Growing Tomatoes from Seed

Growing Tomatoes from Seed is a great way to get the tomatoes that you want rather than the ones which are available at the garden centres. They do not often have an extensive range and with over 7000 to choose from you should be able to find one that you like.

You can purchase seeds from many different outlets – online, garden centres, some DIY shops and mail order. Often the mail order ones are little plug plants which are usually very good quality but I have to say for me there is just something about watching that first seedling poke its way out of the compost which I find sadly very satisfying.

If this is your first time at growing tomatoes from seed it doesn’t have to be an expensive venture seedlings can be grown in any little pot or container which has good drainage holes, yoghurt pots are really good and usually readily available.

Growing Tomatoes from Seed

Compost

• This can be purchased from either your garden centre or DIY stores. I would suggest you buy one which is specifically for growing seeds and seedlings – this is because the other more basic compost don’t contain the quite the right growing nutrients for seedlings, however you can use all round compost  although they may take a little longer to germinate

Propagator

• You don’t need to buy one of these if you are on a budget or just trying this out for a first time – You can use Yoghurt pots for the seedlings to grow in with plastic bags secured around the top -. A propagator acts like a mini greenhouse maintaining high levels of humidity around the young plants.  If you intend taking this on as a hobby it is good to invest in one or if you are like me I have loads now!  You can buy electric propagators which keep your seedlings at a constant temperature which is great for them as they develop quicker. Or you can pop your pots on a light window sill (as long as you have double glazing) they don’t like the cold – like me! They don’t like huge changes in temperature so don’t make it too sunny a windowsill or they may well get too hot then too cold

It is always a good idea to grow a few more seeds than you are expecting to plant. Just in case one of those mishaps, which befall us all, like knocking plants over, or having some little blighter eat them. If you do have spare plants you can always give them to friends or neighbours and spread the word.Children love to grow plants and watch them develop you can get a competition going between siblings to see whose conditions get the best results and whose pops their heads up first. My children never really enjoyed tomatoes until they began growing them, there is something very satisfying about how great they taste when you have grown them yourselves especially for  a

child.

Sowing tomato seeds

• Sow the seeds indoors if possible for quicker germination and keep them in a really light area, like your conservatory or windowsill so they don’t get too leggy searching for the light. The ideal t emperature needs to be 18-21ºC (65-70ºF) and if you can use a propagator that will be a bonus. This acts as a mini green house for your plants, the bottom of a fizzy drinks bottle of the same size as your pot can be cut and placed over the pot  giving the same effect.Once the seedling appears and has cast off its seed pod the plants needs to have air circulating or the seedling may rot therefore the top needs to be taken off the propagator.

The seeds will germinate between, 8-12 days depending on the temperature.It is advisable to water young seedlings in the tray at the bottom so they can soak it up. Then they aren’t knocked over with watering the compost just needs to be moist.

Pots

• You will need a couple of pots in different sizes so that as your plant grows you can pot them up. The largest final growing pot will need to be about 10- 12 inches/ 30 centimetres across the top.  You can use an all purpose  compost when potting up, although you can use specialised brand name compost which can have balanced nutrition and/ or water retaining qualities, the choice is yours. If you have taken advantage of councils giving away reasonably priced compost bins you may well have your own compost to use.

Grow bags

Grow bags are a wonderful invention for anyone starting out growing your own produce. They are a container and have balanced compost all in one packet, who could ask for more.  I personally think these are great for growing your own toms in, I put usually two in a bag so they aren’t fighting for nutrients but you can put three especially if you use bottomless pots which go into the grow bag it gives the plants more root room .

If you fancy trying something from the heritage range of tomatoes you can link up with “The Heritage Seed Library” here in the UK or “The Seed Savers Exchange” in the US both of which have seed swap registers.

Saving Tomato Seeds

If you wish to save tomato  seeds from the Heritage tomatoes for the following year or to share you can:

• Carefully scoop out the seeds from your chosen tomato
• Place onto a plate taking care to separate them
• Allow them to dry out naturally
• Pop in a paper envelope and with details of the tomato and any special growing instructions
• Keep in a cool place either the fridge or the freezer – I put them in the freezer in freezer bags the zip up ones are good.

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