Start Tomato Seeds From Scratch

Tomatoes are extremely popular with home gardeners because they are easy to grow, tasty and nutritious. Sprout your own tomato seedlings.

Heirloom and organic tomatoes from the grocery store or farmer's market are wonderful tomatoes, but can be pricey. Start your own seedlings indoors to enjoy a wonderful harvest through the growing season. You don't need a professional greenhouse to start seeds early, a tabletop indoor greenhouse is sufficient for a successful heirloom tomato harvest.

Preparation

Supplies Needed

• Indoor greenhouse,
• Good quality potting soil,

• Tomato seeds,

• Spray bottle with water,

• Wooden or plastic bowl,

• Optional: Jiffy pots.

The Method

1. Fill each tiny pot almost to the top with potting soil.

1. Gently press tomato seeds into the soil, and add another half inch of soil on top.

1. Water the soil well.

1. Place the seedling pots into the tabletop greenhouse tray, and fix the lid.

1. Spray with water every day.

1. It is two weeks after the last frost, and

Care for Seedlings

Harden and Transplant

1. The plant has a strong trunk and a few stems with leaves.

Plan ahead. Purchase healthy, viable seeds that were prepared for this season. Do not use old seeds. Determine around when the last frost in your area will be. Tomato plants can be transplanted outside two weeks after the last frost. Start your seeds inside about a month before the anticipated last frost.

An indoor greenhouse is an inexpensive investment that, if well taken care of, will last for numerous growing seasons. It consists of a bottom tray, seedling cups, and a clear cover. Gardeners can opt to use biodegradable Jiffy pots that are put directly in the ground when the plant is ready to be outside. Whether using plastic cups or Jiffy pots, proper drainage is essential to success.

Use a seed starter mix or high quality potting soil. Seedling pots are very small. Three or four tomato seeds per tiny pot is sufficient.

The cover of the tabletop greenhouse is vital to successful germination. Condensation will form on the inside cover. This is natural and good, but it is still necessary to check the soil every day to make sure it is moist, and check to make sure the pots can drain. (Pour out excessive water on the bottom tray.) Many tabletop greenhouses work well placed on a warm kitchen shelf or windowsill. The optimum temperature for tomato seed germination is 70 to 80 degrees F.

Little green leaves will burst forth from the soil in a less than two weeks. If it has been fourteen days, and nothing has emerged from soil, go over the steps and try a second planting.

Infant tomato plants love sun, so place them in a Southern window. The clear tabletop greenhouse cover will continue to keep them warm, tomato plant's ideal temperature is 65 to 70 degrees F.

Continue to check the seedlings for appropriate moisture every day. When the plants are a week old, you may add a little liquid fertilizer to the water to feed them.

Baby tomato plants will first grow two leaves. Their "true leaves" develop after this. True leaves are the next set of leaves that grow in between the first leaves. When true leaves have grown, transplant the tomato plants into larger pots. This will help make them strong and viable for later outdoor planting.

Set your pots of tomato plants outdoors for an hour one day, two hours the next day, and so on and so forth. This is called "hardening off" plants. It gets them used to the outdoor air so that being transplanted outside will be less of a shock.

Tomato plants can be transplanted in the garden when:

Plant tomato plants in a very warm and sunny spot, and think about companion planting.

Canning Tomatoes at Home

Tomatoes are easy to grow and relatively easy to preserve in glass jars using the hot water bath method.

One of the joys of vegetable gardening is the plethora of fresh produce that feeds the gardener's family. As produce does not last forever, gardeners use home canning recipes to enjoy the harvest through the bleak winter.

Naturally acidic foods may be preserved using the hot water bath method. Tomatoes are both easy to grow and are acidic. Tomatoes are a great choice for both beginning gardeners and beginning home canners.

Canning Kits, Canning Racks, and Canning Jars

Full canning kits are available for purchase from companies such as Lehman's. A canning kit saves the novice canner from hunting around for necessary items or, worse yet, realizing in the middle of a canning project that a necessary tool is missing.

Most boiling water bath canning kits include:

• Granite ware canner;
• Canning rack;
• Jar funnel;
• Jar lifter; and
• Magnet.

Lehman's canning kit includes a dozen canning jars with lids and bands.

