Planting tomato seeds! I'm so excited, I love growing tomatoes. I'm also so excited I said something that deserves correcting in the video below. I said we were 8 weeks out from our last frost date, and that's not true. We're at least 8 weeks out from PLANTING outside. Our last frost should be in 4-6 weeks. So, planting today is actually a little early, but it's my son's birthday, so it's a great metaphor for planting anew.
Truth be told, it's just something to do to keep me occupied. I've not had too much success with tomato seedlings, so when it comes time to plant in the ground (Memorial Day Weekend) I just plant starters from the local garden shop, Prairie Gardens. But I had some real success with our cabbage seeds last year, so what the heck, let's do tomatoes again. Last year, I started seeds about this time, and they didn't make it past a month, mainly because I went out of town for a week, but then when I got home, I had a job interview and had to focus all my energy there. This year, I'm also going out of town for a week, but when I get back, I'll be able to devote full energy to the nurturing of my tomato seedlings.
So here's the video, and then the full steps below for how to start tomato seeds indoors.
Get growing tray ready.
Fill with peat pots.
Fill peat pots with starter pellets.
Add water to peat pots to completely soak pellets.
When they open (they'll grow from a flat pellet to over an inch tall when wet, and it takes a few minutes), put a few seeds in each pellet. If all seeds sprout, you'll thin the pellet to just one seedling.
3/19/23: Cover growing tray with it's clear top. Keep out of direct sunlight until the seeds germinate. Open the lid every few days to let moisture out and make sure pellets are moist. If they aren't, water them.
When the seeds sprout, take the cover off and move tray into a place where you can keep a grow light on them 8-12 hours/day.
Water the seedlings every few days and keep them under the grow light every day.
4/15/23: Almost perished, then under the grow light for the past week!
10. 5/9/23: Doing great under the growlight/watering every few days.
