16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Hey, Spaghetina...I designed the Tormato, and have been using them for about 5 years now. They'll hold whatever you can grow on them! I've had nearly 2lb beefsteaks on them and they did just fine.
I'm always eager to get feedback from whoever uses them, so don't be afraid to drop me a line!
Here is a link that might be useful: Tormato!
Thank you both. I do have a fan running in the room because I thought that might be the issue, but I will scrape it off and try the cinnamon as well.
And I'm going out of town for a bit and my mom will be watching the plants...I'm sort of betting on her to forget watering every couple of days :-) That's why they're in the larger pots now.
Please tell your Mom NOT to water "every couple of days"!!!
In those large pots it will probably take a week (at least) for the soil to dry out. You should only water tomatoes (and most plants) when the soil is pretty dry. poke your finger in a couple of inches. If you feel any moisture, do NOT water.
I'd just like to add, for anyone who doesn't go to the Growing From Seed forum or sow outdoors, that the linked "DIY growing light stand" has a serious drawback in that the light fixture is at a fixed height. With that much distance between the soil surface and the lights, the baby seedlings would stretch in search of light and end up seriously leggy (resulting in weaker plants).
Wire-type shelving is useful for seed-starting and seedling growing because you can hang lights under the shelves when you need to start seedlings, then remove the lights once it's warm outside and use the shelving for another purpose. The type of shelving that lets you change the height of the shelves is preferable.
This is the shelving I have; I've seen them in catalogs, at Lowe's, and years ago at Target (Target may still have them, but I haven't looked at their furniture lately); I think Walmart may have them as well:
Style Selections 74-in H x 48-in W x 18-in D 5-Tier Wire Freestanding Shelving Unit
These shelves come in different sizes; the individual shelves are adjustable (though you probably have to take the whole thing apart if you change your mind); it helps to have a second person to begin the set-up part, though I've done 7 of varying sizes over the years without any help.
4' wide shelving allows you to use 4' fluorescents and put two 20" seed-starting trays on a single shelf.
To avoid having to raise the lights as your seedlings grow, I place styrofoam blocks under the seedling trays, then remove layers of styrofoam as needed so that the tops of the seedlings are 1-2" below the light tubes (leaves won't burn if the plants come in contact with the cool tubes). If you don't have styrofoam you can use something else (wood; cardboard boxes; anything you have a lot of that will support seedling trays). If you like the idea of styrofoam but don't have any, you may be able to purchase it at a crafts store.
I'd also suggest more lights than are shown in that video: a minimum of 4 tubes in width if you're using 20" x 10" seed-starting trays.
There may be plants for which the high plastic dome would be good, but with tomatoes the lack of air circulation could result in disease. And ideally you'll run a fan on your seedlings, both to increase air circulation and to strengthen the stems.
the linked "DIY growing light stand" has a serious drawback in that the light fixture is at a fixed height.
Excellent point. Plus it is only a 2 foot fixture which is normally not enough. Plus the 2' fixtures and the bulbs for them usually cost more than the 4' fixtures and bulbs do.
There are many pics of much better light set ups over on the Growing from Seed forum.
Dave
And is there seeds in the soils. I use top soil because I'm afraid of mold,larvae, and gnats from Miracle Gro.
Sorry but that makes no sense. Not only is using soil/dirt never recommended for growing seedlings but there is 50x the chance of getting mold, larvae, gnats, fungus, strange seeds, etc. etc. from top soil as there is getting them from ANY potting mix.
Dave
You should always use a soilless seed starting medium when planting tomato seeds. NOT dirt or regular potting mix. As Dave says, you are far more likely to have problems with your seedlings with anything other than a soilless seed starting medium.
And yes, dirt does have seeds in it. They are called weeds.
Betsy
Here is a link that might be useful: How do I start tomatoes from seed?
coeng, do you have any idea how many hours of direct sunlight the area will receive? I used to grow tomatoes just a foot from the east (brick) wall of a 2-story house. So those tomatoes had sun from the NE IL summer sunrise until noon. They did well, even though they received nowhere near the amount of direct sun tomatoes are supposed to require.
There's also something called "bright shade." I have some experience with that (daylilies flowering where they shouldn't have), but I don't know how "bright shade" is defined. A few years back, there was a regular poster here whose Minnesota property was mostly dappled shade -- and with neighbors' trees he couldn't trim. He knew how much sunlight each square foot of that yard received, tucked his tomato plants into the sunniest spaces -- without regard for the landscaping -- and as I remember, had a fairly good harvest.
===
Tomatoes crack for different reasons. Some varieties (usually with thinner skin) are prone to certain patterns of cracking. So there are varieties you wouldn't want to buy. But if you dislike thick skin, your tomatoes will probably have more cracking.
Are you starting from seed this year, or will you buy seedlings again? Which varieties did you grow last year, and which varieties are your options this year?
