Quick Start for Home-Grown Tomatoes

How satisfying to be the first in your neighborhood to boast of a tomato harvest! If you are on this quest, your seeds are already germinating in a seed- starting medium of fine milled peat moss and vermiculite, under grow lights –two each of alternating cool-white and warm, placed just 3” from the tops of the plants, and thriving in a warm environment of 68-78 degrees. Your sprouts are enjoying daily gentle watering, and of course all are properly labeled.

Here are a few tips to get the fastest growth. First of all, forget about top growth; the roots are most important at this stage. Transplant your seedlings several times into ever larger, ever deeper pots, pinching off lower leaves each time, setting the plant deep down into the pot and filling it up with soil. The hairs on the stems will transform into more roots. Bottom heat from a seed starting mat will keep the root growth happening. 

One way to toughen up the seedlings while they are still in a protected indoor environment is to give them a gentle breeze to thicken up their stems. Blow on them when you visit them, or set up a fan some distance away. Air circulation may also prevent damping off, the sudden loss of seedlings to a soggy environment.

As the weather warms up, it’s time to think about setting out the tomato plants. There’s more to consider besides the last frost date. Soil temperature is the major consideration. Anything below 60 degrees will set back your 6-10” tall plants. Now, you have already amended your soil with compost, added calcium or lime, and introduced some 5-10-10 fertilizer. And you have toughened up your tomato plants by placing them outside in partial shade. The weather is warm, but the soil is still cold. What to do? 

Here are two solutions for chilly soil. First, if the top few inches are warm enough, dig a trench for the transplant, pinching off lower leaves, laying the tomato plant on its side, covering all but the remaining foliage with soil. Within days the plant will be growing upright. Another way to warm up soil is to dig out the top few inches and lay down below the trench a good layer of uncomposted kitchen garbage. This will provide heat for the roots above. 

Use of decomposing materials for bottom heat can also be a way to speed up the date of setting out of plants if you can protect the foliage as well with gallon milk jugs or other containers. The plants will need to be uncovered daily to prevent overheating. This tactic is for the most ambitious, competitive tomato growers who might wish to experiment with setting out a few plants even before the last frost date.

So much promise in these spindly seedlings we are growing! Good luck!