Organically Growing Tomato Seeds into Tomato Plants

If you love tomatoes from a grocerystore, you’re in for tantalizing taste experience. Nothing can compare to thetaste of a warm tomato picked fresh and straight from the garden. Turningtomato seeds into fruit-bearing plants is fairly simple, especially with theorganic pesticides and fertilizers available on the market today. With risingconcerns about chemical pesticides, now’s the time to “go green” and join theorganic movement. Which tomato seeds do you choose? When is the best time toplant? Is there a trick to planting tomato seeds? Find these answers and morebelow!

TomatoSeeds – Indeterminate Vs. Determinate

The two basic types of tomato seeds aredeterminate and indeterminate. Inderterminates continuously grow, which meansthey need more support and more space. Their vines require a wire cage ortrellis. Determinates reach a certain point and stop growing, so they are morecompact and bushy. These are perfect for small gardens and grow great in pots.

PickingYour Tomato Seeds

How do you choose the right tomatoseeds for your garden from the 25,000 varieties available? It often comes downto recommendation, personal choice, or application. If you want a salad tomato,then a small cherry variety works perfectly. Beefsteak tomato seeds grow intoexcellent slicing tomatoes. Want to make pasta sauce? Choose Roma or plumtomato seeds. I particularly love the heirloom tomato varieties, such as BlackBrandywine, Mortgage Lifter, Cherokee Purple, and White Wonder. These tomatoseeds can be found online, from mail-order catalogs, and sometimes at yourfavorite lawn and garden store.

GrowingTomato Seeds

Use tomato seeds that are fresh, noolder than 4 years. You can start your tomato seeds indoors six to eight weeksbefore the last frost date for your region in a well-lit, warm area in yourhome. Peat pots work great, especially the ones that come with a plastic cover.Place two tomato seeds about a quarter of an inch deep per peat pot. Use thecover to keep the tomato seeds moist. Prior to germination, tomato seeds mustbe kept between 75 to 90 degrees. Once the tomato seeds start to grow, thin toone seedling per pot. You can now place in sun or use a grow light. Transportplants to 3-inch pots when they have two leaves. Nowadays, you don’t have toplant tomato seeds because plants are readily available, making life mucheasier for the home gardener.

PlantingTomato Seeds And Plants Outside

Your location and type of tomato seedwill determine when you should sow tomato seeds and plants outdoors. Your locallawn and garden store can give you the best advice. As a general rule of thumb,planting is usually done when nighttime temperatures remain above 50 degreesFahrenheit and after the last frost. If you plant your tomato seeds or plantstoo soon, you may have to cover them when frost is expected, which could affectyour yields.

TomatoPlants- How Close Is Too Close?

Tomato seeds should be planted in rowsoutdoors 12-24 inches apart, when they are determinate. Plant 24-36 inchesapart if they are indeterminate. Place your wire cage or garden trellis on themnow rather than later. Tomato plants can grow quite rapidly, and before youknow it, it’s oftentimes too late. And delicate vines can be hard to maneuver withoutbreaking.

TomatoSeeds And Plants Love Sun- Where’s The Right Spot?

Finding the right location for yourtomato plants means choosing a spot that gets plenty of sun. The size of thearea will depend on how many tomato plants you want to plant, as well as thetype of tomato seeds or plants you have chosen. To prepare the soil forplanting, till the area when the soil is warm and dry. Unless you are justusing planters, then all you have to do is fill them with nutrient-rich organicsoil. Tomato plants must have strong roots in order to support vines thatbecome heavily laden with fruit. Organic soil holds nutrients and moisturebetter to promote the healthier root development tomato plants need.

WaterIs Crucial To Tomato Seeds And Plants

From tomato seed to tomato plant, wateris the key to growing good fruit. Every week, your tomato seeds and plants needone to two inches of water in your garden. Watering the roots slowly and deeplyin the mornings is always best. Truly hot days may need an evening soak. If thetop 1” of the soil is dry, your tomatoes need water. Improper watering can leadto lower yields, blossom end rot, and susceptibility to pests.

Bugs LoveTomatoes, Too

If you have tomato plants, the bugs will come. Since you'regrowing your own tomatoes, it’s the perfect time to go green by using organicproducts. Chemical pesticides pose serious health risks to you, your family,and the environment. Purchase an organic tomato and vegetable insect killerthat’s all-natural with no synthetic or man-made chemicals. The most effectiveones are gentle enough to use on tomatoes, safe to use up until the day ofharvest, and target a wide range of bugs, includingtomato-loving stink bugs, aphids, and tomato hornworms. Plus, these products break down naturallyinto elements that are beneficial to plants and the environment. Be sure to check for the OrganicMaterials Review Institute-listed®(OMRI) and USDA-approved National OrganicProgram seals. These products are approved fororganic gardening.

All in all, tomatoseeds can turn into a bountiful harvest for even the most novice gardener withthe right organic pesticides and fertilizers. Enjoy “Green” Gardening!