Seeds and seeding

It is that time of the year when we start thinking about starting plants from seed. The Master Gardeners are talking about it on their listserv and I know that a number of people have mentioned the topic to me. As you know, Seedy Saturday events are usually scheduled for February.

I don't start a lot of plants from seed but I do some. My favourites to start are tomatoes.

A few years ago, a fellow Master Gardener told us that she started her tomatoes in Milk bags. She would take one of the one liter bags and cut the top off. Then she would roll down the rim (unlike Tim's rims that are rolled up) in 1 inch increments until the bag was now about 1.5 inches tall. The bottom is then cut with 3 to 4 slits so that the water will drain but the soil will not escape. The bag is then filled with soil. Into this container, you plant 3 of your favourite tomato seeds. You can put the bags under lights or in a sunny window.

Once the second set of leaves have sprouted, remove the two weakest looking plants and center the remaining one in the bag. As the tomato begins to stretch out, remove the lower leaves, roll up the rim one turn and add soil. Keep doing this until the bag is fully extended and you will have a very healthy plant with a great root ball. You know that when it comes time to plant your tomato outside you will have to harden off your tomato so I won't go into that here.

We have followed this procedure in Horticultural Therapy programs that we participate in and have grown some really interesting heritage tomatoes that have peaked the interest of residents and staff alike. Real hits include some of the black varieties (Black Plum tomato), the red and green zebra varieties and some of the smaller tomatoes like the Yellow Teardrop.

Plants should be started about 7 to 8 weeks before the last frost. We usually start ours around the middle to the end of March.