Homely CapersGrowing Tomatoes from Seed – It’s easier than you think!
I recently bought some seeds from the Nursery so I could prepare to grow this years tomatoes, these seeds are cherry tomatoes known as ‘Sweetie’. I’ve also got some seeds left over from when I saved some seeds from nice tomato I bought.
Using the method detailed in an earlier post on How to Make Newspaper Pots I made 9 pots out of my local news paper.
Tomatoes need a fine well drained seedling mix to grow, it’s best to pre wet the seedling mix prior to putting it into the pots. Put however much mix you require into a bucket and add a small amount of water, it needs to be about as wet as a wrung out sponge. Fill your pots and tap on a table to get the mix all the way to the bottom.
I planted my seeds about 5mm beneath the soil, this is the ideal depth for tomatoes. In 4 of the pots I made the hole deeper (10mm) and placed one grain of Osmocote, then back-filled to 5mm to plant the seed. I am trialing this method to see if I get stronger plants. If you are planting different varieties of tomato, make sure you label them so you know what variety is what.
Germination of the seed usually takes 10 days, keep them in a sheltered position which gets some sunlight.
After germination I intend to water the seedlings with diluted worm wee, see my post on Compost Worms for the full details, to give them an organic boost.
After they have formed two real leaves, place the tomato seedlings in the sun for short periods 3 hours at a time to get them used to full sun. This is called hardening off.
Tomatoes have a great feature, you can plant them at any depth and the fine hairs on their stems will grow roots! This works in the gardeners favour, as you can plant them out laying on their sides, which in turn will grow more roots and give you a stronger plant.
You need to plant the tomatoes out into warm soil after the last frost in your area. As the weather warms up, the tomato plant will begin to flower and produce.
Fruit should be picked when red and slightly soft. Refrigeration is needed if you intend to keep your tomatoes for more than a week.
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5 Responses to “Growing Tomatoes from Seed – It’s easier than you think!”
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About Me
My name is Ben, and I'm a self confessed gardenoholic. My other interests include growing plants, looking at plants, drinking coffee and taking the odd photo. My wife thinks I'm mad, but is getting into the whole garden thing, possibly going mad as well. In my spare time I'm a geologist (must be something about dirt and rocks...)- Get me on Twitter
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I love great tomatoes the Home Grown are the only way to fly.
The variety you are growing are sooooo good in salads that it don’t seem complete without them when you run out!
I also grow the beefsteak tomatoes which cover a hamburger bun just right.
and don’t limit them to hamburgers/veggie burgers either.
They are quite good with peanut butter, either fresh sliced or made into preserves.
I use the old sardine trick in growing them . using sardines packed in water. I start them in planting soil and beneath that (still in the pot),I fill the pot about two thirds full with the fish , some potting soil and the dirt that will be in the garden.(with about one half of an inch of small gravel in the bottom of the pot) they start out healthy and early.
When I transfer them to the garden (outside) I dig a hole and drop a whole sardine into it and then transplant.
Works like a champ! Tommy
funner, exciting, and easy, but takes longer o_O
Thanks for writing this! I am so excited for Spring and for gardening and for the winter to go away. There is nothing, NOTHING, better than fresh tomatoes. The smell, the color. YUM!!!
Tomatoes are one of the of the easiest and most fun vegetables to grow! There is nothing better then watching your plants grow, produce a big crop and then you enjoy your home grown tomatoes! Home grown tomatoes really do taste different than the supermarket kind. I hope you have fun growing tomatoes again this year!
Some people like to buy seedlings from the nurseries because it’s quicker, but I also like to grow my vegetables from the seeds – somehow it’s more exciting this way!
And you’re right, it’s not that hard.