Ply the Spade, Ply the Hoe, Plant the Seed and It Will Grow

Here it is, the plan of action for duplicating the bumper crop of enormous tomatoes that we enjoyed the summer of 2008...  Just like you asked. (I can't duplicate the weather of course)


First, Soak some peat pots in warm water until they won't soak up any more.  Drain away any excess water and poke a sharpened pencil about 1/2 of an inch into the soil then...
Sprout the seeds. Lots of them, more than you think you will need. I start them on a paper towel in an empty cookie container from the bakery with a wet napkin or paper towel. Just set it on top of the refrigerator and check it daily.  As soon as they sprout...

just the right size

Plant them in the peat pots, one or two per pot.  Use a tweezers and be very gentle. you may have to check and plant for a couple of days, you'll want to try to get them in as soon as you see a root. This is a gradual process for so many seeds.  If they grow too much before they are planted, they get really attached to that paper towel and will come to pieces if you try to separate them. I have torn off little pieces of paper towels instead of killing the little plant and planted it right along with them in the past, so I know that works too, but, this is where I tend to lose several of them.

Keep the peat pots covered. Moisture is critical at this point, so keep them moist.  A cover should be over them (usually provided as a mini greenhouse, if you buy Jiffy 7 Peat Pellets.)  As they start to push up out of the soil, put them under a lamp with a grow light or with a warm and a cool fluorescent bulb in it (they need the full spectrum of light.)  Make sure the lamp is just barely over the top of the greenhouse.
When they start to get "leggy", take the cover off of them and transplant them "up to their ears" in soil, they will get a nice strong root system all along that leggy stem, so put them near the bottom of the container you choose, possibly  yogurt cups or frozen juice containers, and fill the soil in around the stem while you gently hold it up by it's sturdy new sets of leaves.  Remember to give them drainage and a tray to sit in.  I peel the little pajamas off the peat pots at this point, they just cause trouble later.  Keep them under the lamps, adjusting the lamps or the pots regularly to keep the light just an inch or so above their leaves as they grow.

While you wait and watch them grow you can begin to prepare your garden and make some things to help your tomatoes.  If possible,
turn over the soil and add amendments, tomatoes like acid soil and we have been fortunate enough to have several Oak trees in our yard.  Since oak leaves make the soil acid, oak leaf compost or oak leaf mold is the perfect soil amendment and makes a dandy mulch later.  Stir some in as you turn over the soil and save some for mulch. if you don't have Oak leaves, peat moss and compost from the garden center work well too.

 Tune in next week for more helpful instructions.