Tomato Plants from Seedshow to grow tomato plants from seeds

There are many techniques by which to grow tomatoes. I will discuss one technique that I have been using that I learned from my grandfather. It cost very little, returns amendments to the soil, and can prevent many weeds and grasses, too.

I start out by breaking with a plow, the garden down to about eighteen inches. I allow this to set for a few days then disc it over. I then use a rear-tine tiller to turn the dirt a little finer.

I have a row maker that is over 100 years old. I like the fun of using it as it is simple to use. After partitioning my garden to the correct number of rows and widths between them. I add one tobacco stake where each tomato plant will be placed. I drive it down enough to be stable. I then add a small amount of 10-10-10 fertilizer around the stake.

I try to use tomato plants that are of varieties that can take hotter days. Each tomato transplant will be near the steak and mounded in small hill. Depending on the height of the transplant, I will loose tie the plant to the steak to keep it running up the stake for support.

I water slowly in each location allowing the soil around the plant to take the water in deeply. I then add straw, purchased from local farmers, around each plant and will keep adding straw through the season. I also add straw to the walking path around the plants so as to keep down the grass and weeds. I try to keep it about four inches deep.

I will not water the plants unless they have gone four days without rain and there is no rain in the next day or two forecast. I will make sure that I water slowly but heavily so that the water will be deep in the soil to force the plant to reach its roots deeper into the soil. Roots that do not reach deeply will result in plants that produce poorly.

Tomatoes that get many days over 85 degrees can be subject to flower drop. The flowers on the plants are where the tomatoes will form. If you can add any type of shading, such as cut lower branches from trees, do so during the hot times. Also keep a thick layer of straw to keep the soil warm. This straw will also protect the soil from drying out quickly after a good rain. It will also help to amend the soil as it decomposes and cuts down on weeds and grasses.

As the tomato plant grows, loosely tie it to the stake to help add support and to make the tomatoes easier to reach. It will also help when checking for worms and parasites.

I try to stay away from chemicals. I like to add lady bugs to attack the aphids and encourage worm activity by adding bone meal and blood meal around the tomatoes every two weeks.

While no one method seems to out perform the others by leaps and bounds, I have found that this method works well, cuts down on the amount of work, and produces a nice harvest.

A disorganized garden will still usually produce vegetables, fruits, and flowers. You might then wonder why it is important to have an organized garden.

There are many answers, but three of them leap out: An organized garden produces more in a given area, they are easier to maintain and to harvest, and they look much nicer.

The biggest key to it all is in the planning. This stands to reason when you consider that most garden failures occur because of poor planning. There are many aspects to a well thought out garden, too.

* First, know the growing habits of the plants you are going to grow. This sounds basic and it is. Gardeners will often plant without allowing for enough room for the plants to grow. For instance, vine growing plants like squashes, gourds, cucumbers, and melons require a great deal of room to spread out. If they are grown too close together, the roots of each compete with those of its neighbors, resulting in weaker plants, less produce, and smaller fruits and vegetables.

If they are planted too close to other plants, as they spread out they can also deprive the other plants of sunlight, killing and stunting them.

This isn’t always easy to consider. A beginning gardener with limited space, buying four inch tomato plants will often plant them close together, not understanding that most tomato species bush out as they grow. Tomato cones can help, but not much if the tomatoes are too close together.

* Second, plan well defined rows. These should be wide enough to walk down between them easily, even when the plants on each side have bushed out. If the rows are too closely spaced, it becomes much more difficult to maintain the garden, harvesting becomes a chore, and the garden looks ragged.

* Third, keep the garden weeded. Growing weeds can quickly make a garden look like a weed patch. Worse, the weeds directly compete with the garden plants for food, water, and space. This results in a weaker garden that produces far fewer and smaller fruits and vegetables.

Included with this is to keep the garden tools like hoes, shovels, and spades where you can easily get to them and know where they are. Having to spend a half hour finding or getting to a garden hoe is that much less time you can spend weeding.

Fourth, don’t be afraid to train your garden to grow the way you want it to. For example, garden beans can be given garden twine to climb, and with only a little effort on your part, the beans can be made to use these supports. This goes a long way toward organizing the bean patch, which results in a greater harvest and a better means of harvesting.

This also includes pinching back plants so they grow in a particular direction. Tomato plants respond well to this sort of training.

