It’s nearly February and for me that means that the time to start seeds is rapidly approaching.

In less than three weeks I will be planting my tomatoes at the end of the month during the full moon.Nearly four years ago I purchased some organic Wheatgrass seed, it was a really good heirloom variety so I saved some.  At first I had them stored in the pantry, then they got moved.  As it happens, I forgot all about them.  

Starting Seed is Easy

Upon re-discovering them last week I had little confidence that they were any good.  But since I am still a few weeks away from starting tomato seedlings I simply could not resist getting something growing!

So I soaked the seeds, rinsed them well, folded them up in a damp towel, and then rinsing them a few times a day.  It wasn’t until the start of day four that they showed any sign of life. I know that it has been a few years but it seems that they sprouted much faster before. Perhaps the hull had toughened up over the years? (Or maybe it’s my memory)

I had almost given up hope to tell you the truth.  But they finally sprouted and are going strong.

When starting seeds it helps to remember that they germinate at different times and under different conditions, depending upon the species. 

You could give up on celery seed and plant something else if you are unaware that they have a very slow germination rate.  (Celery can easily take three weeks to finally sprout and if the soil or growing media is not kept moist they wont budge at all).

Some seeds germinate very quickly under cool temperatures and you are probably familiar with some of them if you have ever grown sprouts in your kitchen. 

Starting tomato seeds requires warmth and humidity to germinate.

Other seeds need to be soaked and some need to have their hulls nicked or abraded to encourage germination.  Some seeds even need heat to break their dormancy

It is simply beyond the scope of this blog post to give you a crash course in DIY germination but I hope that it piques your interest into learning or trying something new this year.

Now someone asked,  “What is Wheatgrass and why do you grow it?” When I say wheatgrass, I am referring to organic wheat seeds that are grown to a height of four to six inches and then harvested for juicing.

Wheatgrass juice is used for increasing red cell count, cleansing the liver and other internal organs as well as the gastrointestinal tract. From my own experience I believe that it is one the most beneficial plants to juice to increase your health.

Growing it fresh on a window sill or a counter-top you know it’s free of GMO’s and chemicals.  And of course, Nothing Beats Fresh! The other reason is the cost.  Just a few ounces of frozen wheatgrass will run you close $20.  Another way to think about it is that is about $180 per gallon!

Suddenly buying some certified organic wheatgrass seed and a tray doesn’t seem like that much trouble! If there is only one thing that you choose to do for your health, try wheatgrass. It is a scientific fact that wheatgrass contains more enzymes, minerals and nutrients per serving than any other vegetable or fruit know to man!

Some of this seed will be placed in a tray of my garden soil and when it grows to four and six inches high I will trim the tops and run them through my juicer.
The rest will be allowed to grow to maturity and left to ‘go to seed.’  That way I will be able to save the seed for even more trays.  It is a very good investment from my perspective.

The other night, I took some sprouted seed and being very careful, made a small slit in rock wool and tucked the roots is.  One of the roots
happened to escape, just look all the hairs on the root. 

It wasn’t until I began chatting with some aeroponic growers that I discovered some of the
tricks that they use to increase germination rates.

One method is that after rinsing, the seed is folded in a damp paper towel and then put in a plastic baggie and hung in a dark place. 
When the seed has germinated, it is carefully placed in rock wool and placed into the aeroponic system.   

These folks have raised the bar on starting seed indoors to an art and have nearly a 100% germination rate. It does take more time than poking holes in the dirt, dropping in seed, covering and then watering. But what if you don’t have many seed to waste?

When roots start coming out the sides and bottom of the rock wool the seedling is ready to be transplanted. 
It can be placed into an aeroponic (or hydroponic) system.  Then they are transplanted into a larger container or are prepped for transplanting outside.

It’s not too late to get seed so what are you waiting for? 
Have you made a list of your favorites yet?
Got a sketch of your plot and know what is going to go where?
If you still need seeds let me encourage you to visit

Tomatoes need to be started from seed indoors under a grow light, and they’re not ready to put in the beds until they’re 8 weeks old.  I’ll do a separate post about seed starting in a later post.  I have found great plants in the local home improvement garden centers and other local nurseries.

One problem with these plants, however, is that they’re often either mis-labeled or the plants cross pollinated.  In other words, I’ve been surprised when the “beefsteak” I purchased turned out to be an Early Girl, or Celebrity or other type of tomato. They’re all good; it’s just that when you raise your plants from seeds, you know exactly what you’ll get.

Tomato plants fall into 2 categories, determinate and indeterminate.  Determinate plants are smaller than indeterminate, and produce their fruit all at once. Roma, bush tomatoes and some others fall into this category.  Indeterminate plants grow tall, some up to 9 feet!  They produce fruit over a longer period of time, usually throughout the season. Beefsteaks are usually indeterminate plants.  These take up the North end of most of my beds.  I like to have at least 6 tomato plants growing, and like to stagger the crop, so I plant Sweet Baby Girl tomatoes which ripen first, then I’ll also have Early Girl or Fourth of July, early 4″ tomatoes which will ripen while I’m waiting for the beefsteaks to mature.

