Growing Tomatoes From Seed
If you don’t want to use tires to start your tomato seeds and you don’t have a greenhouse, then start your seeds indoors.
Tomato seeds ought to be sown 6 to12 weeks before the last expected frost date, most varieties will germinate in 5 to 12 days. For optimal germination, the soil temperature should be between 70 to 75 degrees F. Moisten the soil medium before sowing seed. Sow seeds and cover lightly with vermiculite. Gently water. Do not let the seed tray dry out before germination occurs.. It is also wise to use water that is at room temperature before watering the seeds. Cover the seed tray with plastic or a piece of clear glass, as this helps to maintain the moisture level and retain soil heat. As soon as the seeds have sprouted, remove the cover, and move them to a sunny place.
It is best to separate the seedlings while they are still small and before they crowd each other. Transplant into small individual pots or peat pots filled with a sterile medium, when they are two inches tall. When transplanting , take care not to disturb the roots more than is necessary, since the roots absorb the water and nutrients. At this point the seedlings can be buried to the bottom of their first set of leaves; roots will develop along the buried portion of the stem.
Twelve hours of sunlight is desirable at this time. Legginess can develop if the plants get too little direct sun. The plants will stretch toward the sun if they require more sunlight. Many home gardeners use fluorescent plant lights for starting and growing seedlings indoors.
Before being transplanted to the garden, tomato plants need to be hardened off, that is, gradually acclimatized to cool nights, direct sun, and often drying winds. If you have a cold frame, this is the ideal spot, because you can control the temperature with the top cover, otherwise put your seedlings on the porch for longer periods each day.
After transplanting your seedlings, it is a good idea to add phosphorous -rich sources to assist in the development of strong root systems and improve fruit yield. Three good sources of phosphorous include bone meal, phosphate rock and soft phosphate. During the growing season you should incorporate organic matter into the planting beds as this will greatly improve the moisture- holding capacity of coarse soils, while improving the drainage in very fine, heavy soils.
Tomatoes are amongst the easiest plants a person can grow - they withstand some abuse or neglect and still produce a decent crop .The main requirements for a good yield is to get as much light as possible and therefore they do best when growing happily in full sun.
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