Home gardeners take great delight in growing tomatoes from seeds, particularly their own that that they’ve cultivated and saved in the previous year. It’s not just easy to do, but it’s a joy to see the young seedlings rise through the soil. Watching the evolution of your tomatoes from seed retains many an enthusiastic gardener coming back for more year after year. Using seeds to begin your tomato growing isn’t only cheap but very satisfying.
Preparing the seed box
Start the process of planting tomato seeds around 8 weeks prior to the warm weather. Use quality potting mix and fill a seed tray to approximately 1 inch from the top. Scatter the seeds over the surface of the tray with about 4 inches between each seed. The main reason for spreading out the seed is that if it’s time to transplant them you don’t harm the fine roots in dividing the plants. Mist the dirt and seeds and place the seed in a warm place.
Seeds like moist air so a fantastic process to help them together is to put cling film over the surface of the tray to promote moisture. Take care not to over water the seeds and that’s the reason a mist spray is best. Once the seedlings start to appear, remove the cling film.
The seedlings will have to be acclimatized so begin taking the plants into the outside in early morning sunshine, and gradually lengthen the time to have the ability to set them in the shade during the heat of the day. After about two weeks they could enter the early morning sunshine for a couple hours and gradually lengthen the time in sunlight, but take care not to burn the leaves.
The first and second transplant.
When the seedlings are 1 to 2 inches high they may be transplanted into small individual pots. Lift the seedling from the leaves and put it gently in a pit that’s been pressed into the tiny individual pot, then gently firm the soil around it. Avoid touching the stem at any point as it’s fairly fragile still and can break easily. Water the pot.
The pots could be held outside today and in the sunlight. If the temperatures are additional hot, move the tiny plants to the shade during the heat of the day. Ensure that the plants get even exposure to the sun, which may require turning the pots.
When the plants are about 6 to 8 inches tall, transplant them into 6 inch strands where they will stay until they are planted either into the ground or to a big pot for the last growing phase.
Now that you’ve grown your tomato seeds this way the following step is the final planting point.
Final planting
When the seedlings are about 8 inches tall they’re ready to be transplanted to the ground or into a large 12 – 15 inch container. This next step might seem surprising but it’s the ideal thing to do. Assuming that you have the dirt ready at this point, plant the seedling into the hole you’ve ready up to the top four leaves.
