The Seeds Have Sprung - Boing!
These seeds were planted on Thursday, February 25, 2007.
- Cherrio; Very early and productive heirloom from New England. Indeterminate, 60 days.
- Thessaloniki. Exceptional Greek variety, medium red globes without cracks and blemishes. Indeterminate, 66 days.
- Baylor Paste. Red roundish, flat plums that do not crack or blemish. Indeterminate, 75 days.
- Giant Pepperview. Substantial size pepper shaped pastes. Indeterminate, 85 days. A long growing season than recommended for the coast, but I will keep my fingers crossed.
- Profumo di Genova Basil. Rare Italian herb. Lovely large leaves and highly perfumed fragrance.
My seeds were purchased from Marianna's Seeds. Marianna specializes in heirlooms and comes highly recommended. Heirlooms seeds produce plants that are the same plants year-after-year. With hybrids, the resulting tomatoes can vary. If you don't propagate, this is not a concern.
Schultz Seed Starter Potting Planting Mix Plus, Slow Release MultiCoat Plant Food is the mix of choice. I have never used this mix before so the proof will be in the finished product. This planting mix releases nutrients slowly up to 9 months.
Styrofoam egg cartons with small holes punched out of the bottom of each cell were used to plant my seeds. (Sophisticated process if I don't say so myself.) On the inside of the lids, I used a permanent marker to label the seed varieties.
- I filled each cell about 95% full with the soil mix.
- I carefully opened seed packets and separated seeds on a plate. 3 seeds were then dropped into each cell, in a different spot, to make it easier to separate the plants after germination. (Frugal is a good word to describe this.)
- A pinch of soil was sprinkled on top of each cell and misted using a spray bottle filled with warm water.
- The egg carton lids were closed and placed on top of my refrigerator. Remember to keep the soil moist during this period for proper germination.
Ooooh, will they ever emerge?
The basil seeds "popped" out of the soil on the 5th day and the tomatoes on the 6th and 7th days. Who can resist planting basil with tomatoes? Yum. When the seeds sprout, place them under the lights.
The tomato plants have been under the grow lights now for 4 days and they look wonderful. The lights are set using a timer for 16 hours on and 8 hours off. Ideally, the plants should be approximately 6 inches away from the lights. Cool grow or cool fluorescent lights are recommended.
A local grower, who is experimenting with organic soil types and nutrition, gave me 3 tomato plants and 1 cucumber plant (see below). Each plant is already about 10 inches in height and these are also under my grow lights.
As the plants grow, I will take more photos to show you what they look like at the next stage. Off to my garden.
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