It also includes thinning. Plants like radishes and carrots are often initially planted too close together. Leaving it that way leads to disorganization. Removing weaker plants to allow the remainder more room to grow, builds organization, and results in a bigger, better crop.

Finally, keep notes of what you’ve tried and what the results were. What works well in one area may not work at all in another. It may not help you organize the garden this year, but it is valuable information for next year.

Organization of the garden is a major key for gardening success. The garden looks nicer, the plants are healthier, they produce better, and the vegetables, fruits, or flowers are a lot easier to harvest. There is effort involved, but there always will be. Still, planning is the least effort consuming part of the whole endeavor, and sadly, often the most neglected.

Grow a Salsa Garden

Growing plants can be a very rewarding experience. The best thing is walking outside to grab a few vegetables and herbs from the garden, and then making a fresh meal. It’s even better when you only have to go to one place in the garden to get the proper ingredients for your recipe.

Gardens with a theme can be fun and it’s real easy. First you want to choose your “ingredients” for your kitchen garden. A good start for a Salsa Garden is tomato’s, there real simple to grow. You can purchase young plants at your local plant nurseries, or you can start them from seed. Tomato plant sprout very quickly with the proper care, always read the back of the seed packet to ensure proper growth. More plants in the Salsa Garden are, tomatillo, green onion, and basil.

Now that you have an idea of the plants you want to grow, plan your space before you buy the plants or seeds. For this particular garden you need about a 10 square feet of space; it can be circular, square, or whatever shape tingles your design sense. If you bought seeds to start your kitchen garden, plant them in small pots or seed flats (which can be usually purchased along with the seeds) to ensure strong growth before you transplant them into your garden. Till up the dirt in your designated gardening area, so that it is nice and loose, then mark where the plants will go. A good rule of thumb when you planting is to plant tall to small; the back of the garden space should have the bigger taller plants, and the front should have the shorter smaller plants. The tomatillo often grow taller than a tomato plant, so you would want to put the tomatillo in the back followed by the tomato, and then the green onion flowed by the basil. Tomato’s grow more like a vine than the tomatillo does; this means you will need to purchase a tomato fence to properly support the tomato, and purchase simple bamboo poles to prop up the tomatillo. Now that you have a plan go ahead and get dirty!

After a few weeks you should start to see the results of your hard work and constant effort. It is a good idea to constantly take “ingredients” from you Salsa Garden, because it helps with growth and the strength of the plants. Here is a salsa recipe that should knock your socks off.

Hot n’ Chunky Salsa

3 cups tomato

1 cup tomatillo

cup green onion

cup fresh basil

2 tbs hot sauce

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

The easiest way to make this salsa is with a food processor. Just throw all the ingredients into the processor and in a few minuets time you have a delicious salsa. If you don’t own a food processor you can easily chop all the ingredients separately, and then toss them together in a bowl. Use all the juice from the tomato’s to make the salsa have a nice juicy consistency. Refrigerate for about an hour, then serve with chips and enjoy.

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Growing Egg Plants or Aubergines

The eggplant is a member of the potato and tomato family and it originates from the West Indies. They are not an easy crop to grow but home produced aubergines are so wonderful, having so much more flavour than those bought from the shops that they are well worth growing. The egg shaped fruit can be either white or purple though the purple varieties have the better flavour. They are truly appreciated in many parts of the world but cooked properly they can be enjoyed everywhere; no moussaka dish has quite the authentic taste without this delicious ingredient.

Sowing

Sow the seeds in trays in John Innes seed compost in February to March at a temperature of 70 to 86 deg F. (21 to 30deg C.). After germination the temperature should be maintained the same. Prick out seedlings when they have developed several leaves into 3 in. (76mm) pots containing John Innes No 1 potting compost, where they will grow on until they are ready to be transferred into larger pots. The February sowing should be ready to transfer in May and these will then go into 7 in. (177mm) pots containing John Innes No 2 potting compost; allow 18 in. (45cm) between each pot. Temperatures can then be gradually reduced to 62 to 70 deg F. (17 to 21 deg. C.) You can use grow bags instead of pots if you wish but one bag can accommodate only two plants.

Planting Out

If the plants are to be transferred outside they will need to be hardened off first therefore the temperature should be gradually decreased. Wait until June before putting them out side, then all chances of frosts should have passed and the days should be warmer.

