enough strength to do them much good. If you simply left a tomato plant on a desk, in a room, lit by florescent lights, that plant would likely die. Though you can see in such a room, to the plant, for all practical purposes, it is in a dark room.
Good potting medium is important for starting plants. In some parts of the country it is easy to find good starter mixes. In other parts of the country the selection is atrocious. One would do better with plain Miracle Grow potting soil than with those “specialized” yet inferior mixes. So, ask someone who starts their own plants in your area, what they use.
Be careful about putting garden soil in pots and sowing your tomato seed in that. Apart from the ecology of the garden, such soil, will often cause disease and pest problems. Yet, direct seeding in the garden might work (just later than starting indoors).
A good pot or tray is helpful for seed starting. For small amounts of seed I often use cut off plastic coffee cans for starting seed. I cut a couple drainage holes in the bottom and use a permanent marker to label the “pot.” Generally, I try to avoid planting more than one variety to the “pot,” so I don’t mix them up. Another good receptacle for starting tomato seed is a plastic dishpan. These can be purchased for a good price in the supermarket. I greatly prefer them over the over priced seed starting trays I often seed in local garden centers.
There are two methods I like to use for starting my seeds:
Method #1:
A. Add growing medium (potting soil, seed starting medium, etc.) to within an inch of the top of a suitable receptacle. Remember, the receptacle must have drainage holes.
B. Wet the growing medium really well. A good way to do this is to set the receptacle in a larger, water filled tray, and let it absorb the water for at least ½ hour. Then take it out and let it drain a bit. It should be considerably heavier after soaking.
C. sprinkle some seed on top of the soil mix. Try to give each seed about 1/2” space from any other seed. This is not crucial, but it is helpful.
D. Sprinkle soil mix to about 1/8” depth over top of the seeds.
E. Press down on the soil mix so that the tomato seeds are in really good contact with the wet growing medium.
F. If possible use plastic wrap and completely cover the pot/receptacle. This will help prevent the seeds from drying out before they can put down some roots. Be sure to REMOVE the plastic wrap as soon as a couple little plants sprout. Not to do do will court fungal disease, the most common of which is known as “damping off.”
G. Place this receptacle in a warm place. Tomato seeds like it anywhere from about 70 F to 100 F. If your environment is really cool, consider using a cheap heating pad to provide bottom heat.
These seeds should germinate and show themselves within 5 to 10 days.
Here are some freshly sprouted tomato seedlings
Method #2
A. Fold two sheets of paper towel together until they are a rectangle about 5” across.
B. Wet the paper towels and wring them out until they are wet but not dripping.
C. Place the tomato seeds you want to sprout in the damp paper towels, fold over the seeds and place them inside a plastic bag with one end slightly open.
D. Set the whole thing in a warm place. Light doesn’t matter. Just keep it warm. Check daily to be sure that the towels remain moist. After day #3, check daily for sprouts.
E. Prepare a pot or tray just as in point B of Method #1.
F. When the seeds start showing sprouts, use a knife tip or tweezers to pull them off the paper towel. Make about 1/8” holes in the soil mix in the tray/pot and drop the seeds into the holes, pushing the holes closed over them. It is best if you can get the roots going down and the cotyledons closer to the surface of the soil.
G. Cover the tray/pot with plastic wrap and proceed exactly as in Method #1 from point F onward. The seeds should break the surface of the soil within a day or two.
Here are some tomato seeds on a damp paper towel, ready to be folded and placed in a plastic bag.
Once there are little plants with tiny leaves above the soil, light will be extremely important for their development. They need plenty of it! Also, it helps if they are fairly warm. Temperatures too cool can cause problems with fungal disease. Also, if it’s possible to use a small fan, for air movement, this can also help prevent fungal disease (damping off).
If your plants start falling over, and close examination shows that their stems are pinched off where they meet the soil, then you know that “damping off” is occurring. It is extremely difficult to stop such an infection. I prefer to discard the plants, tray and soil mix, and start over again.
Here in Oklahoma it is traditional to start tomato plants from seed in February and March. But seeds started up until the middle of May are often good for a fall crop of tomatoes. So, experiment!
There are other advantages. But suffice it to say, that if one wants to be sustainable in the area of tomatoes, it is really helpful both to be able to save seed and grow from seed. Some of the varieties I regularly grow have been difficult to impossible to find in seed companies. Most of my favorites are now available through seed companies. But this is largely because I saved seed for years and sent the seed to the seed companies with a recommendation!
So how does one start tomatoes from seed?
First of all, it is generally recommended not to start them until 6-8 weeks before the last average frost date of the area in which you intend to grow them. If you start too early, it is possible that you’ll have sick, spindly or dead plants, come planting time.