Granite ware is also sometimes called "granny-ware." It has the easily recognized white flecks on dark blue or black. A canning rack is a wire rack that sits inside the canner. It holds the jars in place and is easy to insert and remove.

Canning jar funnels have much wider spouts than other funnels. This is necessary to allow hot, chunky food through the funnel and into the canning jar. Jar lifters are designed to remove hot, slippery jars out of hot water safely, and the magnets remove sterilized jar lids and bands from boiling water.

In addition to the above, also gather:

• Jars, lids and bands;
• Big cooking pot;
• Sterilizing pot.

Preserve Jars

Whether canning jars are brand new or have been used before, they must be thoroughly cleaned and sterilized before use. Make certain there is no stuck on food anywhere inside old jars.

Heat a large pot of water and boil. Jars, lids and bands must boil for ten minutes. Also sterilize funnel and other canning utensils.

Clean the kitchen counter and put down a clean, dry towel. As jars, lids and bands come out of the sterilizing bath, place them on the towels ready for filling. This should be done just before filling with food.

Home Canning Recipe With Tomatoes

Can fresh-picked tomatoes along with some fresh from the garden basil. Jars of tomatoes can be stored in the pantry and used to make salsas and sauces or added to any recipe that calls for canned tomatoes.

Many recipes call for par-boiling tomatoes and removing skins. Tomato skin, however, is food. It is fibrous and has vitamins so this recipe does not include such a step.

1. Select the amount of tomatoes that will fit in one canner load. Always prepare one canner load at a time.
2. Wash tomatoes, cut out the core, and cut into quarters.
3. Place tomatoes in large sauce pot and cover with water. Add finely chopped fresh basil, if desired.
4. Boil for five minutes.
5. Using funnel, pack jars with tomatoes one jar at a time.
6. Cover with hot cooking liquid, and leave 1/2 inch of head space.
7. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon canning salt to each pint (or double to each quart jar.)
8. Run a wooden spoon handle between tomatoes and jar to release air bubbles.
9. Use magnet to remove lid from simmering water and place so sealing compound is on top of the jar. Screw band down evenly and tightly.
10. As each jar is filled, stand it on the canning rack in the canner in hot water.
11. When rack is full, add more water if needed to cover top of jars.
12. Place lid on canner and boil for 45 minutes at altitudes under 1,000 feet above sea level.
13. Remove rack from from canner and stand jars a few inches apart in a safe place, away from drafts. Allow to cool for 12 hours.
14. Do not tighten the bands. Store in a cool, dry place until ready for use.

A Few Notes

High altitudes require additional processing time in the hot water bath canner.

When opening jars, if anything smells or tastes foul it is bad and should be thrown away.

Using Beer in the Garden

Whether there is old, flat beer taking up space in the fridge or perhaps a dozen half-empties after a party, beer is a form of gold to organic gardeners. From taking care of plants to exterminating pests, beer is a useful gardening tool.

Natural Slugs and Snails Pest Control in the Garden

Slugs and snails are attracted to beer, and will drown themselves in it if given the chance.

Dig a few shallow holes around the perimeter of the garden. Place shallow bowls in these freshly dug holes and fill with beer. Slugs and snails will stop for a drink on their way to demolish the garden, climb into the bowl of beer and never climb back out. It is best to check these slug and snail traps every day to see if they need to be dumped and replenished with more beer.

Mouse Pest Control

Gardeners who live in the country or have compost piles will have field mice around. Mice present the biggest problem when they are able to nibble their way through the walls of houses and enter people's homes. Beer is a useful tool in controlling mice populations. A mouse beer trap can be set up outside or inside.

Beer kills mice in much the same way that it does away with slugs and snails. In order to drown mice in beer, pour beer into a bucket at least one third of the way full. Leave this bucket on the ground wherever there are signs of mice infestation. Lean a board such as a 2 x 4 against the bucket. The mice will smell the beer, climb the board and jump in. They can't climb back out and will drown.

Natural Fertilizer

Beer is full of sugars and nutrients that grass and plants can absorb and use. Pouring beer on bare patches of lawn will cause the grass to grow.

For the garden, pour beer into a spray bottle and spray lightly on the soil. When sprayed lightly on the leaves, beer seems to have some anti-fungal properties. Use organic beer, such as Wolaver's brand organic beer, as organic fertilizer for an organic vegetable garden.