It’s important to cage the plants.  I know some people stake them, but the beefsteaks grow so tall that two cages are a lot easier.  As the tomato grows, I just tuck the branches in to the cages. I secure the cages to the trellis so that the wind doesn’t blow them over.

I put the large two beefsteak plants at the North end of the bed, and put smaller, determinate tomatoes in the South end so they don’t shade the beefsteaks.  I tuck herbs like parsley in the front, basil in the middle, thyme and dill in the back, and onions and marigolds around the rest of the bed. These are all great companions to the tomatoes.

Tomatoes like to be planted deeply

 For this reason, I plant them lying down (the tomatoes, not me!)  Simply determine where you want your plant and dig a trench the length of the plant as deeply as you can. Strip off the lower branches of your plant, leaving 3 or 4 branches at the very top. Carefully lay the plant in the trench (tomato vines will break easily), water it well and cover it with soil, leaving the top of the plant poking out. Place a stick or marker where you put the root ball of the plant so you don’t accidentally dig there. Everywhere you stripped the branches off, roots will grow. This will give your plants a great foundation.

I know you organic snobs out there will hate this, but I fertilize with Miracle Gro for Tomatoes.  I mix it in the sprayer with an organic kelp fertilizer called Sea Magic, and if I spray the plants once a week, I get a ton of fruit.  Both work well as a foliar feed (meaning that the leaves absorb the nutrients) as well as a ground feed.

It’s important to succor the plants once the fruit begins to form. What I mean by this is that I’ll trim off the branches that don’t have blossoms or fruit on them, I’ll strip off the bottom branches, and I’ll try to encourage one or two main vines to grow. This concentrates the energy of the plant to growing the fruit.

I usually harvest the tomatoes when they begin to blush. If I don’t, sometimes bugs begin to munch on them.  Green tomatoes are also delicious lightly breaded and fried in a little butter.

And one main rule: NEVER REFRIGERATE TOMATOES!  This ruins the flavor and texture.  There’s an enzyme that breaks down under 40 degrees and you’ll lose that great flavor. They’ll do just fine in a basket or large bowl on the counter.

Home Tomato Garden Site Selection

The ideal site is one that is in full sun in the morning hours and partial shade in the afternoon hours.  In areas of frequent cloud cover where sun light intensity and duration are limited, full sun all day would be desirable.  High light intensity exposure in the afternoon can reduce fruit set and result in poor fruit quality. 

Avoid small depressions and the top of knolls where air temperature extremes can commonly occur, and/or where air movement is restricted.  Avoid sites that are downwind of power or industrial plants, or fields devoted to row crop production or fruit orchards where agricultural chemicals are frequently used for weed, disease and insect control as the tomato plant is sensitive to emission gases and pest chemicals. 

The site should be such that there is light air movement, but not where strong winds are frequent. It is not recommended to plant tomatoes when the previous crop was tomato. The use a winter (between seasons) cover crop, however, can serve as a means of crop rotation, allowing repeated tomato plantings unless there occurs seedling loss due to soil organisms that become pathogenic, therefore, requiring selection of another planting site.

Home Tomato Garden Soil Requirements

The “ideal” soil texture is either a loam, sandy clay loam or silt loam with a top soil depth of at least 6 inches.  Sandy, clay and organic soils as well as shallow soils are the least desirable, although successful plant production and good fruit yields can be obtained with properly applied management procedures.

The soil should easily drain after a rainfall event or applied irrigation water.  The soil water pH should range between 5.8 to 6.5 and the essential plant nutrient element contents be within the “sufficiency” range based on a soil test determination.  Based on a soil test recommendation when either lime and/or fertilizer treatments are required, in the fall evenly broadcast limestone (dolomitic) and mix into the soil by spading to the soil surface depth. 

In the spring, evenly broadcast the recommended fertilizer and mix into the soil by spading to the surface soil depth. In order to maintain soil structure, do not roto till the soil, or cultivate the soil when wet.  A winter cover crop can be beneficial as a means of increasing the organic matter content of the soil and improving soil tilth. 

Either a grass or legume cover crop is appropriate.  Be sure to fall plant in sufficient time to ensure good plant growth before cold weather sets in.  Adding a nitrogen (N) plus potassium (K) containing general purpose fertilizer maybe needed to enhance good plant growth. Turn the cover crop over by spading the soil to the surface soil depth at least 4 weeks prior to setting tomato transplants. A cover crop can also be a means of controlling the potential for pathogens accumulating in the soil with repeated planting of tomato.

Home Garden Tomato Variety Selection

There are 3 major factors to be considered when selecting a variety, whether determinate or indeterminate, and then maturity class (early, mid-season, late), and resistance to diseases and insects.  Other factors are fruit characteristics, such as size and color. Fruit flavor is somewhat related to variety, although growing conditions is equally a factor as well as the length of time on the plant before harvest, longer on the plant, the more likely the higher will be the fruit flavor.

A wide range of Heirloom varieties are readily available, offering the grower a range of fruiting characteristics including fruit color and size. However, some of these varieties may be sensitive to particular environmental conditions, such as moisture, light intensity and temperature stress as well as lacking resistance to commonly occurring diseases and insects.  Variety selection should be made based on expected use and for meeting the needs for daily consumption and other uses, such as the making of sauces and for canning.

