Growing Tomato (& Tomatillos) from seed without artificial light

14 years ago

Hey everyone,

This will be my second year gardening and I decided to try growing plants from seed. Last year I mostly grew things from seedlings (tomato, squash, melons, peppers) because I was really intimidated by the idea of having a light system, and fans occillating to make the plants stronger, etc.

This year encouraged by some garden buddies I decided to give it a try. (Cue the music...time for my thank you speech)....

Thanks to Trudi from http://wintersown.org/ for not only providing most of the seeds but also giving great instructions for how to save seeds. I was able to save my marvel strip seeds and they all germinated!! She also gives great tomato growing advice in general. Thanks also to Carolyn, Digdirt, Rnewste for sharing their great knowledge and to Sprtsguy76 (Damon) and Tn_veggie_gardener (steve) for their tomato enthusiasm and support. Most importantly thanks to my wonderful husband for taking the babies so I can have time to baby my plants.

I did not have any fancy equipment, just some coffee filters, baggies, and plastic boxes.

I am going to donate the plants to my son's pre-school since they have a great garden as well as give them to friends that I have encouraged to start gardening.

How to Germinate Seeds (Coffee Filter Method)

Day 1: February 13, 2010

I took some coffee filters I had and cut them in half so I had 2 little envelops. I wet the filters and lightly squeezed them dry then put the seeds between the layer of coffee filter. I then put each seed variety in its own little labeled sandwich bag (with a bit of air in each bag).

I placed the sealed baggies in a tupperware container that i put on top of my computer (where i know it stays warm).

Day 6: February 19, 2010 germination!

Within 6 days most of my seeds had germinated and I planted them each in some cups that I found in our garage.

Day 6: February 19, 2010 Plant in cups

I labeled each cup and started out putting 1 seed in each cup, then got lazy and started putting 2-3 seeds in each cup. My plan was to seperate them again when they got bigger. I placed these plants near a window that gets great morning light.

Day 36 : March 21, 2010 I got me some tomato (& tomatillo plants)!

Around March 10th I started to put the plants out when it was not too cold, windy or raining. I first started out in some shade for a couple of hours a day. Then I put them in full morning sun, but out of midday sun for a few days. On overcast days, I would just leave them out all day. I did make a mistake and leave them out in full sun on thusday when it was a clear day and reached 80 degrees. 3 of my plants got some burnt leaves but I just got rid of them. It was a little tight in my plastic box so now it is not so squished.

Here is a link that might be useful: gardening blog

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Comments (14)

trudi_d
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
They look wonderful, very nice job. Baggie method does work, I wrote an FAQ on it some years back for the Growing from Seed forum here. I think I did some zuke seeds with it, quite interesting to see them sprout and grow, especially with the baggie taped to the window for illumintation. The only thing I would do different on the cups would be to write the name with a industrial sharpie.

T

PS...maybe next season you can try germinating a few via WS. You don't need snow and ice to WS, you just need the season called Winter ;-)
tammysf
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
hey trudi

i did write the names on cups with sharpie :) should add that to tutorial.

here is list of what i am growing from seed...most seeds from wintersown.org

cherokee purple
isis candy
black cherry
early ssabukis aliana
goji faranji
green tomatillo (from baker creek)
marvel strip (from seeds i saved last summer)