Composting with Beer

Students at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin put together a study to determine whether beer was useful in compost piles. At the completion of their carefully controlled study, they concluded that beer is useful as a compost accelerant in the warmer months.

Therefore, pouring beer into the compost pile helps the compost break down more quickly than compost piles without beer. Even for teetotalers, beer is useful in the garden.

When to Plant Vegetables in Vermont

Spring is a time of great excitement and expectation for gardeners. Knowing when to plant is vital to a healthy harvest.

When vegetable gardening is done well it reaps great rewards. Home gardeners enjoy the freshest produce and save money at the same time. Planting too early or too late, however, will destroy a crop. Knowing when to plant is key to a successful harvest.

US Hardiness Zone

North America is broken up into eleven different hardiness zones. These zones are based on average lowest winter temperature each year. There is a difference of 10 degrees F. between each of the zones.

Most of Vermont is in US Hardiness Zone 4. The average low temperatures in Zone 4 are -20 to -30 degrees F. The average last killing frost in the spring in Zone 4 happens in May.

Last frosts can happen earlier or later than expected. Planting seeds before the last killing frost results in dead seeds and no vegetable garden.

Soil Preparation Before Planting Vegetables in Vermont

Even after the danger of a killing frost has passed, the ground must thaw before seeds can survive in the ground. The Old Farmer's Almanac recommends walking in the garden once the ground is warm. When footprints remain wet or shiny, it means that there is still too much water in the ground to plant seeds. Seeds planted in wet soil will rot. If footprints look dull, however, it is time to plant.

Another soil test from The Old Farmer's Almanac is picking up a handful of soil to see whether it crumbles or forms a ball. If it forms a ball, it is still too wet to plant. If it crumbles, it is time to plant.

On average, a soil temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit is warm enough to plant most crops.

Vegetable Crops

Vermont gardeners may plant different vegetables at different times. Some crops require 90 days or more to reach maturation and be ready to harvest. Other crops have short maturation times.

Lettuce is a fast-growing crop. It may be planted a few times during spring and summer, and even into early fall.

Pumpkins and winter squashes take a few months to mature and should be started as early as possible. With the relatively short growing season in zone 4, many gardeners choose to start their pumpkin seeds early indoors. Some use greenhouses. If not started indoors, pumpkin seeds must be in the ground in early June to have time to produce pumpkins before winter.

Other crops such as peppers, tomatoes, and carrots have shorter maturation times and may be started outside in June or even as late as July.

Many green bean varieties are fast-producing crops that can be re-seeded as the season wears on. For example, plant rows of bush beans. A couple of weeks later, plant more bush bean seeds in between the plants already growing. This ensures an ongoing supply of beans through the season.

In general, wait to plant outside until there is no prediction of killing frost, and re-seed crops with short maturation times for a bountiful harvest.

Sprouting Pumpkin Seedlings

Even without a greenhouse, gardeners can sprout their own seeds indoors instead of buying plants later in the season.

As the snow melts and Spring approaches, gardeners everywhere are itching to work outside. The colder the clime, the longer they must wait. Starting seedlings inside is fun, rewarding, and in the long run less expensive than purchasing plants later in the season.

Supplies Needed

• Tabletop greenhouse,
• Good quality potting soil,
• Pumpkin seeds,
• Spray bottle with water,
• Wooden or plastic bowl,
• Optional: Jiffy pots.

A tabletop greenhouse is an inexpensive investment that, if well taken care of, will last for numerous growing seasons. It consists of a bottom tray, a set of individual seedling cups, and a clear cover. Gardeners can opt to use plastic seedling cups or Jiffy pots. Jiffy pots are biodegradable; the entire pot is put in the ground when the plant is ready to be outside.

Pumpkins take a relatively long time before harvest, anywhere from 120 to 150 days depending upon the variety. To have pumpkins in time for Halloween start the seeds indoors as early as April, depending upon where you live.

The Method

Start with healthy, viable seeds that were prepared for this season. Do not use old seeds. Make sure the seeds do not sound hollow.

Use a seed starter mix or high quality potting soil.

Seedling pots are very small. Plant one pumpkin seed per seedling pot.