General Care

Keep the plants well watered; this is particularly imperative during warm weather, as dry conditions especially around the roots encourage the development of blossom end rot. By the time they have reached 16 in. (40cm) tall, they will need to have the growing tip pinched out to make them send out side shoots.

It is likely that the plants will need some support as the weight of the fruit could break the stems; bamboo canes are useful but care must be taken not to tie in the stems too tightly so that they become damaged. As the plants grow, tie the stems to the bamboo sticks with soft, green cotton twine or raffia. Make sure that the twine or raffia is not too tight so that it does not cut into the stem as it grows. The best method is to wrap the twine or raffia twice around the bamboo then put a loop around the stem securing it to the stick with care.

The plants should be given a weekly high-potash liquid feed. A suitable feed to use is one used for tomatoes though it must be given at half the strength. Mist them twice a day to encourage them to set fruit, it will also prevent attacks from red spider mite. For good size fruits, limit the number to a maximum of four per plant. To do this, pinch out all later forming flowers.

Harvesting

Aubergines are usually ready to harvest from August onwards.

Always cut the fruit from the plants never attempt to pull or twist them off as this generally results in them tearing and damaging the plant, take care as there are prickles around the stem of the plant.

Best varieties to try:

‘Epic’: Tolerant of tobacco mosaic virus, produces early maturing fruit up to 9 in. 23cm long.

‘Moneymaker’: A good cropper with long elegant fruits.

‘Mini Bambino’: Good for growing in a container, small in stature reaching about 12 in. (30cm), small fruits.

‘Slice-Rite’: Large fruits with excellent flavour, suitable only for greenhouse growing.

A tomato plant doesn’t have to be ordinary, it can be grown as a highly-productive giant with a little knowledge of how it grows. You don’t need any special equipment or mail-order specialty plants to grow good tomatoes, either. I grow spectacular plants every year, using techniques I have stumbled on through trial and error.

If you are growing from seed, you need to get them started 6 to 8 weeks before time to set them out in the garden. This will mean starting them indoors, or in a hot-house, which is a separate issue altogether, so we will assume you have your plants in hand and ready to plant. Bigger is better when choosing plants, for you need to make the whole plant a root system. Tomatoes will grow roots from any part of the plant that touches the ground, this makes for the opportunity to grow Super-Plants.

The more root you have, the more portal for water and fertilizer, resulting in rapid, and unlimited growth. The end result is a spectacular harvest of large, delicious tomatoes. So, what I am going to tell you to do will seem harsh and frightening to most people, especially after purchasing nice bushy tomato plants!

Strip all the branches off, leaving only the top of the plant intact, this takes courage, but it will be alright in the end. Bury the plant all the way to the top, with just the top remaining above ground. Everything under-ground will become part of the root system, resulting in a high-yield plant. It will accept all the water and fertilizer you can throw at it, becoming a growing machine.

You can use compost, or other organic fertilizer around the base of the plant, but I tend to favor liquid fertilizer. Some are formulated for tomatoes, but I use an all-purpose(mix with water)powder fertilizer. Follow the directions, and apply about every two to three weeks. Also I spray the plants with calcium chloride every three to four weeks. This prevents blossom-end rot, and also increases the blossom-set, resulting in more tomatoes.

Tomatoes require full sun, and at least an inch of water a week, regular watering is critical to keep the plants healthy. They will need support, wooden stakes or wire cages are the two most common, however, you can invent your own method, if you desire. Some people pinch the suckers from their tomatoes, and I used to be one of these people. I have found that it is unnecessary, and decreases the yield substantially, so I leave them alone.

Mulch your plant(s) with a good layer of straw to help retain water, and also to control weeds. Keep an eye out for pests and disease, early detection is crucial to eliminating problems. If you follow these guidelines and tips, you should be enjoying tomatoes all summer long.

It’s that time of year when I start to think about which veg I should be planting, as this year I have been a bit lazy and got all my plants from the boot sales, this has cut down on lots o f time which is usually spent getting seeds, compost, potting and cultivating in my hot house.

Of course some people like to do this and I used to love pottering around in the garden shed, but for this year I have cheated and gone to the boot sales to buy most of my vegetable and fruit plants from the sellers who have done the ground work for me and I have bought the pots of established plants from 50p to 99p depending on variety and size.

You can buy the seeds from garden centres for around 99p to 1.99 depending on variety and you can also buy established plants too, but I find nowadays the boot sales are taking over the garden centres, for choice and value for money.

