Too late to start from seed?

[creister]

Planting day is April the 10th around here. That leaves me about 4 weeks give or take. I would soak seed in seaweed, and add some worm castings (about 20%) to pro mix? Or could/would I be wasting resources? Any opinions?

[feldon30]

Growing Tomatoes in S.E. and Central Texas is something I have tried to learn as much as I can about in a very short time.

This exact same subject came up at Dave's Garden about growing tomatoes in Abilene in '06. I only mention this because getting multiple viewpoints is a good thing.

From what I can gather, Abilene can have some cooler weather later in the season than the Dallas Metroplex, Austin, or Houston, so planting later is encouraged. But I'm going to guess that the summer heat hits Abilene not too much later than it hits Dallas, so that window of opportunity for large fruited varieties particularly heirlooms like Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, etc. is pretty darn small.

If it were me, because I work from home and am able to protect my plants from cold, if I lived in Abilene, I might be reckless enough to plant some in containers this weekend. The 10 day forecast looks beautiful (no nights under 45) which would be awfully tempting to me!

Even if you are planting nothing before April 10th, this sounds very late to start seeds in my opinion.

I hope you will get advice from people with experience growing in your precise area.

[creister]

Thanks, your advice is always welcome. You are very correct that the summer heat hits here pretty quick. We do still get some cooler nights due to the dry air that cools. But we can also get 90's as early as maybe March and for sure April. I just don't see that 4 weeks is enough time for them to be ready. I actually like to plant on April 1.

Last year we had lows in the 20's at the end of March. Tricky place to garden that is for sure. The window of opportunity for the fall garden is the same, unless of course you plant cold season. One year I grew some really good brocolli, cauliflower, and spinach.

We do get some cool fronts as late as the end of June, but not on a regular basis. Good luck with your garden in Houston. I grew up in Pasadena.

[Suze]

I think it is awfully late. Sure, you maybe could get away with planting 4/10 in a cool year, but that would be best done with large transplants ready to bloom, not 3 week old ones (based on avg germ time of 5-7 days).

But I hate to sound discouraging, and of course if you don't have anything else started yet...

[creister]

I do have some other plants going strong, so all is not lost. Just may not plant as many as I wanted too. I can always buy a few if need be. Is Homestead 24 or Rutgers any good for taste or production as those are easy to get around here if I need to?

[feldon30]

I have not tasted either. They are what I consider market varieties. Certainly cannot be confused with some of the heirlooms talked about here on Tomatoville.

I don't know how often you get close to Dallas/Ft Worth (I know it's a 3 hr drive), but Calloway's Nurseries carry the whole Chef Jeff line of tomato transplants, at least in Houston they do. Might call ahead and see what they have.

[BVGardener]

creister,

I would go ahead and give it a try....just for kicks. I would not necessarily start seed for a bunch of plants but maybe 2, 3 or 4. That way you can test it out and see how the plants perform being planted later than normal and that would give you valuable information in the future.

Jay

[Dukerdawg]

I would give it a shot. Seeds are cheap. If it doesn't work out not too much lost. I've had some pretty decent looking plants after 4-5 weeks. Even if they are small they should take off pretty fast once in the ground.

Duane

[dice]

There was a thread on pruning side shoots a while
back, where some research cited found that pruning
to a single stem led to earlier fruit set and maturity.

Maybe that would help.