1. Soak pumpkin seeds in a bowl of warm (not hot!) water for a couple of hours.
2. Fill each tiny pot almost to the top with potting soil.
3. Gently press one pumpkin seed per pot into the soil, and add another inch of soil on top.
4. Water the soil well.
5. Place the seedling pots into the tabletop greenhouse tray, and fix the lid.
6. Spray with water every day.

Condensation will form on the inside cover. This is natural and good, but it is still necessary to check the soil every day to make sure it is moist.

The cover of the tabletop greenhouse is vital to successful germination. Pumpkin seeds like best a temperature of 80 to 85 degrees F. Some gardeners use a germination mat, which is a heated mat placed under the tabletop greenhouse. However, many tabletop greenhouses work well placed on a warm kitchen shelf or windowsill.

Care for Seedlings

Little green leaves will burst forth from the soil in about a week. If it has been ten days, and nothing has emerged from soil, go over the steps and try a second planting.

Baby pumpkin plants need lots of sun, so place them in a Southern window. The clear tabletop greenhouse cover will continue to keep them warm, but it is no longer absolutely necessary, and soon the plants will become too big for it. Use it while you can.

Continue to water the seedlings, but every other day. When the plants are a week old, you may add a little liquid fertilizer to the water to feed them.

Time to Transplant

When the roots of the baby plants are coming out through the bottom of the pots, it is time to transplant. Hopefully, it is now past your last frost. If not, either transplant into larger pots, or put a protective cover over the plants in the ground.

Plant seedlings a foot or two apart. Remember, they will get much bigger. Plant pumpkins in a warm, sunny spot.

When it is time to transplant the pumpkin plants in the ground, think about companion planting. Companion planting is simply placing plants that help each other in the garden next to each other. Pumpkins are good companions with other squash, melons, and corn.

Safe Soap Insecticide for Tomato Plants

Soapy water, herbs and spices make a green pest control recipe that has beneficial effects for tomato plants.

Tomatoes are a relatively easy crop and a great crop for beginning gardeners. That being said, many uninvited guests will find and destroy a tomato garden if left unprotected. Aphids, caterpillars, mites and beetles are only some of the enemies that must be kept at bay.

Spray Soapy Water on Tomato Plants

Home made soapy water spray should be on every organic gardener's list of necessary tools. Start with a natural, organic, liquid castile soap. Dr. Bronner's Peppermint is an excellent choice, but any biodegradable liquid castile soap will work well.

The soap must be biodegradable so that it will break down easily in the soil and not hurt the roots of the tomato plants.

Mix only 2 tablespoons of the castile soap into a quart of water in a bucket. While this will work in and of itself, there are ways to make it more efficient.

Roots and Spices to Repel Insects

Make a tea with herbs, roots, and spices with repellent characteristics. Choose from among:

• Hot peppers
• Garlic
• Ginger root
• Horseradish root.

Chop them up and and place in a mason jar. Cover them with boiling water and allow to steep overnight. Use this tea as part of the quart of water in the soap recipe. Because the food in this recipe may spoil, do freeze any of this tea that you do not use within a week.

The strong smells and hot spice will repel some tomato pests. The soap in the recipe smothers and dehydrates insects that dare to come close to the tomato plants.

Soap vs. Detergent

Soap and detergent are two different things. Soap is a naturally occurring salt caused by a chemical reaction between fats and oils and sodium hydroxide. Pure soap is biodegradable.

Detergents are made with petroleum based oils and will kill your tomato plants.

Cheap Pest Control Sprays

There are natural pesticide sprays on the market, however, a thorough reading of the ingredients indicates that they are easy and cheap to make at home. One brand lists the main ingredient as "potassium salts of naturally occurring fatty acids." That means soap. As long as the soap is organic and biodegradable, it will do the same job. Soaps full of chemical perfumes or preservatives will kill plants.

Using Soapy Water in the Garden

Spray this soapy water recipe on tomato plants daily. This recipe is gentle and non-toxic; therefore, it may be safely used right up until harvest time.

Using beer in the garden is another tool in the organic gardener's arsenal. Beer is a natural fertilizer that helps to control pests and is safe to use in organic tomato gardens.

The University of California's Pest Management Program website has a plethora of information about tomato pests, fungi and diseases.

To maintain a healthy, organic vegetable garden with a bountiful tomato harvest, use soapy spray, beer, and companion planting techniques. Enjoy organic tomatoes grown without poisons and chemicals this season.