Week 10 For Tomatoes

So I’m starting from seed the variety “Fourth of July” and the variety “Legend”. The beginning process I use is a bit unorthodox, but it works. I use either paper towels or high-quality paper napkins and soak them in warm tea overnight. I then place six or eight seeds on a tea soaked paper towel, fold it up and place the packet in a plastic bag and set it on top of the refrigerator where it is warm. While normally tomato seeds will take from 7 to 12 days to germinate, my system produces germinated seeds in 2 to 3 days.

I then very carefully plant the sprouted seed in what’s called an APC {see photo}. This is a self watering seed starting device put out by Gardeners Supply Company {www.gardeners.com} or Lee Valley Tools {   }. By sprouting the seed ahead of time I don’t have to worry about wasting seeds. I use a soil less mixture to plant the seeds, usually a combination of Canadian spaghnum peat moss and vermiculite. For examples of seed starting devices go to seed systems.

Lights

I place the planted APC under florescent lights that have been connected to a eider that  keeps them lighted for 16 hours each day. The bulbs are placed about 1 inch above the seedlings. As the seedlings mature I keep raising the lights to stay about 1 inch above the plants.

Transplanting

When my seedlings get to be about 2 to 3 inches tall with nice thick stalks I will transplant them from the APC to individual large foam coffee cups that I have saved over the year. I slice holes in the bottom of each container so I know it will drain very well. Just as with the APC I keep my transplanted seedlings under fluorescent lights for the next three or four weeks.

I will leave the details for placing my tomatoes outside for a later post.