There are a few good types of tomatoes which will bring you a good yield. I find that the Money-maker and the Histon Early, but there are other types too.

The Amateur can be grown in a greenhouse, along with the Early Market and the Harbinger.

Any are good but the money-maker will give you a good crop.

Seeds are usually sown about an inch apart in something like John Innes compost and can then be transferred to the pots, beds or outdoor boxes when taller.

I also buy the trays of individual smaller pullet pots which are made of bio-degradable substance, these can be planted with seeds then popped into the ground, grow bag, box or greenhouse without to much bother as the plant will grow and the little pullet pot will breakdown in the ground.

March is a good time to plant the seeds then transfer to the greenhouse when taller usually about three inches high, you can make a little Polly tunnel out of frame and polythene and grow them in grow bags, I have seen this done with good results of tasty large crops.

Don’t forget that most tomatoes plants grow tall and will need propping up with bamboo supports, tie these to the stem but only loosely so as not to damage the stem.

Remember tomatoes love water and air so make sure they are regularly checked for both, tomato food can be given if you like to promote growth.

When the plants have produced around seven trusses of flowers pinch out the tip of shoots to promote swelling of the fruit, if this is not done puny little tomatoes will grow.

Fruits can be picked as they ripen and green tomatoes can be picked if they have reached the right size and put in a drawer to ripen. Lay these on brown paper bags in the drawer.

The tomatoes is quite easy to grow as long as you remember to water, feed nip and pick the fruit, but they can be susceptible to diseases.

Leaf mould, which is yellow blotches on the upper sides of the leaf.

Stem canker which causes darkening at the bottom of the plant stem and makes them fall over.

Greenback which is hard green or yellow patches on the fruit near the stalks and other diseases which can all be treated with sprays from the garden centres and a watchful eye on your plant for the early signs.

All in all the tomatoes is a goof plant to start off growing if you have decided to turn your hand to gardening, it is fun and easy for children to grow as one pot takes up no room at all if you have no garden and the fruit can be eaten when ready.

There are lots of good recipes for tomatoes and they add that extra zing to a sandwich especially if you have grown it yourself.

So you love that red vegetable that is actually a fruit, do you? When you spy a plump, glistening specimen it just calls you to slice it and have a BLT. I know how it is! I grow tomato plants during the summer so I can munch on BLT’s every weekend. So here are some tips for making sure your tomato plants are nice and productive.

*Get them in the ground early. If you do box gardening, this is even easier, as you can control the environment around and the soil in the box easier. Basically, you want to get your tomatoes planted when you can work the soil and you are pretty sure maybe only one more frost is on its way. Also, plant starts, not seeds. Waiting for those seeds to germinate takes longer and the fruitful season will be shorter.

The thing is, the sooner you get tomato plants in the ground, the sooner you will get fruit! If you can have fruit ripening early on in the growing season, you can have fruit coming for a longer period of time. Now on to the next tip!

*Fertilize the soil. When you are getting your spaces ready for your tomato plants, be sure to fertilize that soil well, and naturally. These days my family has a neat composting system, but back in our less organized days I found that steer manure mixed into the top four to six inches of soil would help yield tons of tomatoes. So I say again, get that soil fertilized naturally and then plant your tomatoes. One important thing here is to not put too much steer manure in there. Really you only need about two inches of the stuff spread over the ground, then you mix it in. If you use too much, it might burn the roots of your plants.

*Fertilize again. You want to fertilize at least one more time during the growing season. Keeping your soil naturally full of excellent nutrients will keep your tomato plants healthy and abundant. During the season, I like to use some water soluble fertilizer to feed my plants, and this stuff is not hard to find.

*Take care in where you plant. If you plant your tomato plants in the same soil you planted the year before, they will usually be sickly and not yield as much. This is because tomato plant roots leave a fungus in the ground that does not disappear for at least a year. So maybe have two or three spots that you can rotate your tomato plants to each year.

*Harvest on time and regularly. It is true of jalapeno plants, it is true of bell pepper plants and pea plants as well. If you harvest when things are ripe and take care to not damage the plant when you do so, more fruit will come.

*Carefully and wisely prune. Don’t go into this task blindly. Be sure to get advice from your extension office and perhaps from a local nursery. If you prune badly, you will actually reduce the number of tomatoes that you get. The truth is, I have never bothered with this, because the above tips always have yielded enough tomatoes for my family to can about 20 quarts of tomatoes each year.

