Damping off is a big challenge with tomato seedlings in general, so try to provide good air circulation during their infancy period indoors. A tiny fan or heat vent nearby is helpful, as is an open window from time to time but only when outdoor temps get up to room temp. There are thousands of tomato varieties, but they all fall into a few broad categories. A single plant may produce scores of tomatoes over the course of the season, so you may want to strategize and plant one or two from each of the main categories.
Cherry tomatoes , such as Sun Gold, Napa Grape and Pear Drops, have the quintessential sweet-tart tomato flavor and are great for salads and snacking on whole. Because the fruit is small, these are the first to mature. Sauce tomatoes , such as Roma, Amish Paste and Big Mama, have a richer flavor and much lower water content than other varieties. Beefsteak tomatoes , such as Mortgage Lifter, Cherokee Purple and Brandywine, have the biggest fruit and the greatest range of flavor and form.
They are commonly sliced for sandwiches or making caprese salad, though the best varieties can be eaten like an apple. There are also many all-purpose tomato varieties that have traits from each category. Most of the round, tennis ball size tomatoes at the supermarket would be classified as all-purpose. These are usually modern hybrids that rarely match the complex flavor — and diverse appearances — of heirloom tomatoes.
Finally, there is one often overlooked tomato trait that is quite important to be aware of. Few people realize that in their tropical homeland, tomatoes are actually perennial vegetables, meaning they grow year after year, not for just one season.
In the tropics or here, in a greenhouse indeterminate tomatoes eventually become vines more than 20 feet long. The practical ramifications for North American growers are that indeterminate tomatoes need much more space — they can easily grow 6 or 8 feet in a six-month growing season before succumbing to frost. If you want a compact tomato plant that fits inside a standard 3- or 4-foot tomato cage, go with a determinate variety.
You will get more tomatoes overall with an indeterminate variety, but determinate varieties typically yield more fruit per square foot. If necessary, you can take them back inside at night when temperatures drop. Plant the tomatoes with support of a bamboo stick or something, as soon as the weather allows you to when there is no frost or very low temperatures. Not Helpful 8 Helpful Personally, I cut the lowermost leaves to allow sunlight to hit the roots of my plant, but I don't prune too much within the plant itself to avoid exposing the tomatoes to constant direct sunlight.
Not Helpful 3 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Some seeds take a long time to completely dry.
Let the seeds dry for a couple of weeks or longer for larger seeds if necessary. Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0. Ceiling fans are great for improving air circulation while the seedlings are growing indoors. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Beefsteak tomatoes are especially popular for slicing and putting on sandwiches. Italian or paste tomatoes are used for cooking, canning, and juicing. Cherry tomatoes are frequently used in salads.
If you live in an area with a lot of rain, you will get better results when you cover your tomato plants. Tomatoes do not like to be wet, and are prone to become sick when the leaves get wet often. When watering the tomatoes, make sure you do not wet the leaves, add water to the ground and don't pour it over the plant. Helpful 49 Not Helpful Pests may plague your tomatoes, including cutworms, whiteflies, and nematodes. Helpful 46 Not Helpful Diseases such as fusarium and verticillium wilt are also common, but you can prevent these diseases by planting resistant cultivars, rotating the crops, and keeping your garden clean.
Related wikiHows How to. How to. More References 3. About This Article. Co-authored by:. Andrew Carberry, MPH. Co-authors: Updated: August 12, Categories: Growing Tomatoes.
Article Summary X To grow tomatoes from seeds, start the seeds indoors weeks before the last expected frost. In other languages Italiano: Coltivare i Pomodori. Nederlands: Tomaten kweken uit zaad. Bahasa Indonesia: Menumbuhkan Tomat dari Bijinya. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read , times.
More reader stories Hide reader stories. Did this article help you? Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Tunji Afolabi Sep Mark Mitch Jun 28, I put about 5 seeds in organic pots that rot, so I didn't need to un-pot them, just put them into the soil.
Nearly all the seeds germinated so I had to cut off all except 1 shoot per pot. Carol Beavers Jun 6, Tomatoes and peppers are all I grow and have frozen them for years for sauce in winter. They taste much fresher than canned. Penelope Cruzier May 31, Everything wikiHow has to offer has come into spotlight with this handy, fact-based article. Kriti Apr 26, I already used wikiHow to plant potato and chili from scratch and they came out well.
Thanks, wikiHow. Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Follow Us. If you want to keep your spending low for this project, you can create greenhouse conditions by covering your seed trays with plastic wrap. And remember to remove the plastic wrap soon after your sprouts poke their heads up above the soil, to ensure air circulation and reduce the risk of damping off.
These germination stations come with a flat for holding your seed trays, and a plastic dome to retain heat and humidity. You can find a cell growing tray with a drip tray and clear humidity dome from True Leaf Market. I grow my starts in a terrarium — a mini greenhouse — placed next to a sunny and warm south-facing window. My young tomatoes get plenty of warmth and humidity this way — and they are protected from my curious cats.
While I have a couple of repurposed reptile terrariums that I use, my favorite terrarium is a more decorative model. And you can find it for purchase at Wayfair. This setup works particularly well if you receive a lot of warming sunshine in the spring, but not so well if your spring weather is gloomy and rainy, or too cold. Set up your cold frame facing full south where it will get direct sunlight, providing your young starts with both light and heat.
