How to Grow Organic Tomatoes
There are many rewards for tackling the back yard pass time of growing tomatoes:
working our hands in the dirt is a form of meditation,
it carries on traditions of our ancestors,
and it slows our world down enough to enjoy spending some time with family and friends as we raise our tomato plants from infancy to maturity ... together, as my sister and I will be doing today.
Why choose organic. Simple. When your kid is playing soccer in the backyard or jumping around on the trampoline, they can walk over to your beautiful tomatoes still resting on it's vine and have a snack before going back to their play. This will cause you no concern. You used nothing while growing your tomatoes that will harm your family.
Of course, that is getting ahead of ourselves.
The reason we are visiting today about how to grow organic tomatoes is because we are not world class gardeners. My sisters green thumb feeds her family; my green thumb killed a cactus. I imagine you fall somewhere in between.
So, whatever gardening knowledge you bring to the table, join us in this simple process. Together we are going to raise some beautiful tomato plants.
What day you can start planting:
To find out what day you can start planting, you will need to know the last frost date for your area. The best site we have found to give you this information is: http://www.usagardener.com/
Count back from the last frost date you found and count back seven to ten weeks. That will be the date you can start your seeds.
To start you will need:
* Compost. Free if from your garden as we are going to use today.
* Peat. Cost about .50
* One of the following: Hummis, dirt, top soil, potting soil. Approximate cost .00
It may take some time to find one of these without some version of 'Miracle Grow".
* Organic seeds. Cost varies. Average about .69
Lisa's favorite seed companies that carry organic tomato seeds: Seeds of Change and Seed Savers.
* Bucket to mix compost, peat and Hummis in.
* Seed starter tray. We have chosen one with pop-out cells, a bottom tray that holds water, and a plastic cover.
* Popsicle sticks or something of the sort for labeling.
* Heating pad. (optional)
- Hand mix ¼ compost, ¼ Hummis, and ½ Peat in bucket.
Peat keeps the dirt mixture moist, keeping it from clumping together.
Fertilizer is not necessary. It can cause the plant to burn. Besides the seeds and dirt have everything necessary to grow and be healthy.
- Fill seed starter tray with mix. Evenly spread covering all the cells to the rim.
- Use your finger to make a small hole, approximately ¼ inch in every cell to place your seeds in.
- We place two seeds in each hole.
- Then gently recover the hole.
To wrap things up, fill bottom tray with water, replace seed cell tray, and cover with plastic lid.
Place your trays somewhere warm. Our favorite spot is the kitchen. If you decided to buy the heating pad, place your tray on that.
Check your water level several times over the next few hours. The dirt will need to soak up the water.
It will take about 6 to 10 days for your seeds to germinate.
Watch for your seeds to show even the smallest sign that their starting to pop their heads up. This is when you must take the plastic lid off. Otherwise, they will start to dampen off and wilt. You will also start giving your tomato plants less water; walk the fine line of not letting them dry out.
When your plants start to gain their true leaves we will touch base again. Our next step will be to transplant our tomato plants to peat pods. Peat pods will give room for the roots to grow.
Together, we are on our way.
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