Home Garden Tomato Plant Fertilization

The tomato plant is considered a “moderate to heavy” feeder, therefore, plant growth as well as fruit yield and quality will be significantly affected by the availability of the essential major nutrient elements, particularly nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) as well as the micronutrients boron (B) and zinc (Zn). 

Over fertilization is as detrimental to plant growth and fruit yield as deficiencies of the major nutrient elements, with the major nutrient element frequently over applied being phosphorus (P).  In addition, high nitrogen (N) will reduce flowering and fruit set.  Sufficient potassium (K) is needed to ensure good fruit quality.  The lack of sufficient calcium (Ca) as well as magnesium (Mg) can result in the occurrence of blossom-end rot in developing fruit. 

If the soil water pH is maintained within the desired range, 5.8 to 6.5, by liming using dolomitic limestone, the rate determined based on a soil test recommendation, the deficiency of either of these elements is not likely to occur.  The use of a general purpose fertilizer, or an organic source, such as composted animal manure, is not recommended and can lead to nutrient element insufficiencies that can be difficult to correct. 

Have the soil tested and follow the soil test recommendation using fertilizer materials of known elemental content. Be equally aware of excesses as well as deficiencies. A good indicator of over fertilization is vigorous vegetative plant growth, the rapid development of suckers coupled with low fruit set and yield. If the soil fertility level is within the desired range and a soil test-based lime and fertilizer program followed, supplemental fertilization will not be required during the growing season. Nutrient element insufficiencies occurring during the growing season are difficult to correct as supplemental treatments are usually ineffective.

Home Garden Tomato Plant Cultural Practices

Depending on what tomato variety is selected, either determinate or indeterminate, plant spacing and control of the growth habit is essential for high fruit yields and good fruit quality.  Close plant spacing (less than 18 inches in the row and 36 inches between rows) can reduce fruit yield and quality. For the indeterminate varieties, the plant will require support to hold the plant upright, either tied to a stake or fence, or maintained within an upright cage.  The major cultural requirement is to remove both axial and fruit stem suckers as they appear.

Axial suckers not removed will develop into fruiting stems, while fruit cluster vegetative stems will draw carbohydrates from the developing fruit, resulting in reduced fruit size.   In some instances, the removing of fruit (known as fruit pruning) may be required to control the number of fruit on each cluster, ensuring uniform fruit size as well as a means of sustaining further fruit set and development.  Removing slow developing fruit, and the maintaining of a consistent number of fruit per cluster will increase fruit quality. 

A tomato plant tends to maintain a constant weight of fruit on the plant during its fruiting period, therefore, fruit number and size will counter each other, large fruit, fewer number; small fruit, larger number.  Fruit disorders (blossom-end rot, cracking, catfacing, etc.) may not appear until 10 to 14 days after a stressful environmental event, such as cool or hot weather, cloudy or high light intensity conditions, excessive rainfall or a period of drought. 

As the plant matures, remove and discard senescing leaves and those that have been damaged mechanically or by insects. Do not leave removed foliage in the garden site. Toward the end of the fruiting period, topping the plant (removing the growing terminal) will result in more rapid fruit development and an increase in fruit size for those fruit existing on the plant.

Home Garden Tomato Plant Moisture Requirements

A mature tomato plant will transpire up to a quart of water per day depending on weather conditions, stage of plant growth and fruit load.  Consistency of water availability is essential to maintain vigorous plant growth, uniform fruit set, and steady fruit development.

Lack of fruit set is frequently related to moisture stress correlated with hot dry environmental conditions, or low air temperatures and reduced light intensity.  One of the major factors associated with the occurrence of the fruit disorder, blossom-end rot, is moisture stress.  If natural rainfall is insufficient to keep the soil moist (not wet), in the early evening, apply water to the soil around the plant out to 12 inches.

The application of mulch around the base of the tomato plant may be helpful in reducing moisture loss from the soil by evaporation; however, mulch will tend to keep the soil cool and moist that may, in turn, reduce plant growth and fruit yield.  Applying mulch between the plants and the rows can help to keep the surrounding soil moist while providing a foot path between the plant rows.

Home Garden Tomato Plant Insect and Disease Control

Selecting only those varieties that have genetic resistance to diseases and insects is desired. The occurrence of disease and insect pests can be related to cultural practices, such a moisture control, plant nutritional status, air movement around the plant and weather conditions. The grower should be prepared to deal with infestations when they occur using only those control chemicals label-approved for the tomato plant and the pest to be controlled.

Monitoring the plant on a daily basis is essential to quickly discover a potential infestation. Early identification of a pest infestation is essential in terms of effective control as after the fact, control may be difficult or impossible. Proper identification of the pest affecting the plant is essential before applying any control measures.

The grower should be aware of those pests in the region that commonly affect tomato plants as well as the sensitivity of the chosen variety to a particular pest so that proper control measures can be applied, if and when an infestation occurs.  Foliage that has been affected by the presence of disease organisms and insects should be quickly removed from the plant and from the garden site.