Off to an early start
It’s too early to plant tomatoes. But that hasn’t stopped
gardeners who want to get an early start from doing just that.
Tomatoes? In February? Yes, but you have to search out the
transplants and then baby them along as they stand around in the
garden shivering in the cold, still-frosty nights.
Off to an early start
It’s too early to plant tomatoes. But that hasn’t stopped gardeners who want to get an early start from doing just that.
Tomatoes? In February? Yes, but you have to search out the transplants and then baby them along as they stand around in the garden shivering in the cold, still-frosty nights.
My daughter, the gardener, prowls the aisles of the Home Depot until she spots the first tomato starts of the season. She arrived this week with a Red Beefsteak for me, one for herself.
We go through this every year.
“It’s too early,” I tell her. “I’ll get the first red tomato before you,” she counters. And, so our little game of one upmanship persists.
The weather has everything to do with successful tomatoes. They can be set outside when the temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees. But they will not set fruit until overnight lows are regularly above 55 degrees. As long as the danger of frost persists – and that is at least through March – tomato plants set outdoors now put up a little green growth, enduring until the weather picks up.
One way to get going with tomatoes is to start seeds indoors in peat pots. Use a seed starting mix, available by the bag at garden centers. Put one or two seeds in each pot, set them on the sunny windowsill, or place on heat mats for bottom heat to germinate the tiny seeds. It takes from six to eight weeks from seed start to transplant.
Tomato starts will show up in nurseries from now through June, after which it is too far into the growing season for decent tomato returns. What you plant depends on your own tastes. A selection of three or four different types of tomatoes will stretch the harvest season. Determinate (bush) type tomatoes produce at a lower temperature. Some traditional favorites are Early Girl, Sunstart and Early Pick. Look for the words “early” and “determinate.”
Indeterminate (vine) varieties grow bigger plants that continue to spread up and out. Larger tomatoes such as the Beefsteak varieties take longer to produce, and the heirloom varieties take the longest. Plum, Cherry and Sweet 100 tomatoes produce before the bigger Beefsteaks and heirlooms.
So, what to plant? Put in eight to 10 tomato plants. Spread out the variety choices between early varieties, plum or Roma mid-season types, and the biggies like Beefsteak and heirlooms. Everyone has their own favorites. For instance, some people rave over the colorful heirlooms and others hate them.
One thing that is true for all tomatoes: They need rich, composted soil with good drainage in the sunniest spot in the garden. Keep an eye out for snails and slugs, which are always with us. Handpick or bait as needed.
A Reader Wants to Know: Can you recommend a source for tomato seeds? I am particularly interested in heirloom tomatoes. I know there are a lot of seed sources on the Internet. I want to start them in March. – Patricia
Joan Says: Go down to your local garden center and check out the seeds from Renee’s Garden, the Felton-based seed company. Renee’s Garden lists 10 different seed varieties, and a number of them are heirloom types. If you are experimenting with heirlooms, buy a packet of Summer Feast seeds – it is a Renee exclusive with three kinds of heirlooms – Black Krim, Sweet Persimmon and Italian Costoluto. You will also be able to find seed starts of heirlooms in another few weeks.
A Reader Wants to Know: You once mentioned a place on the Peninsula where seeds are sold by the spoonful. I love the idea of buying seed this way. I saved that newspaper but can’t find it now.
Joan Says: The source is Common Ground Organic Supply Store, 559 College Ave. (off El Camino Real), Palo Alto, (650) 493-6072. The website is www.commongroundinpaloalto.org.
