Product Bio

Growing tomatoes from seed isn't hard, but there are a few things to be aware of. Tomato seeds are almost always started indoors – whether in a greenhouse or a sunny window ledge – and then transplanted to beds once they have at least a few leaves and an established root system. Starting seeds indoors is optional with many vegetables, but tomato seeds need a constant soil temperature of at least 60 degrees, and preferably 80 degrees, to germinate. In temperate climates, it may be midsummer before the soil gets that warm, and by then it’s too late for tomatoes to grow and mature before the end of the growing season.

Tomato seeds are typically started “six to eight weeks before the average date of last frost,” as the seed packets so ubiquitously state. Tomatoes originate deep in the tropics; temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit are their death knell. And because they take three months or so to produce ripe fruit, most gardeners want to get the process started early.

The three most important steps are:

- Fill the pots with potting mix to within a 1/2-inch of the top and place a pair of seeds on top of the soil in each one near the center of the pot (having two is good insurance in case one doesn’t sprout. Pinch off the smaller, weaker of the two if they both sprout).

- Cover them with a ¼-inch layer of soil mix and the compress the soil with your fingers. Good seed-to-soil contact is important for germination.

- Sprinkle water on the seeds whenever the top of the soil mix appears dry. Don’t keep the soil soggy, however – the seeds may rot.