To an organic food lover, there is nothing more satisfying than knowing how to grow tomato at home from seeds. Think about watching teeny-weeny seeds grow into fruit-bearing plants that add more flavor to your many dishes. While the easier path is to buy transplants and start a tomato garden right away, germinating tomato seeds may prove to be more gratifying. Think about growing exotic varieties that aren’t available in your nearby gardening shop. With this in mind, starting a tomato garden straight from seedlings can be done via the following steps.
Source : balconygardenweb.com
1. Get ready with what everything you need. Growing a tomato garden from seeds may be laborious than starting off with transplants. But while it may seem to take forever, it is best to have the right “ingredients” such as — tomato seeds, the right container for germinating them, sterile potting soil as seed-starters, and fertilizer. Tomatoes being heat-loving plants also require a warm place complemented with ample sunlight.
2. Choose tomato seeds carefully. There hundreds of tomato varieties for you to choose from. It is best to decide what goal you have in mind. Will this be for a gourmet canned tomato small business or just for personal consumption? Start with Assorted Tomato Seeds Packet with germination success rate of up to 90 percent or more. You get 200 pcs of 24 kind of tomato seeds to start a tomato garden and share some with family and friends.
Assorted Heirloom Tomato Seeds
When choosing tomato varieties, it is also important to consider their size when matured. Indeterminate one usually towers at around 6 feet tall. Determinate ones at around 3 feet. If you have limited space and considers container gardening, indeterminate varieties will work best. Additionally, choose disease-resistance varieties particularly from verticillium and fusarium. Check variety name and if you see a V or an F, that would be it!
3. To germinate seeds and produce healthy transplants, your choice of container will also matter. Some people believe that using recyclable containers will work best. For environmentally conscious individuals, however, biodegradable pots like the one here make an excellent option. Feel free also to recycle small yogurt containers or egg cartons by poking holes into them. Place them underneath a waterproof container and start growing tomatoes from scratch.
Biodegradable Seed Planters
4. Start germinating with a seed starter rather than potting soil. Garden soil often harbor disease-causing organisms which can adversely affect tomato growth. This Organic Seed Starter comes highly recommended for all cuttings and seedlings as it promotes root growth.
Organic Seed Starter
5. Start germinating tomato seeds. Moisten your seed starter then, place into containers at least 3/4-inch. Firm it up a little bit and then, place 2 to 3 seeds. Cover it with 1/4-inch soil firmed gently over seeds. Drizzle a little water on top enough to moisten it to stimulate good “seed-to-mix” contact.
6. Look for a warm spot or use an electrical germination station. It doesn’t really have to be fully exposed to sunlight but enough to be warm. You can make good use of electric-savvy germination station like the Jump Start Germination Station w/Heat Mat to make it more convenient. Keep in mind that tomato seeds germinate faster at around 70 to 75-deg Fahrenheit and with a heat mat at the bottom to provide needed warmth. As always, keep seed starter moist and check them daily, too.
Jump Start Germination Station w/Heat Mat
7. Learn when to fertilize. As soon as second set of leaves start sprouting, it’s time to start fertilizing. The first two leaves that usually sprout are known as “seed leaves.” True leaves are the second set of leaves mentioned here and when evident, this signals application of water-soluble fertilizer to the seed starter pot.
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Without a doubt, learning how to grow tomato at home from seeds can be quite challenging to the inexperienced.
Once they grow to be transplants, you can then re-pot them into a larger container or transplant such into your backyard garden as spring opens. If done accordingly, you and your family will be munching on ripe succulent tomatoes in a matter of 6 to 8 weeks. Enjoy!
