ibvorti.blogg.se - Tomato seedlings

Or try NC Tomato Man Craig LeHoullier’s “dense planting method,” and really pack the seeds into every cell.

I start with slightly larger cells than a conventional plastic 6-pack, however others swear by transplanting each baby to its own 3- or even 4-inch pot. Confession: Rather than transplant, I usually put two seeds per cell and use a nail scissors to cut out the weakling, skipping the potting up.

My earliest hero, James Underwood Crockett of the original “Victory Garden” series, would sprinkle 6-8 seeds per 3-inch seedling pot, then after about two weeks, or when the plants were 1½ inches high, transplant them into 6-packs, one plant per cell.

This is not any old potting soil it’s specially formulated for seedlings. They are usually peat-based, but with consciousness about non-sustainable peat lately, coir is often used.

If you’re re-using seedling flats or other containers, first clean everything with a 1:10 bleach:water solution or at least hot, soapy water.

I did not use a heat mat until recently because I sowed not in seed flats but in insulated, self-watering foam trays called APS that last many years, but have sadly been discontinued lately I’ve been doing some of both. A soil temperature of 70 degrees is essential higher (like mid-80s) is better in those early days of germination.

Seeds germinated on a heat mat in flats will get off to a particularly fast start.

Again: many experts prefer 8 weeks, and you may, too.

My seedlings would need larger quarters (like a 3- or 4-inch pot each) to thrive for 8 weeks indoors more work, but to my mind not much extra benefit. I like a strong little plant grown in a medium-large cell, so 6ish is plenty. Count back from 5 or 6 to as much as 8 weeks.Use my seed-starting calculator to get your start date (and a link to figure out your frost date if you don’t know it). Work from your final frost date to determine when to sow (mine’s late May-early June).My goal is not a tall seedling by transplant time but a stout and sturdy one, about 4 inches high and wide. brushing your plants to help them grow sturdier…really). Those of you in warmer zones can stop dreaming, and do (and if you already sowed, it’s not too late to start petting a.k.a. It’s still too early for sowing tomatoes in my Zone 5B Hudson Valley, New York, area, with April 15 my target date, but I can dream. It’s perfect for accomplishing one of the tricks to growing better tomato seedlings, which is (after all) the only thing you probably really care about on the run-up to another spring. THAT OLD, DISCARDED ELECTRIC FAN that isn’t strong enough for the hot summers of global warming…hey, bring it on.