You can read about making your cold own frame in our article on some of the best DIY greenhouses and cold frames for your backyard. Cold frames may come with built-in ventilation, or you can prop them open to ventilate and prevent interior temperatures from getting too hot during the heat of the day.
If a cold frame seems like the best option for you, you may want to try this inch vented polycarbonate model from Juwel. If you want the best setup of all for growing your own tomatoes from seed, a greenhouse is the ultimate choice — and will give you the space to start an endless selection of cultivars of your favorite summer veggies. Just make sure you avoid the most common greenhouse mistakes — read our helpful article on this subject to learn more. If the idea of setting up a greenhouse has your green thumb twitching, you might consider making a DIY greenhouse out of pallet racking.
Monticello Greenhouse. Or have a look at this selection of aluminum and polycarbonate Monticello brand greenhouses, available for purchase from Arbico Organics. Plant markers are a must have if, like me, you plan to start your own personal mini nursery each spring, growing several different varieties of tomatoes as well as many other types of vegetables and herbs.
If you are only starting one variety of tomato and no other types of veggies, you can probably get by without plant markers. And if you are using something like egg cartons or paper cups to grow in, you could just write the name of your plant and the date directly on the container.
However, using plant markers gives you a clear visual sign of what variety you are growing and the date seeds were sown excellent items to note in your gardening journal , as well. You can make your own plant markers out of used popsicle sticks, or you can buy markers intended specifically for this purpose — made either out of metal, wood, or plastic. While you can water your seedlings with a small watering can, jar, teapot, cup, or whatever else is handy, using a spray bottle will give you much greater control over how much irrigation you are providing, and help to prevent overwatering.
In fact, correct watering is such an important aspect of growing tomatoes from seed that I consider a spray bottle to be just as important to have on hand as a good quality starting medium. According to Barbara Larson, Unit Educator at the University of Illinois Extension , the first is that overly wet potting mix can promote fungal disease.
Waterlogged soil may also remain too cool after watering, preventing seed germination and slowing root growth. You can use a plain plastic spray bottle, or a glass one. If you plan to repurpose an empty household spray bottle, only select one to upcycle that has never contained harsh chemicals, since chemical residues can damage your starts. A spray bottle designated for watering only is great to have on hand anyway, if you have houseplants that need misting or if you grow microgreens.
Clear Glass Seedling Mister. I love these seedling misters from Burpee. They produce a gentle mist ideal for watering your delicate shoots and are available in clear glass or green metal. When removing your young tomatoes from their trays to transplant, you will need some way to lift them out without pulling them by the stems. A widger is one such tool you can use to perform this task without injuring your baby plants.
To use this tool, you stick the widger into the soil and under the roots of the seedling to lift it out of its tray — without damaging its roots. As a DIY alternative, you could also use a small spoon, a popsicle stick, or a wooden plant marker to leverage your plant out of its growing cell. Widger, or Transplanting Tool. I grow my seedlings next to a couple of very sunny, south-facing windows. These provide plenty of sunlight and warmth for my plants as they grow and mature.
But not all climates or home situations will allow you to take advantage of free light and heat from the sun. So, if you are facing such challenges, you might want to consider using grow lights. Since they are placed just a few inches above the growing plants, plants will grow stockier and bushier compared to their growth next to a window. Grow lights also encourage plants to grow straight up towards the overhead light source instead of leaning.
Plants grown next to a window often reach sideways towards the sun — a problem that can be remedied by rotating your plants regularly. To learn more about grow lights , have a look at our article on some of the best models available and how to use them.
A heat mat can help to keep the soil at the right temperature for germination. According to Barbara Lawson at the University of Illinois Extension , lowering the temperature after the first set of true leaves appear helps to promote shorter and stockier growth with stronger stems. Jump Start Windowsill Heat Mat. You can find it at Arbico Organics. The best time to transplant these summer veggies is a couple of weeks after your average last frost date.
Planting a couple of weeks after this date helps to provide a little wiggle room in case a freak late frost decides to sweep through your area. Just type in your zip code and the tool will calculate your average last frost date and display it on the screen. Most seed packets recommend starting tomato seeds weeks before your last frost date, but they assume you will set out your transplants close to this date.
If you get started just 4 weeks before your last frost, then your starts should be ready for transplanting 2 weeks after your last frost. Make sense? So, take your last frost date and count back 4 weeks. This is when you should begin your tomato seed starting project. Place some starting mix in your seed trays. Fill each cell loosely, then gently tap the tray to remove any air pockets. You want the soil to fill in the cells without becoming compacted. Gently smooth the surface of the soil to make it level.
Place one seed on the surface of the soil, and repeat with the others, spacing them out an equal distance from each other. Water your seeds in with your spray bottle, spraying until the soil is moist, but not waterlogged. Mist your seedlings when needed. Should I fertilize my seeds or newly-sprouted seedlings? Not yet. They feed on the food stored in the seed.
When should I place my planted seeds under lights? When they sprout. Read up on tomato growing lights. More on starting tomatoes from seeds Seed starting containers to use when sowing seeds Compare biodegradable tomato seed starting pots to use to grow tomato seeds Compare seed starting kits for growing tomatoes What potting mix is best for seed starting?
Seed starting mix for tomatoes: what ingredients are important When to start tomato seeds indoors in your area Tomato seed starting timetable Germinate seeds early to get best results How to label and grow tomatoes from seed
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