3 Tips for Growing Great Tomatoes from Seeds

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There is nothing more popular to grow in the home vegetable gardening world then tomatoes. By more than 3 to 1 it outshines it’s next counterpart (peppers or cucumbers, depending on which poll you read). Who can argue? Tomatoes taste great, have many uses, and there are so many varieties to choose from, that there is sure to be one kind for everybody.

Like many of you, I enjoy growing tomatoes and especially starting them from seed. While I won’t say it is overly difficult to grow tomatoes from seed, there are some things you can do to increase your chances of success. I put together a short list you can follow.

Start Indoors
As with many other other vegetable seeds, tomatoes are no different. Start them indoors. I had one friend who started his tomato seeds in February here in NJ. While that was way too far in advance, even he admits it as he lost all of his window sills for quite sometime, starting them indoors and being able to move fairly grown plants outdoors will get you to a tomato crop much faster. If you have a short growing season, starting them even earlier indoors isn’t a bad thing though.

Acclimation
More commonly known in the vegetable gardening world as “hardening off”, you will want to acclimate your tomato plants to the outdoors gradually so as to not shock them. As temperatures warm up out doors during the day, take your plants outside for a few hours at a time before you transplant them to their final destination. When the night time rolls around, bring them indoors. It may see like a lot of work, but it’s really not. It will become part of your daily routine for a couple of weeks.

Sun, Sun and more Sun
While many varieties of tomatoes will grow in partial shade, one thing is for sure, they love the sun. The more sun they get, the better off they will be. If you are limited with space available where full sun is possible, don’t be afraid to put some tomato plants in large pots and move them around.

What are some of your tips for starting tomatoes from seed? Be sure to post them in the comment section below and share with others.

About the Author
Mike Podlesny is the author of Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A Guide to Vegetable Gardening for the rest of us, the moderator for the largest vegetable gardening page on Facebook and creator of the monthly Seeds Club.

Watch the video below to learn more about Mike`s Seeds of the Month Club: