Vegetables aren't "pinched" back as you do with flowers, shrubs, and herbs nor is "super-cropping" normally associated with vegetables due to the loss in production. Good luck with that! ;)

So since it is far too early for starting tomatoes and peppers in your zone you are going to end up with some monster tomato plants. You might want to consider starting more of them much later on for transplanting to the garden rather than the monster ones. ;)

Pot up and feeding is normally at the second set of true leaves stage depending on what you are using for germination containers.

Dave

You can always bury you toms deep in their planting hole and they will be just fine. They root from the stalk.

I also have to add, I ALWAYS start my toms and peppers in February. Every single year, and I've never had *monster* plants. You can do super-cropping with your toms. There is an entire thread (LONG) with pics solely for this purpose. It is in the tomato forum. You should check it out.

One last thing, you can pinch your toms back after they have several sets of true leaves. I would say at about 4 inches. It just promotes more branching.

Not trying to step on anyones toes, just stating my experience. :-)

Barefoot_Contessa

Thanks for weighing in Dave I know it is not the norm....but I got nothing to show for it in the way of toms...so I am taking a risk here and starting early.
\

Thanks for the encouragement Contessa. The super cropping thread gave me the basis of my plan. I know ppl go gaga over TALL tom PLANTS..but I want lots of toms to EAT...and I think I can pull it off this way. I'll keep ya posted. I see you say Zone 5...what part of the world are you in?

Yes, I am aware of the thread in the Tomato forum. I am also aware that it is only an experiment conducted by a boy trying to grow plants inside under the same conditions that one apparently uses when growing marijuana - where the term "supercropping" was first coined. That's fine but the goal of the science project in question is very different from the goal of most tomato growers.

Supercropping is not normally applied to tomato plants and the fact that a discussion exists about doing it doesn't legitimate it in anyway. It is met with a large degree of skepticism by experienced growers and rightly so. So, if you are aware of the lack of any scientific support for this approach yet still want to give it a try, fine, go for it, and good luck. ;)

Contessa, like many in her zone, get ancy for spring and so insist on starting plants so early every year and always insist on disagreeing with those of us who advocate waiting a bit. Yet every year the Tomato forum is inundated by discussions of what is wrong with my plants by those same folks when the stress of the growing process kicks in. Perhaps she doesn't see her plants as monsters because of a lack of experience with normal transplants performance. Patience is a virtue when it comes to seed starting. ;)

If you want to understand more about why tomato plants should NOT be pinched back and why you can't turn an indeterminate variety into a bush plant without loss of production, you might want to do some reading on monocots vs. dicots and on how determinate varieties vs. indeterminate varieties produce fruit.

Enjoy your tomato experiment.

Dave

Dave,

Last year I started in late Feb early march...planted out about mid May when the weather allowed...
Great location,plenty of water,compost tea and a little miracle grow..and I got next to nuthing' for toms..and what I did get was in 1st week of Sept.
So my original thought was to have the plants as big as I could and as strong as I Could for planting out so I get toms in a reasonable amount of time

So do please tell me what YOU do to get as many toms as possible as soon as possible.
DH is looking at building some of the earthtianers for me.

LOL @ Dave. My experience growing tomatoes, or anything else for that matter, goes back 20 years. I am a lover of earht, and what God has created, not that of science. So that, my friend, is the difference between the two of us.
Don't you scientist types like to experiment? LoL
Anyway, just because there is one *1* thread here, doesn't mean it isn't done, by many people, all over the world. And believe you me, you don't have to grow illegal substances in order to grow in a particular way. AND! this isn't turning a vining variety into a bush variety. Vines ALSO have branching out! Pinching off the top only makes your stalk strong when they are small. I didn't suggest by any means of a continuing pruning of the plant.
That wouldn't be of any help. I enjoy gardening, and I am going to keep it that way. So, I am done with that whole conversation.

I am in Iowa. Our growing season isn't very long. But I enjoy it just the same. My mother had me out in the garden before I could walk. I remember sitting in the gardens and eating toms and green beans like they were going out of style, LoL. I can also remember going out on the combine with my dad and working the fields. Boy, those were the days, ha!
Please do keep me posted on your progress. It is always fun to try something new isn't it!

