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.