Planting tomato seeds

How should you sow and plant tomato seeds?

It takes a long time for your tomatoes to ripen. If you want to sow tomato seeds, it is best to start them in early spring. The first step is to pre-sow tomato seeds. Exactly when to start varies, as you can grow the tomato plants both outdoors and in a greenhouse. Some time later you will plant the germinated tomato seeds.

Growing indoors or outdoors?

If you are going to grow tomato plants in a greenhouse, start sowing the tomato seeds from mid-February. The time is ripe to plant the young tomato plants from mid-April. Sometimes they still suffer from the cold and the lower leaves yellow, but when the temperature rises and the tomato plant continues to grow, it recovers. If you prefer to grow the tomato plants outside, the sowing time to plant the tomato seeds is from mid to late March. First cultivate indoors and only plant out outdoors from mid-May, when the risk of night frost has passed.

The best way to sow tomato seeds

But what is the best way to sow tomato seeds? First, use moist potting soil and sow the tomato seeds one centimeter apart. Then cover them with a thin layer of soil of no more than half a centimeter. Moisten this layer of soil with a plant sprayer.

If after the first seven to ten days (sometimes even earlier) the first germinated tomato seeds appear above the ground, the plants also need a lot of light. If you do not have enough light, a grow lamp can offer a solution. As soon as the first tomato seeds have sprouted, move the propagator to a light and cool place at a temperature between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius. Avoid direct sunlight.

(Trans) planting the germinated tomato seeds

If there is a second set of leaves and the tomato plants are two to three centimeters high, it is time to plant the germinated tomato seeds in a larger pot with more soil. Spoon the young plants out with their root ball and transfer them carefully. If the roots come out of the bottom of the pot later, you can repot them later.

The pots into which you transfer the tomato plants should have a minimum diameter of 12 centimeters at the top. Fill the pot with potting compost, poke a hole in it with your finger and carefully place your young tomato plant in it. Press it lightly and water everything well. Then you put the plants in a light and cool place.
If you want to know which tomato you have grown when sowing tomato seeds, it is best to label the tomato plants. If your tomato plants get bigger, support them with a stick to prevent them from falling over. If they reach a height of 20 to 25 centimeters and the weather forecast is good, only then place them in a definitive spot in your garden or greenhouse.

Harden off the tomato plant

When the period of sowing tomato seeds is over, the tomato plants should be hardened. Hardening off a tomato plant means gently getting it used to its new environment. In contrast to tomato seeds, plants have to deal with different light and a different temperature, which they have to get used to. If you grow the tomato plant in a pot, you can put it outside for a few hours and bring it back inside at any time. Especially at the end of the season, it is useful if you can put the pots with tomato plants indoors at night when it gets colder. If you put tomato plants directly in full sun, there is a risk that they will shrivel. When you support the plants with bamboo sticks, they will blow over much less quickly.