Hello everyone:
I'm new here. I planted 11 heirloom tomato seeds in my raised box in 04/15/2012 and only 1 cherry tomato plant came up. There are 4 'volunteers' coming up in other parts of my garden so I'm not sure why the first 10 didn't come up. I covered the raised box with plastic to keep the temperature as stable as possible during the month of April and the beginning of May. Can I plant my tomato seeds again now that it is warming up or will this be a waist of time? I'm in NJ by the way...
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treehopper
- Senior Member
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 3:43 pm
- Location: Southeast MI
I am also from NJ.
It may be too late to start some of the varieties that take a long time to get your first harvest. Check the Days to Maturity on the seed packet. The higher the number, the longer the wait. And the number means days from transplant of an existing plant, not days from seed.
As another gardener stated above, you might want to (a) buy transplants this year and (b) consider starting transplants in small pots next year.
For transplants this year, a search for "tomato" on your local Craigslist under Farm and Garden might give you some listings of backyard gardeners who are selling heirloom tomato starts cheaper than you'll pay at a store or nursery.
At least one gardening expert/author recommends starting in pots because transplanting gives you the opportunity to transplant them deeper, which grows roots along the buried stem. So you get a better root system than you would if you started them right in the ground. (I'm just repeating what I read.)
As for next year, if you don't want to spend the money on lights (although a shop light isn't that expensive and you'll have it for years to come), have you considered "winter sowing?" There is a website that explains the process... www.wintersown.org. Winter sowing works well with tomato plants. You take an empty gallon milk jug, throw away the cap, cut it horizontally around the middle, poke holes in the bottom, put about 4" of moistened planting mix in it, plant the seeds, and tape it shut again. I put my containers outside in the beginning of March (no matter how cold or snowy) and they germinate the beginning of April. At planting time in May I have sturdy little transplants ready. And the sun is free.
It may be too late to start some of the varieties that take a long time to get your first harvest. Check the Days to Maturity on the seed packet. The higher the number, the longer the wait. And the number means days from transplant of an existing plant, not days from seed.
As another gardener stated above, you might want to (a) buy transplants this year and (b) consider starting transplants in small pots next year.
For transplants this year, a search for "tomato" on your local Craigslist under Farm and Garden might give you some listings of backyard gardeners who are selling heirloom tomato starts cheaper than you'll pay at a store or nursery.
At least one gardening expert/author recommends starting in pots because transplanting gives you the opportunity to transplant them deeper, which grows roots along the buried stem. So you get a better root system than you would if you started them right in the ground. (I'm just repeating what I read.)
As for next year, if you don't want to spend the money on lights (although a shop light isn't that expensive and you'll have it for years to come), have you considered "winter sowing?" There is a website that explains the process... www.wintersown.org. Winter sowing works well with tomato plants. You take an empty gallon milk jug, throw away the cap, cut it horizontally around the middle, poke holes in the bottom, put about 4" of moistened planting mix in it, plant the seeds, and tape it shut again. I put my containers outside in the beginning of March (no matter how cold or snowy) and they germinate the beginning of April. At planting time in May I have sturdy little transplants ready. And the sun is free.
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MyMrSir1112
- Full Member
- Posts: 24
- Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 1:06 am
- Location: Southern Wi. USA