Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.
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#1 |
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Next year I'm planning to direct-seed everything, except okra (because okra takes ages to germinate and mature when direct-seeded here), maybe peppers, strawberries and maybe a few odds and ends. I've been looking at my reseeded and direct-seeded plants, and they seem to have considerable advantages over my transplants (in cold-hardiness, drought-hardiness, appearance, etc.). Plus, they don't have the time-delay that comes with transplanting. True, germination rates may not be as good for all varieties, but I have lots of seeds.
I know people say tomatoes that are direct-seeded take a lot more time to get fruit, but I'm not sure if that's as true as most people think. When people say x days from transplant and y days from seed, they might be considering that y was also transplanted (and are just calculating the days from being seeded in small containers) on to after they're transplanted and have fruit, which shouldn't be the same as days from seed if direct-seeded (whether or not it would be longer/shorter). I'll probably direct-seed a lot of stuff in April, next year (or before if I use milk jugs). Direct-seeded plants don't seem to care about cold as much in my gareden (so, that's why I wouldn't wait until the last frost was over). Anyway, I need something to cut down on things vying for my attention, and I think this will help. I'll probably grow less tomato varieties next year. I might stick with early indeterminates and a few other choice varieties. As for this year, I've still got 101! ![]() As for now, I'm direct-seeding a bunch of watermelon. A number of the transplants died. About the advantages for direct-seeded plants, it seems that tomatoes transplanted very early are capable of obtaining some of those advantages, too, eventually. Last edited by shule1; May 24, 2017 at 02:36 PM. |
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#2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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There is a lady here in our area who never starts seeds indoors. She even starts tomatoes in the middle of summer by putting them in an area with mostly shade through the day. She covers with milk jugs she cut the bottoms out of and keeps the lids. She can take the lid off to allow more air in or close it when there is a storm coming. Her plants always do well.
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#3 |
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Join Date: May 2014
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Shule1, thanks for this this thread. I have been giving some thought to this for a while - a long while...Decades.
Everything my grandfathers and father started in their gardens were from seed - including tomatoes. That was back in the 60s and 70s. They grew some really great gardens. Over the past 7 years of my gardening experience, I have learned that volunteers out produce plants that are transplanted. "After all, they're growing like weeds." |
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#4 | |
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![]() I use milk jugs to protect plants from frost and to a lesser degree, from other weather/insects (sans grasshoppers that hatch under the jug), wind, and dry air. I haven't tried them in shade in the middle of summer, though. |
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#5 | |
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![]() Speaking of weeds, I think tomatoes are our most abundant weed in the watermelon/muskmelon patch, this year (tomatoes were there last year). They're outdoing the lambsquarter, amaranth, morning glory, calendula (it's reseeds like a weed), prickly lettuce, catnip, horehound, creeping charlie, grass, and whatever else we have, currently. They're a lot easier to control than some of those things, though. |
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#6 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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#7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Ontario
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I used to do that! I would diligently pick up any large tomatoes that rotted in the garden, while leaving any cherries that fell. I knew that any volunteers would be cherries, and I'd simply select the biggest ones and re-plant them in a row. It always worked really well!
BTW I never knew that Sweet Million was an F1 and it seemed to grow true. Linda |
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#8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 2,052
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I've been considering direct seeding some tomato plants into 5 gal containers, wondering why that wouldn't work out well. I'd love to bypass the transplant step. I do worry about the high winds and wild temperature swings, and having a very large number of plants makes protecting each individual seedling a real chore.
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#9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: North Dakota
Posts: 111
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It may work in your zone. My volunteer tomato plants will set flowers, but I've never had them go to fruit with my short growing season. Transplanting is a must for my zone.
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#10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Lowcountry, SC
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I've thought about this as well. Wonder how it work here in SC?
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#11 | |
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#12 | |
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People from there might have things to say. ![]() If it gets above 95° F. that's supposed to make it harder for tomatoes to sprout. I don't know how hot it is in your area during the time you would want to seed. |
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#13 | |
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I know it's not supposed to be ideal, but I used garden soil (mixed with peat moss) for my container (which is why it had tomatillo seeds in it). I didn't grow tomatillos in the same container the year before. Last edited by shule1; May 24, 2017 at 03:13 PM. |
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#14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Southeastern PA
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It depends on how long your growing season is I guess. My seedlings that I set out in May are probably 6 weeks old and I get tomatoes and peppers in late July.
If I direct seeded my plants I guess that I wouldn't get fruits until late August or September and that is too late for me. My soil is too cold for seedlings of warm weather plants like tomatoes or peppers to do much growing before the middle of May even under milk jugs. |
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#15 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
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