It's Tomato Starting Day!

[GoDawgs]

Today is tomato seeding day. I started one each of 23 different varieties, plus 18 Celebrity plants for a friend. Starred varieties came from Carolyn’s seed given out by Farmer Shawn.

Tomato, Bella Rosa
Tomato, Creole Original
Tomato, Early Annie, a red RL determinate for canning
Tomato, Early Girl Bush
Tomato, Fake Annie, came from the Early Annie pack; produced yellow tomatoes and had potato leaves!
Tomato, German Johnson (Benton Strain)
Tomato, Homestead
* Tomato, Honigsüsser Erlöser, "Honeysweeet Saviour, a sweet orange heart
* Tomato, Inzhir Rosovyi, ("Pink Fig", a pink pear shape with ribs
Tomato, KBX
*Tomato, King Kong (large red heart)
* Tomato, Koroleva Rynka, "Market Queen", round red from Siberia
Marianna’s Peace, a flattened globe shaped
Tomato, Mom's Paste, a large red plum shape with pointed end
Tomato, Purple Russian (a freebie) - long oblong shape with wispy foliage
Tomato, Rebel Yell, large pink oblate beefsteak, PL
Tomato, Red Siberian
Tomato, Rio Grande
Tomato, Rosella Cherry
Tomato, SOTW
Tomato, Super Sioux, supposedly good for hot, dry climates; from Nebraska
* Tomato, Süsse Friesin, pale red egg-shaped cherry
* Tomato, Vladyka, a pink heart from Siberia

Last fall while visiting a nursery, I was able to salvage from a dumpster 15 nice empty cups and the special tray they sit in. The cups are 4” tall, 3” wide at the top and 2” wide at the bottom.



They’ve now been used for this year’s tomatoes (on the right in photo) along with other cups and packs . Wish I could have gotten more!



Meanwhile, the peppers are coming along nicely, sharing a shelf with more tomatoes. When the peppers develop their 3rd or 4th set of leaves I will cut out the central leader to encourage more branching. It’s something I've tried the past two years and it has worked really well, making bushy plants that produce more. No more open, TV antenna pepper plants.

[Greatgardens]

Likewise for me. First micros planted Feb. 19. And just a modest 8 varieties today. More to be planted, staggered out with the last scheduled for May 28. My early plants look great -- I've been fertilizing them with 2-7-7 every two weeks since planting. Hoping for a great year for everybody!

[RJGlew]

Originally Posted by GoDawgs

Meanwhile, the peppers are coming along nicely, sharing a shelf with more tomatoes. When the peppers develop their 3rd or 4th set of leaves I will cut out the central leader to encourage more branching. It’s something I've tried the past two years and it has worked really well, making bushy plants that produce more. No more open, TV antenna pepper plants.

If I may ask, when did you start the peppers? tia.

[GoDawgs]

The peppers were started on Feb 22. I used to start them about two weeks before the tomatoes so that they'd both be ready to plant out at the same time. However I found out that when I prune them, it takes a little longer for them to grow back to where I want them. As I'm still playing with the starting time, this year they were started about 3 weeks before the tomatoes.

[Labradors2]

Looking great! Good find on the dumpster diving expedition {LOL}.

I started my tomatoes a few days ago. Good job too, as they are taking their sweet time to germinate!

Peppers have already been potted up. They were started really early this year because I'm so sick of having tiny little things at plant-out time. I too will be pruning them this season!

Linda

[KarenO]

It’s the most wonderful time of the year
I Started my dwarfs yesterday too
Have a great season everyone!

[rxkeith]

go dawgs,

you inspired me to plant a few seeds of my own.
i looked through my bag o seeds, and pulled out a few older varieties.
planted are anna marias heart, armenian, berkley tie dye, milkas red bulgarian,
todd county amish, and yellow brandywine.


armenian is a surprise for a church family of armenian descent, if it grows.
milkas is for another church member from bulgaria.
oldest seeds are yellow brandywine from 2005.
if anything comes up its a bonus. most other tomato seeds will get started
the first of april.


six micros varieties started first week of february are doing well, and getting first
buds. they are in 9oz cups, and will soon go to one gallon pots. only slacker is premus. first seeds gave me one barely able to sprout seedling that died.
second seeding gave me one weak plant that has decided to live, and has a couple
small leaves.


started 12 varieties of pepper seeds that were all 8 years old from a box of seeds
given to me. only four varieties have sprouted so far. black hungarian, indian finger,
serrano tampequino, and one very small grandpas home that is struggling to live.
first seeding was early february. second seeding was early march.
main crop of peppers were seeded march 14th, and are in the process of coming up.




keith

[Gardeneer]

I Potted up mine. But. some did not germinated..So I will Supplement from garden Centers.
I started peppers 3 weeks earlier. Now they are good size. I ok
In about a week I will look into hardening off. Peppers? peppers are TOO cold sensitive.

[D.J. Wolf]

Started mine on 2/27. A month in, I'm not liking what I'm seeing with some of the seedlings. Slow starting true leaves, some just not looking good. Guess we'll see what happens...

[tryno12]

I'm in Indianapolis and am waiting another week to plant seeds for tomatoes. I wait till 5/20 to transplant outside because babysitting them too long in the house is not fun anymore. My peppers I planted 2 weeks ago and have not sprouted yet

[D.J. Wolf]

We aren't that far apart tryno12, I plan (hope) to be transplanting outdoors around the 1st of May. My peppers actually look better than some of my tomato seedlings so far, and the broccoli and cauliflower are doing pretty good I think lol.

[tryno12]

Wolf, I no longer want to deal with frost or fear of. a friend locally mailed me some Mat -Su Express seeds last year that i started at end of april that grew like crazy, started to give fruit mid season and produced well rest of year. I was surprised. My own Mat -Su (a different "F") were only a week or so earlier to produce ripe fruit. I had 80 plants last year 120 the year before and plan 45 this year.
Will plant my Tomato seeds this week.
Still worried about Peppers - have in hot sun today and near heat vent at night. Think I need heat mat but have done ok in the past. Patience for me!
Pete

[D.J. Wolf]

Tryno, I know, I'm impatient. Always have been. Grew up growing wheat and barley in north central Montana, always wanted to rush to get in the field there and get stuff planted too!

I figured if I had 2 months growth on the maters before I planted out, they'd survive almost anything. And I am hoping we don't have the May freezes like last year, I ended up covering tomatoes, peppers, and squash types twice last year in mid May due to forecast freezes. Good thing I did too, it froze all my apple tree blossoms!

[Jonnyhat]

I am sure many of you do this but if not... i started 25 varieties last weekend, 36 starter pots after 3 weeks I will cull only the best specimine from each of the starting pots but instead of throwing away the cullings I reroot them and give them all away

[EscazuMike]

Originally Posted by Jonnyhat

I am sure many of you do this but if not... i started 25 varieties last weekend, 36 starter pots after 3 weeks I will cull only the best specimine from each of the starting pots but instead of throwing away the cullings I reroot them and give them all away

Johnnyhat, when you "cull" and then "reroot" do you snip the seedlings off at the ground and have to reroot? Or do what I do, dig up clusters of seedlings with a knife, pull them apart gently with roots and then pop into individual pots? .... inquiring minds