Tomatoes: Starting from Seed

It's time to grow tomatoes! Plant your tomatoes from seed now and transplant them into the garden when the threat of frost has passed. Here's a tomato seed starting primer to help you navigate the early stages of tomato gardening:

Tomato Seed Packets
Tomato seed packets and tomato seed catalogs use an alphabet soup of abbreviations and unfamiliar words to describe disease and pest resistance. The following terms are the most critical to understand:

Whether you grow heirloom tomato varieties or hybrids, select cultivars carefully. The letters VFNAT on the tomato seed packet indicate resistance to Verticilium Wilt (V), Fusarium Wilt(F), Southern Root Nematode (N), Blight (A), Tobacco Mosaic Virus (T). (In Florida, Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus(TSWV) and Bacterial Wilt(BW) create the majority of tomato problems.) Heirloom tomatoes carry some natural resistance (or were bred over generations by farmers) to many of these diseases while hybrids are specifically bred for tomato disease resistance. Check with your county extension office to determine what diseases are prevalent in your region and ensure the seeds you buy are resistant to these diseases.

Indeterminate Tomatoes vs. Determinate Tomatoes
There are two main types of tomatoes: indeterminate and determinate. Indeterminate tomatoes produce fruit all season long. Determinate tomato varieties produce all their fruit at one time.
Most of the diseases mentioned above affect indeterminate tomato cultivars more frequently than determinate tomato varieties.
Indeterminate tomato varieties grow much taller than determinate varieties. If you are growing tomatoes in containers, determinate tomato varieties will be easier to manage.

Seed Starting
I start germinating tomato seeds 6 weeks before the last frost.   I use an organic seed starting medium consisting of 1 part perlite and 1 part organic, sterile potting mix. It is not necessary to germinate tomato seeds in soil. I use soil because I do not always transplant seedlings as quickly as I should. The soil ensures the transplants get a little nutrition while they are waiting for me to come home.

In recent seasons, I have been using recycled foam egg cartons for seed starting containers. If you can get the cardboard cartons, all the better. Other recycled container prospects include plastic blueberry or strawberry clam shells. Fill the cartons with damp seed starting mix. Plant the tomato seeds at a depth of three times the diameter of the seed. Gently firm the soil and close the lid.

Place the carton of planted tomato seeds in a warm environment (75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and leave the carton closed for three to five days. After three days, open the lid to see if the tomatoes are sprouting. If sprouts are visible, cut the lid away from the carton. This will become a water tray. CAREFULLY, pick up the carton and poke a drainage hole in each of the cells. I use a shisk-a-bob stick or a pencil. Fill the tray with water and place the carton on top of the tray in a well-lit, warm location.

Light
Tomato seedlings must receive at least 4 hours of direct sunlight a day. If you can place your seedlings in a southern window, this may be adequate. My seedlings usually require supplemental light. You can obtain grow-light bulbs from your local hardware store. These screw into regular light sockets. Seedlings in need of additional light will grow very tall on long, thin stems. You may need to start over if they begin to get so tall they fall over.

Temperatures
Tomato plants are most productive when daytime temperatures range from 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and night-time temperatures range from about 62 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ventilation
Ventilation is critical to prevent "damping off", a bacterial disease, in young seedlings. (I also find bottom-watering helps control this disease.) Place a fan near, but not directly on your tray of seedlings. If you live in a warm climate, such as Florida, you can place young seedlings outside for a few hours a day to ensure they get adequate ventilation as well as light. Just remember to bring them in each evening before temperatures start to fall.

Transplanting
Transplant tomato seedlings to larger containers when they have at least two sets of  "true" leaves. (The first set of leaves doesn't count!) Some transplants must be transplanted to incrementally larger containers every few weeks before being transplanted into the garden.  However, I find it is best to place tomatoes directly in 6 inch or 8 inch containers when I transplant the first time and to leave them in these containers until I transplant into the garden. I tried transplanting from cells to 4 inch and 8 inch containers one year and compared the difference. Seedlings planted in the larger containers grew faster and stronger than those transplanted into smaller containers. Recycled yogurt containers are the perfect size. Just be sure to place drainage holes in the bottom.