So good luck and enjoy your BLT’s!

Choosing this Seasons Tomato Seed

“I have never met a tomato I didn’t like” I would bet there area probably hundreds of people that would agree with me on that point. In fact there are probably as many people ready to agree as there are different varieties of tomatoes available to grow.

Visit your friendly garden shop and take a quick glance at their newly arrived seed packets. You will be pleasantly surprised to find all the varieties of tomatoes that are available on the market today. These varieties range from the heirloom tomatoes to the genetically engineered varieties. You have miniature tomatoes and you have the large beef eaters. There is a tomato for every persons taste. That fact alone is probably the most difficult decision you will have to make. Which variety do you want to grow this year?

Disease resistance is very important when you finally decide what variety of tomato to grow. Look closely at the information presented for the various varieties and you will notice that it contains the letters V, F, N, or T within the tomatoes description. The letter “V” means the seed is Verticillium Wilt resistant, the “F” means Fusarium Wilt resistant, “N” is the short symbol for Nematodes while “T” is typically used to indicate Tobacco Mosiac. Should you note any of these letters mentioned in the description it merely indicates that the particular variety is resistant to those diseases.

The growth habits of the particular plant is indicated by Indeterminate or determinate. Indeterminate indicates that the tomatoe plant has a tendency to spread while the designation of determinate reveals the plant remains within its limited confines. If the seed is marked as semi-determinate it means although the growing plants do not spread greatly they still require some added space.

To start your tomato seeds indoors sow them in either plug trays or flats. Be sure to read the manufacturers recommendations placed on the rear of the seed packet. They have certain planting depths and recommended spacing for the plants after you thin them.

There are special mixed soil combinations that are created spe4cifically for seed starting. You can readily pick up this seed starting soil at your local garden center. Do not even consider using neither regular potting soil nor the soil obtained from your garden. These soils are not sterilized and can cause what is commonly referred to as damping off in the initial stages of the plants growth.

Upon sowing the tomato seed in trays they should be placed in a 70 to 75 degree location. Should your seed producing area be too cool there are special heating pads that ccan be obtained. Germination should take place within 7 to 14 days of planting the seed.

After the first true leaves begin to develop on the small plants you should transplant them to a larger container. In approximately 6 to 8 weeks your tomato plants should be ready for transplanting within your garden area.

Agricultural research has introduced dozens of new tomato varieties each season several varieties that are hardy and very disease resistant include the several hybrids such as Big Beef or possibly Hybrid Celebrity. Don’t hesitate to try a new variety as you may be pleasantly surprised at both the results of growing the tomato as well as the taste.

One of the greatest advantages of growing tomatoes from seed is that it affords the gardener the opportunity to grow a far greater variety of tomatoes than they could otherwise grow. It also enables the gardener to grow heirloom varieties that aren’t traditionally available in garden centers. If you plan to grow your tomatoes in containers, be sure to check out “Container Seeds.

When considering seeds, you need to know that a tomato variety that is determinate is one that will produce a large crop at one time, and will not produce much if anything after the large crop. Indeterminate varieties are those that produce an even supply of tomatoes throughout the growing season.

Determinate varieties may be a better choice for people in very warm climates. If night time low temperatures don’t go below 70 degrees, even though a plant may have many flowers on its branches, those flowers may not yield actual fruits.

When planning to start your tomato plants from seeds, it is vital that you do so ten weeks before you plan to plant them in the ground. The reason I recommend ten weeks is because that gives you eight weeks during which the seeds will sprout and grow, and you have an extra week if some of the seeds are slower to germinate. The tenth week will be used for hardening off the plants prior to planting them in pots outdoors or in the ground.

To harden the plants off, simply take the flats outside during the day and bring them back inside at night. If the seeds germinate quickly and the plants have reached a decent size by week nine, then you can use that week to keep them outdoors during the day and bring them in at night. The following week, you can leave them outside all the time, and that may keep them from suffering from “transplant shock when you do plant them in the ground or in pots.

To grow your own tomato plants from seed, you will need your seeds of course. You will also need containers to plant in. I prefer to use peat pellets because they are completely self contained. You simply soak the pellets in warm water and they expand. Once they have expanded, they look like a little sack that is filled with peat moss or dirt.

Peat pots are also very useful, but they can be more expensive. They are made of compressed peat moss and will decompose in the ground or in the pot. They add organic matter to the soil while adding a substance that will help allow