Carrie

I am zone 5 and I start my peppers/ eggplants indoor last week of Feb- first week of March. Toms I start mid March with several successions. My last frost date is May 15. To grow good toms one has to know varieties. There are super early and cold hardy varieties like Stupice, Siberian which could be started early and have good tolerance to chilly weather and short summer. Then there is mid season and late toms, those that you pick up green in September and they slowly ripen up in your house so you could eat fresh ones in November. On top there are determinate and indeterminate varieties- determinate will grow as a bush and have most of the crop at certain time while indeterminate will grow like a vine several feet high and produce crop in spurs longer time. Of course there are toms for salads, eating, pickling, cherry type, paste type etc.
Once you figure out what you want- biggest tom of your neighborhood or continuous supply of small cherry type or you want to make your own ketchup- whatever...you start your seeds.
I always have good laugh when I plant out my tiny seedlings and my fellow gardeners plant their store bought 3 foot tall ones and look pitifully at mine. We garden at the community gardens so everything is very clear -who plants what...
now it takes those big toms FOREVER to acclimatize to rough garden conditions as opposed to their artificial greenhouse ones, while my tiny seedlings triple in size with ease and start producing just about same time as their big neighbors. I have my toms going very strong all over the summer while my neighbors peter out after few weeks... Very old truth while size does matter, good root system and tolerance to stress is much more important when you grow vegetables. Knowing what kind of summer you have helps to choose varieties that fit your summer better than others and choices are gazillion....
One of the big "secrets" I have is that I transplant my seedlings several times, each time burying as deep as top leaves, thus all those hairs on the stem develop into roots so when we ready to go in the garden my tiny seedlings have huge root system and they will outperform any store bought...
I plant about 20 varieties each year, repeat some as I come to appreciate them and start new ones to try.
Good luck to you and have fun!

Do you ever transplant them before they develop their first true leaves? I have my seeds in peat pellets, after 3 days some have already opened up with their seed leaves AND grown roots about 1 inch out of the pellet. I am wondering if I should transplant it now or not.

You can transplant them at any time providing you are careful with stem and leaves. Have done transplanting at any stage- if you use "light" hand you will be fine. I usually get barbecue stick or toothpick to help me.
Hate pellets. I do everything in pro mix. Take off netting and replant it in the cup- small cup first time, once you see it filling out with roots, replant in the bigger one. Do not replant in the big cup right away- plants like to be coddled in the small space.

LOL @ Dave. My experience growing tomatoes, or anything else for that matter, goes back 20 years. I am a lover of earht, and what God has created, not that of science. So that, my friend, is the difference between the two of us.
Don't you scientist types like to experiment? LoL

Not a scientist, just an old farmer with about 40 more years of taking care of the earth than your 20 contessa. And those years have taught me to NOT buy into far out practices like way too early seed starting and so-called "super-cropping".

Also, while many experienced tomato growers advocate pruning tomato plants, none advocate pinching plants back - which is a totally different practice - because all it does is reduce your production and stress your plants. Before advocating a very questionable practice to new growers it may help to learn how tomato plants grow, how the node length controls production, how the suckers that develop on the plant dictate production of fruit, learn what happens to the circulatory system when you pinch dicots like tomatoes and how that damage interferes with nutrient delivery to the leaves and fruit.

There are also a number posts from reputable gardeners over on the Tomato forum on how to grow tomatoes in short season areas, some of them far north of you with even shorter seasons. They discuss methods and varieties that work well and have been used by many. I strongly encourage you to read about soil pre-warming and the various methods of protection for planting younger plants much earlier. Bottom line is that you adjust the environment, not the plants.

lindalana - great info! Thanks for sharing it.

Dave

Last year was the first for me starting seeds under grow lights. I was amazed at the results I had! It was awesome!

I am getting a bit ansy to turn the lights on and start planting also. I do believe I will hold off a bit even though a house I pass on my way home from work has their grow lights on already. I struggle with when to start seeds and when to transplant into the garden safely.

I only repotted my tomotoes once last year, but believe I will do more this year, as lindalana does.

I have heard it said that there is as many ways to do something as there are gardeners... seems that is pretty close to the truth. I enjoy hearing about others' ideas, successes and failures. I take what I can use and leave the rest. I have learned volumes from lurking here. Thanks to all those that share.