If you start from seed, you need to have a good light source for the little plants. They’ll sprout and need this light within five to ten days of being started. An unobstructed window with any exposure except northern, will often work acceptably well. Grow lights or florescent lights often work. If you decide to go with lights, research the proper intensity of bulb and distance from the little plants, for good results. Generally speaking, artificial lights are much weaker than sunlight, and the bulbs need to be pretty close to their leaf surfaces in order to provide enough strength to do them much good. If you simply left a tomato plant on a desk, in a room, lit by florescent lights, that plant would likely die. Though you can see in such a room, to the plant, for all practical purposes, it is in a dark room.
Good potting medium is important for starting plants. In some parts of the country it is easy to find good starter mixes. In other parts of the country the selection is atrocious. One would do better with plain Miracle Grow potting soil than with those “specialized” yet inferior mixes. So, ask someone who starts their own plants in your area, what they use.
Be careful about putting garden soil in pots and sowing your tomato seed in that. Apart from the ecology of the garden, such soil, will often cause disease and pest problems. Yet, direct seeding in the garden might work (just later than starting indoors).
A good pot or tray is helpful for seed starting. For small amounts of seed I often use cut off plastic coffee cans for starting seed. I cut a couple drainage holes in the bottom and use a permanent marker to label the “pot.” Generally, I try to avoid planting more than one variety to the “pot,” so I don’t mix them up. Another good receptacle for starting tomato seed is a plastic dishpan. These can be purchased for a good price in the supermarket. I greatly prefer them over the over priced seed starting trays I often seed in local garden centers.
There are two methods I like to use for starting my seeds:
Method #1:
A. Add growing medium (potting soil, seed starting medium, etc.) to within an inch of the top of a suitable receptacle. Remember, the receptacle must have drainage holes.
B. Wet the growing medium really well. A good way to do this is to set the receptacle in a larger, water filled tray, and let it absorb the water for at least ½ hour. Then take it out and let it drain a bit. It should be considerably heavier after soaking.
C. sprinkle some seed on top of the soil mix. Try to give each seed about 1/2” space from any other seed. This is not crucial, but it is helpful.
D. Sprinkle soil mix to about 1/8” depth over top of the seeds.
E. Press down on the soil mix so that the tomato seeds are in really good contact with the wet growing medium.
F. If possible use plastic wrap and completely cover the pot/receptacle. This will help prevent the seeds from drying out before they can put down some roots. Be sure to REMOVE the plastic wrap as soon as a couple little plants sprout. Not to do do will court fungal disease, the most common of which is known as “damping off.”
G. Place this receptacle in a warm place. Tomato seeds like it anywhere from about 70 F to 100 F. If your environment is really cool, consider using a cheap heating pad to provide bottom heat.
These seeds should germinate and show themselves within 5 to 10 days.
Here are some freshly sprouted tomato seedlings
Method #2
A. Fold two sheets of paper towel together until they are a rectangle about 5” across.
B. Wet the paper towels and wring them out until they are wet but not dripping.
C. Place the tomato seeds you want to sprout in the damp paper towels, fold over the seeds and place them inside a plastic bag with one end slightly open.
D. Set the whole thing in a warm place. Light doesn’t matter. Just keep it warm. Check daily to be sure that the towels remain moist. After day #3, check daily for sprouts.
E. Prepare a pot or tray just as in point B of Method #1.
F. When the seeds start showing sprouts, use a knife tip or tweezers to pull them off the paper towel. Make about 1/8” holes in the soil mix in the tray/pot and drop the seeds into the holes, pushing the holes closed over them. It is best if you can get the roots going down and the cotyledons closer to the surface of the soil.
G. Cover the tray/pot with plastic wrap and proceed exactly as in Method #1 from point F onward. The seeds should break the surface of the soil within a day or two.
Here are some tomato seeds on a damp paper towel, ready to be folded and placed in a plastic bag.
Once there are little plants with tiny leaves above the soil, light will be extremely important for their development. They need plenty of it! Also, it helps if they are fairly warm. Temperatures too cool can cause problems with fungal disease. Also, if it’s possible to use a small fan, for air movement, this can also help prevent fungal disease (damping off).
If your plants start falling over, and close examination shows that their stems are pinched off where they meet the soil, then you know that “damping off” is occurring. It is extremely difficult to stop such an infection. I prefer to discard the plants, tray and soil mix, and start over again.
Here in Oklahoma it is traditional to start tomato plants from seed in February and March. But seeds started up until the middle of May are often good for a fall crop of tomatoes. So, experiment!