THAT OLD, DISCARDED ELECTRIC FAN that isn’t strong enough for the hot summers of global warming…hey, bring it on. It’s perfect for accomplishing one of the tricks to growing better tomato seedlings, which is (after all) the only thing you probably really care about on the run-up to another spring. To hell with winter.
Onward!It’s still too early for sowing tomatoes in my Zone 5B Hudson Valley, New York, area, with April 15 my target date, but I can dream. Those of you in warmer zones can stop dreaming, and do (and if you already sowed, it’s not too late to start petting a.k.a. brushing your plants to help them grow sturdier…really).
My goal is not a tall seedling by transplant time but a stout and sturdy one, about 4 inches high and wide.
the top tomato tips:Work from your final frost date to determine when to sow (mine’s late May-early June). Use my seed-starting calculator to get your start date (and a link to figure out your frost date if you don’t know it). Count back from 5 or 6 to as much as 8 weeks.Everyone has their own beliefs on this. I like a strong little plant grown in a medium-large cell, so 6ish is plenty. My seedlings would need larger quarters (like a 3- or 4-inch pot each) to thrive for 8 weeks indoors; more work, but to my mind not much extra benefit.
Again: many experts prefer 8 weeks, and you may, too. Seeds germinated on a heat mat in flats will get off to a particularly fast start. A soil temperature of 70 degrees is essential; higher (like mid-80s) is better in those early days of germination.
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