Understanding the "Dirty Dozen"

Excerpt from "Container Gardening for Health: The 12 Most Important Fruits and Vegetables for Your Organic Garden" ISBN: 0978629329.
...In 1988, The National Research Council was commissioned by the U.S. Con-
gress to study issues concerning pesticides in the diets of infants and children using USDA/FDA data .
The results of this study are published in a 372 page book, Pesticides in the Diets
of Infants and Children(ISBN:0309048753).  The study concludes that children are uniquely suscep-
tible to health problems from exposure to toxic pesticides because of their rapid
growth. Infants and children also consume greater quantities of certain foods as
a proportion of body weight. This leads to greater exposure to some pesticides.4
The problem with pesticides is that the quantity of a vegetable your child eats
may exceed government expectations. Anyone who has children knows they go
through phases where they will only eat one food or one group of foods. Since the
government is not in your dining room calculating how many pounds of straw-
berries your tot has eaten this week, they cannot tell you if she has consumed
too much of a certain pesticide. The government can tell you what foods have
chemical residue even after they have been washed and prepared for eating. In
fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the US Food and Drug Adminis-
tration conducted nearly 43,000 tests on produce samples from 2000–2004.
The Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org) analyzed this data and created a “simula-
tion of thousands of consumers eating high and low pesticide diets...” Their study
showed “that people can lower their pesticide exposure by almost 90 percent by
avoiding the top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating the
least contaminated instead.”5 They nicknamed this list of foods “the dirty dozen.”
As of June 2007, the dirty dozen is as follows:
Rank Fruit or Veggie Score Page number
in this book
1 Peaches
2 Apples
3 Sweet Bell Peppers
4 Celery
5 Nectarines
6 Strawberries
7 Cherries
8 Lettuce
9 Grapes, Imported
10 Pears
11 Spinach
12 Potatoes
The list has changed slightly since this book was published -- Kale has moved to the top 12 and spinach has moved down slightly, but all the fruits and vegetables above still remain high on the list.
At The Gourmet Gardener, we don't believe you should have to limit these healthy fruits and vegetables in your diets. Instead, select foods your family commonly eats on the Dirty Dozen list and grow them organically. Use this book as a guide to growing healthy fruits and vegetables in containers and small spaces.
Tags:
Useful? Yes (0) No (0) Report abuse Edit Delete
in reference to: Container Gardening for Health (view on Google Sidewiki)

Fall & Holiday Gardens

North Florida has two main growing seasons: spring and fall. I prefer fall. By late September, we are usually coming out of the hurricane season with a replenished water table. Additionally, cooler temperatures discourage pests and weeds. Often, our winters are so mild we can extend the fall garden right through Christmas. I am not exaggerating when I say I often pick Arugula for our Christmas salad.
It's time to prepare now for a fall garden. Plan where you will grow your crops, taking into consideration their light, moisture, space, and temperature requirements. If you will need to bring the plants inside during cold snaps, make sure to plant in light weight containers and include soil components such as vermiculite and perlite.
Many seeds prefer warmer temperatures for germinating than for growing. You can start seeds in late August and have them ready to produce fruit by October.
Also, don't forget to think about your holiday menu when planning a fall garden. Grow fresh sage and tarragon for your turkey, baby carrots, and a myriad of lettuce greens for your salad. Start in August!

Organic Vegetable Gardening in Containers

This blog is an effort to get more people gardening organically. I think there is a misconception that gardening is expensive. When comparing the price of organics at the store to home grown organics, you'll see that growing your own is not only healthier, but also less expensive.

For my garden this year, I spent about the equivalent of one week's grocery bill for my family of four. For that price, I now have cherry, apple, nectarine, and pear fruit trees that should produce for years to come; I also have strawberry plants, sweet bell peppers, tomatoes, grape vines, lettuce and spinach seeds, and potatoes. In my next blog, I'll talk about food safety.

I'm growing the above mentioned plants because they are the plants with the highest pesticide residue according to USDA data. I researched this so much that I eventually wrote a book about it --
Container Gardening for Health: The 12 Most Important Fruits and Vegetables to Grow in Your Organic Garden by Barbara Barker
Check it out!