When soil moisture is inconsistent, nearly all varieties are much more likely to crack. So to limit this type of cracking, keep soil moisture as consistent as possible. Mulching heavily helps (and also helps prevent disease-causing microorganisms from splashing onto the leaves). [You can use almost anything for mulch, including shredded office paper, newspapers, or straw.]
When there is suddenly a great increase in soil moisture, fruit tend to "burst." So when there's a forecast of a good rain, pick all the fruit which have begun to show yellow (the "breakers" stage), and ripen them inside. This will not affect their taste. Oh -- and sun isn't necessary to ripen them indoors.
Some second rate seed companies are repacking/blending old seed. Most states don't require a germ % on packet size. Larger commercial lots are supposedly tested and the germ rate/date is printed on the package.
If you buy from a known reputable source, usually it's not the seed.
The temp in the baggies fluctuates around 83ðF. Then they move into starter cells at room temperature - around 70ðF.
For some reason my germination rate of late has been declining while my survival rate in the starter cells has increased. Could be a combination of older seeds and warmer room...
If your interested in how to grow high brix crops this site can help and even sell products so you can. Ami
Here is a link that might be useful: T&J Enterprises
You'll likely get more help over on the Hydroponics forum here as this is an issue very few of us dirt gardeners have ever had to deal with.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Hydroponics forum
Here is what I came back to yesterday. This is an assortment of indeterminates which I sowed about a quarter inch deep on 3/10. They hadn't emerged by the time I left on 3/14, and there was a lot of gray fuzzy stuff growing on the wood. I watered them very well and put on the clear plastic cover and headed for Mexico. 30 out of 32 germinated, and if you can't tell from the picture they are doing quite well.
This post was edited by Creek-side on Fri, Mar 22, 13 at 19:29
I have grown Granny Cantrell many times in recent years and they almost always trick me into thinking they are going to be PL. The first few true leaves might look like a little mitten, but as they get older they start putting out RL leaves.
Dave had it right -- just wait a bit.
Hope you like the Grannys -- one of my favorites.
I'd agree about the waiting if it weren't for the fact that the original poster said that plants with RL and plants with PL leaves were seen at the same time:
(I am growing six granny cantrell seedlings from tomatofest seeds. The first set of true leaves have grown and 3 are cleary potato leaf and 3 are regular leaf. Is it too soon to judge the true leaf type? If not, do I keep only the RL plants and assume they are the real deal, or dump them all and get new seeds? Thanks for the help.)
And then Gary Ibsen came back and said that the variety could be either PL or RL, which I indicated above that I couldn't find folks who said it was PL, gave the link to Tania's site and also checked several SSE Yearbook listings and couldn't find anyone who said PL.
Pesonally I don't make the call on a new variety others have not grown until the second set of true leaves appear..
Gotta love tomatoes and their traits, LOL
Carolyn
From your post it appears you would like to use a protective cover for your indeterminates as (autumn) first frost approaches. Around here we can sometimes get a few days of Sept frost, only to have autumn continue warm until late October.
For this reason I string-trellis my tomatoes with a hook knot atop; so that when risk of frost occurs I unfasten the vines and CAREFULLY place them on the ground wrapped in a sleeping bag until overnight frost clears. Then I place the strings back on their hooks. I know it sounds unorthodox and weird, but it works for me.
Yes, you have an excellet chance of waking them up.
I don't know how many seeds you have of each variety, but I wouldn't even bother to give them any special treatment, just double sow and sow no less than 10 seeds/variety.
Or maybe just an overnight soak in water with a couple of small pinches of blue stuff( Miracle Grow or Peters, etc) or if organic a few drops of seaweed or fish emulsion, undiluted.
Those preps have lots of nitrate ion which is known to help with germination.Stir from time to time since older seeds are usually dehydrated and you want as many as possible to sink.
THen double sow if you have enough seeds.
Carolyn
I just had sucess with some seeds from 1992. My late fil was an avid gardener and always saved his own seeds. He moved to ariz in 89 or so and continued to grow tomatoes for a while. When I helped move him back to Utah in 99, I found some seeds he had saved in a desk drawer. I labeled them and put them in the deep freeze with my seeds.
I tried to germinate these seeds before with no luck. But this year I dumped about 45 to 60 seeds in the 3 inch starter pot and I am proud to announce that I have at least 6 seedlings now.
They started coming up on wednesday. I would like to transplant them to individual pots and grow them on. I want to make gifts of the extras to family members. They were started in a soilless grow mix.
When should I try to move them to individual pots? Do I wait for a second set of leaves or just wait and see if any others are going to germinate?
Not all seeds are the same size. Smaller seeds sometimes produce smaller cotyledons. Even some larger size seed will produce smaller cotyledons. It all happens way back when the seed was forming in the fruit it came from. It happens all the time and is not an issue.
It makes no difference, either to the plant, how well it will grow or produce, and it makes no difference when they were planted.
Dave
I think the answer to your question is in the other thread you posted right after this one called Mysterious plant. You are using top soil with weed seeds in it. That is also the answer to your other recent thread What's wrong with my tomato plants leaves. There seems to be a common theme here.