i want to try wintersown but need to find more space as i use gardenbeds for broccolli, chard, cauliflower etc. during winter.
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Some seeds do not like direct seeding right in the soil. Nor do seeds first in soil like drying out. Start to sprout, then die. Steady moisture but not pooling wet. Too much water they rot. Why it is mentioned controlled seeding indoors works best and gets a much better germination rate. A bit cool but not a total loss. you could cover the location with something as simple as a plastic bag or even a couple layers of wet paper towel or newspaper. (add something to hold it down) rocks or soil on the edges. In cold climates they self seed all over if fruit falls in the Fall then freezes...the Spring thaw they sit in their rotten mess that keeps them wet... I must have a dozen or more left behind fruit in that part of the garden and usually get a few returns every year. Not nearly the amount of seed left behind germinates like inside controlled seeding. Anytime i direct seed in early Spring with cooler temps, I seed again a week apart or every few days) for 3-6 weeks depending on the plant. Heavy rain storms for days or no rain can cause problems. Early peas can rot too wet, salad seeds can completely wash out of the beds. (i cover them with a slat frame or a boards.) I would add a few more seeds to that spot, then cover. A zip-lock may give you a greenhouse effect and help warm the soil. One of those clamshell domes from the grocery that cherry toms come in...poke a few holes...and watch for sprouting. Many use the gallon water jugs with the bottom cut off as a mini greenhouse to get an early start. Just take the top cap off so the seedlings don't bake after they sprout. Best to have insurances and back-ups. You can snip out the ones you don't want later. Expect only 50% direct seeding. If all my peas come up after 5-6 weeks of sowing, that's fine, more peas for me. And sowing over that length of time i have them ready for harvest over a longer period of time, in succession. Usually one sowing is lost to something like birds, field mice, heavy rains...
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sprtsguy76
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Nicely done Tammy! I'm glad to here you started your own seeds, it makes it even more interesting. Good luck this year1

Damon
cyrus_gardner
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Why bother with indoor starting in zone 9- 10 now?
You can just start them in small pots outside, in a suuny location,
eg. next to a south wall, cover them at night.
Inoors starting makes sense for those in zones 8,7,6,5,4..
tammysf
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi Damon,

Hopefully i can hit you up for some seeds for 2011 and then I can try some more hearts...i have some heart seedlings on order.

Cyrus_gardner: when i started these seeds in february it was still cold and miserable out so they would not have done much. we had heavy rains most of feb and into march. Our nights are still a bit chilly (in the mid 40's) so i will not plant out until april.
tn_veggie_gardner
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yea, I agree...they look great to me. =)
korney19
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I think you need more potting Mix in those cups. I'd fill them at least half way up the plants if not more.
foose4string
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
They look happy. Nice job.
tammysf
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi Korney,

I do need more potting soil. I have actually been adding some to the cups as I need it...sort of like potting up I guess...especially helpful with the leggy ones.

There are a few things I will do differently next time:

1. after seeds germinate I will plant them in a seed tray and then seperate the plants when they are small and plant them in individual cups.
cyrus_gardner
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Right. We all want to get that first tomato as soon as possible.
Last year I sowed some of my tomato seeds directly in the garden, some in cold frame and bought a few seedlings.
There was not much difference. The reason is that a direct sown plant
can catch up with indoor grown seedling in short time, when the air and ground warm up.
trudi_d
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
early ssabukis aliana
goji faranji

Awesome tomatoes! ESA is a cropping machine with loads of small yellow plums. Goji Faranji makes big wonking beefsteaks, sometimes they are a bit ruffly-but this I think is related to hotter weather and when it cools down a bit then the fruits are smoother. If you let GF mature completely on the vine it's incredibly delicious. It's fine too if you pick them a bit green and let ripen on the counter, but leave it on the vine until it feels like a baby's tushie when you squeeze it and you have tomato nirvana.
whgille
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi Tammysf

Congratulations on your seedlings. I am growing now some of Trudi's tomatoes also, I will report on how well they do for me later in the season.

Here are some of the tomatoes that I saved seed last season, using Trudi's easy method.

Number 1 is goji faranji and number 3 is early ssabukis aliana, terrific tomatoes!

Silvia
tammysf
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
trudi and whgille,

i am very excited about the goji faranji. i got them to give to my friend whose mother is from iran. i know she will love them. i am a little sad because i only have 3 goji faranji (my cat ate some of them) and i don't have anymore seeds left.
whgille
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
My tomatoes grown from seed are already in their final destination.

Tammysf- I have some leftover goji farangi seeds that I can send you, send me your address to my email.

Trudi- Some of the ones that I am growing from you are chang-li, chico, islean, erica and others, they all look very healthy, I will report on the flavor later on.

I am also growing creole and plum regal that somebody from this forum was nice enough to give me. Thank you

Silvia

Growing Tomato (& Tomatillos) from seed without artificial light

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