Tomato plants!

Every year, I plant a small tomato garden. This year, I decided to try to grow my tomatoes from seed. There was a kind of tomato plant I wanted to try (Delicious is the name) that I haven't been able to find at a gardening store. I bought a little Jiffy greenhouse with those peat pellets that expand with water and a few packs of seeds. I planted my seeds, put the top on the greenhouse, and today...tomato plants! Very tiny tomato plants, but I am so excited!

Make sure they get lots of light, or they are gonna stretch on you. It pretty much has to be bright or dark so that doesn't happen. Nothing like winding a leggy tomato plant into it's next transplant up....trust me, been there, done that and it is NOT fun. good luck with them.

Just keep kitty away from you tomato plants they are toxic to kitties.

I have started my own tomato plants for years. I've got a couple hundred growing-fun time to transplant them into a bigger container though... when you do that you can sink the stem very deep into the soil-up to the leaves as roots will form along the stem!

Right now I have the grow lights about 2" from the seedlings to keep them compact.

I have about 5 of those Jiffy packs going now! Not tomatoes though, I'm trying to grow my own flowers of various kinds.

Do you have to have grow lights for this to work? I have them in my dining room which is west facing and quite bright (although it's gloomy now with all the rain we're getting).

Good luck with your tomato plants! I don't think there's anything on this earth as delicious as a freshly grown ripe tomato.

DH has promised me again this year that he will rototill for a small veggie garden. I dearly love fresh tomatoes and will cheerfully kill for peppers fresh off the vine. Broccoli, too. And zucchini. I do have a very short row of horseradish that I dig up from time to time and grate for the fridge. I so love horseradish. Yum!

We've been thinking about trying to work with raised beds because of my back problems. Stay tuned!

I'm growing my tomatoes this year in a topsy turvy...already have blossoms on them cause they've been planted since mid-February (advantages of living in the desert). I'm hoping to be eating a few of them by mid-May. ('course, they'll be dead by mid-August from the heat) Also planted a yellow bell pepper that way, which is also blooming! Yippee. I also have an Aero-Garden where I'm growing Thyme, Chives and Basil, and just planted some more Chives, Parsley and Basil seeds outside in pots so I can move them inside when it starts getting really hot. The basil seedlings are doing great, but the other two have not sprouted yet.

Good luck with your baby tomato plants!!

I with I had a veggie garden... even a container garden would make me happy. 10th floor with no window sills or balcony puts that on the back burner for now though... but we are house hunting, and so maybe this summer I might be lucky enough to at least grow some basil or oregano or something!!

I have 62 basil plants I started about 7 weeks ago!!

I have 7 light fixtures each with a gro-light and a regular flourescent bulb. The seeds are not on a timer but the overwintering plants are. It depends on the seeds one is trying to start whether light heat or both are needed for germination. The seed packs sometimes do not tell the entire story. I have several plant propagation books in case someone wants to shot me a pm about a certain plant!

Wow great ...but try to follow these some time tested tomato growing tips to insure you bragging rights this year. ...
1.Plant your tomatoes outside in the sunniest part of your vegetable plot.
2.It seems tomato plants need to move and sway in the breeze, to develop strong stems. Provide a breeze by turning a fan on them for 5-10 minutes twice a day.
3.Tomatoes love heat. Cover the planting area with black or red plastic a couple of weeks before you intend to plant. Those extra degrees of warmth will translate into earlier tomatoe..
4.Bury tomato plants deeper than they come in the pot, all the way up to a few top leaves. Tomatoes are able to develop roots all along their stems.........
5.Once the tomato plants are about 3' tall, remove the leaves from the bottom 1' of stem....
6.Water deeply and regularly while the plants are developing.......



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artificial flowers arrangements

Originally Posted by sk_pacer

Make sure they get lots of light, or they are gonna stretch on you. It pretty much has to be bright or dark so that doesn't happen. Nothing like winding a leggy tomato plant into it's next transplant up....trust me, been there, done that and it is NOT fun.

good luck with them.

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Oh, no! They are already stretching! I turn the container every day to try to get the to grow straight, but they are growing fast and wild!

Originally Posted by hissy

Just keep kitty away from you tomato plants they are toxic to kitties.

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Don't worry...they are in a room the kitties can't get into. I do take Daisy in with me to check on them because she loves to explore that room, but I watch her.

Originally Posted by pushylady

I have about 5 of those Jiffy packs going now! Not tomatoes though, I'm trying to grow my own flowers of various kinds.

Do you have to have grow lights for this to work? I have them in my dining room which is west facing and quite bright (although it's gloomy now with all the rain we're getting).

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I don't have grow lights. I have a very low tech operation. The room I keep them in has no curtains (because we don't really use that room for anything). So they get indirect light from multiple windows.

Originally Posted by mrsgreenjeens

I'm growing my tomatoes this year in a topsy turvy...already have blossoms on them cause they've been planted since mid-February (advantages of living in the desert). I'm hoping to be eating a few of them by mid-May. ('course, they'll be dead by mid-August from the heat) Also planted a yellow bell pepper that way, which is also blooming! Yippee.

