![]() The vermiculite helps the soil retain moisture which is especially helpful if you are using a heat mat that can dry the soil out. Spritz the tray or pots with water and sprinkle with a thin layer of vermiculite if desired. You want the seeds to be cozy but still have good airflow. Then cover all the seeds with more soil and tamp down the tray once more. Add one seed to each divot, attempting to place each seed in the center of the divot. Take the end of a pencil or your pinky finger to make a small divot in each cell or pot. Sowing in Cell Trays or Pots Using seedlings and cell trays is a common way to start tomatoes indoors. This may seem like an unimportant step, but when there is poor seed-to-soil contact, the seed remains dormant longer, leading to lower productivity, possibly rotting in the cell or not germinating at all. This will help provide good seed-to-soil contact, which helps allow seeds to retain moisture from the soil and, in turn, improve germination. This simply means giving a few quick taps on your working area countertop with the cell trays, so the soil compacts down a bit in place. Otherwise, you can simply use cell trays or small pots.įill your strip trays, cell trays, or pots with your moistened potting medium and tamp it down. Bonus: strip trays easily fit atop a heat mat (if you choose to use one) and will fit nicely under the light when the time comes. If you are sowing quite a few tomato seeds, there are strip trays you can use that will fit a lot in a small area, about 20-25 per strip. You want it to hold its shape if you ball it up in your hand but not dripping with water. ![]() Moisten a good quality potting soil or seed starting mix in a tub or bucket. How to Sow Tomato Seeds There are two ways to sow tomato seeds: in small containers or in a strip tray. Music so you can have a good time while sowing seeds!.Starting seeds indoors gives you a few advantages, including being able to control the environment (temperature, humidity, sunlight, moisture) and selecting the strongest plants to transplant outside, giving your garden the best chance to succeed. Gather up all your supplies needed before beginning the process.Īlthough you can direct seed tomatoes because they take a long time to mature and are very cold-sensitive, I am going to walk you through the process of starting seeds indoors. Once you know you have good seeds, you are ready to sow them. This seed batch should have about an 80% germination rate which is pretty good! Sowing Seeds Getting seeds started indoors boosts the likelihood of them growing successfully in the garden. Multiply this number by 100.Įxample: You start with 10 seeds, and 8 of them germinate. You can calculate the germination rate by dividing the number of seeds that germinate by the number of seeds in your bag. Place in a warm spot, keep the towel moist and wait a few days until they start to sprout. You can test saved seeds for viability by placing 10-20 in a wet paper towel inside a plastic bag. If you save seeds, you’ll want to be sure they have been stored in a cool, dry location. You always want to be sure you are using seeds with high viability so purchase your seeds from a reputable source. Seed Source & Testing Viability It is very important to source tomato seeds from a reputable place to ensure a healthy plant. It is quite fascinating to watch a tiny seed become a tall, leafy plant with large red ripe fruits hanging from it! Be patient, as it can take up to 100 days for the seeds to reach that point. is the most basic and youngest stage of the plant. Seed Selection Tomato seeds are very small in size.Īny tomato plant always begins as a seed. Now that we’ve taken a glance at the 14 stages of tomato growth let’s dig into more detail for each. ![]() Be sure to read your seed packets closely, as each company lists information a little differently. You can subtract about 30 days if you start them indoors and transplant them, but they’ll still require 60-90 days to fully develop fruit. Tomatoes take 90-140 days to mature, depending upon the variety and other environmental factors, so keep in mind these numbers are just a rough estimate and they will vary.
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