OK, what do I do now?

[mbrown]

I planted the tomato seeds Alan sent me in a Jiffy peat pellet kit, now I have 72 little seedlings sitting in a sunny window. I know I will need to water if they are dry, but what else?

1. Do I need to transplant into larger containers are leave them as they are? If so, at what size?

2. Will I need to set them outside as they get bigger?

3. Planted them on March 25th. They had come up by March 30th. Will they be ready to put in the ground around May 1st?

Sorry to ask such elementary questions, but I have never started seeds before.

Mike

[lavandulagirl]

Mike - I think everyone has a slightly different method, but I'll give you my ideas. I'm sure someone else will have other thoughts ...

1. I do transplant, after the second set of true leaves (the second ones that look like tomato plant leaves, not the cotyledons, or the first set they sprout with). I generally put them in 4" pots (this year I'm using coir), and I add some amendment to the planting medium.

2. About a week or so before planting out, start setting them out for increasing amounts of time. This is called hardening off, and it acclimates the plants to the outside temps and circumstances.

3. You should have nice big healthy plants to put in the beds by May 1st.

I hope I haven't over explained - I wasn't intending to sound pedantic. Keep an eye on your light source. If the plants are too tall and leggy, you may need to get them closer to a source. Lots of people have fine results with sunny windows, though. Good luck with those tomatoes!

[mbrown]

Thanks for the information. I need to buy a good book or two.

Mike

[houseodessey]

LG, How big are your transplants, normally? When you put them out in the garden.

[lavandulagirl]

Usually around 6 inches, maybe 8. I have some monstrous ones right now, (about a foot to a foot and a half tall) because I started them way too early. On purpose, but still - they'll probably be a little stunted when they eventually go out, because they're doing most of their growing in the basement. I'll cage 'em, and see what they do. No biggie.

[johno]

mbrown, Lavandula Girl's information is good (as always.) I would add that they can go longer before transplanting, but the bigger they get, the more watering they will require. When you do transplant them, a wider pot is better than a deeper one, bu it need to be deep enough so that you can bury most of the stem. Without lots of light, there will be long stems... If there is any way you can add a shoplight over them, this would help.

Also, if you can purchase a small bag of earthworm castings, add this to your potting mix at a rate of 20% castings to 80% flower and vegetable mix. You'll be amazed!

[bluelacedredhead]

Mike,
Check with your library system for books.
I regularly take books out of the library here. I use their online search engine to look through what's available. And if one that I want is on loan to someone else, I put a hold on it, so that once they return it, it automatically sent to me. Our system here, allows for borrowing between branches.
I know I've talked about this with some Okies on another board, and most of the major cities there have a similar system.
If you find that you borrow a book a lot and really find it helpful, then you can buy it.

[lavandulagirl]

johno said:

Lavandula Girl's information is good (as always.)

Flatterer! High praise from a smart guy like you... thanks! ;D