I also have an Aero-Garden where I'm growing Thyme, Chives and Basil, and just planted some more Chives, Parsley and Basil seeds outside in pots so I can move them inside when it starts getting really hot. The basil seedlings are doing great, but the other two have not sprouted yet.

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I can't wait to hear how your topsy turvy plants turn out. I'm thinking about hanging one of them out just to see what happens.

Once I talked my former Lt. into letting the inmates at the prison where I work set out tomato plants behind their kitchen area. They raised enough tomatoes for the entire inmate population there to have in salads and sandwiches that summer. This year, I got permission from the Superintendent to bring in tomato seeds for an inmate who likes to garden. He is an older man and really has a green thumb. He started his is styrofoam cups a few weeks before I started mine. His are doing great. They about 6 inches high now.

Thank you all for your sharing your gardening advice and letting me know what you're planting this year. I love to talk gardens!

I think that's awesome that you were able to start a garden program at the prison!

Originally Posted by pushylady

I think that's awesome that you were able to start a garden program at the prison!

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Thanks! I talked the same former Lt. into tulip bulbs, too. That was years ago, he has since retired, but the tulips still come up beautifully every year. I think the tomatoes give the inmates that are interested in gardening something fun to do, plus most everybody loves fresh tomatoes.

This is off subject, but the some of the NC prisons have started a dog training programs. I don't know if they do this in every state. I'll try to post a link to a recent article about it, because I think it is a wonderful thing.

Are they regular tomatoes or cherry tomatoes? I personally love cherry tomatoes and find them to be the easiest to grow. My Dad and I used to grow them down in Florida... mostly because they were the only plants the fire ants didn't destroy. >.<

I tried winter sowing my tomatoes (from seeds) this year. I put 5 seeds in each jug and had about 20 varieties. I now have over 50 16oz. Solo cups of tiny tomato seedlings! I still have a few milk jugs to transplant, but the question is, where will I put them all?!? I also have potatoes, onions, and carrots already planted with jalapenos and bell pepper seedlings in the wings. I planted cucumber seeds earlier this week.

If you can't pass them onto family or friends try to see if there are community garden plots or many food pantries or churches may take them.

I've got about 200 tomato plants up about 75 pepper plants and 60 basil so far!

Originally Posted by StacyD1987

Are they regular tomatoes or cherry tomatoes? I personally love cherry tomatoes and find them to be the easiest to grow.

My Dad and I used to grow them down in Florida... mostly because they were the only plants the fire ants didn't destroy. >.<

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No, these are all beefsteak types except for Rutgers. I'm a little nervous about not having Better Boys this year, which are my old stand-by. I did some cherry tomatoes last year and they were prolific!

Originally Posted by stephanietx

I tried winter sowing my tomatoes (from seeds) this year. I put 5 seeds in each jug and had about 20 varieties. I now have over 50 16oz. Solo cups of tiny tomato seedlings! I still have a few milk jugs to transplant, but the question is, where will I put them all?!?

I also have potatoes, onions, and carrots already planted with jalapenos and bell pepper seedlings in the wings. I planted cucumber seeds earlier this week.

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Wow! I am only doing about 9 plants here, but DH has a plan to set the remainder out behind his office, which has already been tilled for a garden.

Originally Posted by GailC

If you can't pass them onto family or friends try to see if there are community garden plots or many food pantries or churches may take them.

I've got about 200 tomato plants up about 75 pepper plants and 60 basil so far!

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That is a great idea to pass the extra tomatoes along! We have a new homeless shelter in town and maybe if my garden is a success, they would like to have some. There is also a shelter for battered women which I know takes food donations. And my goodness, you are going to be tomato rich! Not mention pepper rich and basil rich!

I'm growing yellow pear tomatoes (cherry) in my Topsy Turvey. Have about 30 blossoms on it right now. Yippee!!!!! Also, update: My chives and parsley that are outside in pots have finally sprouted! I feel like a proud mother.

Another update: I now have 6 tomatoes on my plant that in the Topsy Turvy, plus 4 strawberries on just one little plant that I planted in a pot. My basil and parsley that I planted from seed are about 2 inches high now and very lush. Oddly, my bell pepper plant is not doing anything, and those things will usually grow under any conditions!

My Dad is doing an experiment with his Topsy Turvy that I gave him. He planted one tomato plant in it, and 3 others from the same pack in the ground. We're anxious to see which ones do the best. So far ,the ones in the ground are the only ones with any fruit on them, but later on, when it gets over 100 degrees will be the real "tell".

How's everyone else's gardens doing?

Waaayyyy to early to plant outside here in Wisconsin. We had another freeze last night!

I transplanted and started more seeds. Down to 47 basil plants about 60 peppers and still close to 200 tomato plants. I sell alot of the physical plants though. Bad news all my zucchini seeds germinated-all 24 of them.. Swiss chard seedlings are up in only 4 days! Some kale and a few pumpkin and gourds too-more transplanting to do.