Total tom novice needs advice please!!

YorkiePud_3

Hi folks!

Well, inspired by your good selves, and with a money saving cost of just £1 for a mini plastic propagator thingy and 30+ MoneyMaker tomato seeds from Morrisons (gotta be MSE!), I took the plunge, planted the seeds and stuck em up on a very high shelf in my bedroom.

It said warmth was more important than light at this stage and germination could take up to 3 weeks.

Okidoki, so I have been checking and nothing so far .. checked today and wow!! Seedlings almost touching the top of the propagator with more just coming up through the soil!!!!! YAY!!!! They're still alive!! Ha ha!

But, it said on the packet they should go on the window ledge now as light is a premium ... and they are actually all turned one way too. Now my dilemma ... I have just shoved em on the window ledge but it doesn't say in the details if I should remove the lid now and leave them that way.
As I say, they are almost touching the top of the propagator lid now so I suppose I should? Or should I do it gradually? Taking it off for a short time each day?

Probably sound totally stupid questions, but I have never tried going from seed before (have only been given plants before!) so any advice you can give is very very much appreciated!!

My window ledge is a south facing so gets the sun all day ... I can keep my door shut too so it stays a constant temperature.

Thanks for reading and having patience with me!!

TTFN!

wallbash

30 + seeds now 30+ plants ... hope you REALLY like tomatoes !

YorkiePud_3

*LOL* I know! There were only supposed to be 25 in the packet but I stopped trying to count when I got to 35!! Well, there's myself and the parrot to eat em, so between us we should be totally sick of the sight of em!!

Errrr ... I hadn't thought about that many plants ... !!! Hmmm ... that's if I don't manage to kill em all!!

enrich100

take the lid off, its done its job then phone heinz and tell them you can make a large tomato delivery in August, remember to keep turning the plants round as they will grow towards the sun, if you are planting them out later in the year you will need to gradually aclimatize the plants to the outdoor temperature

stevie_boy

You will need to "harden them off" (gently getting them used to the cooler weather) if you can, take out side for a few hours when we get a bit of sun.

At first they grow a pair of leaves, then 2 below that etc, if that is happening you are doing ok, if just 2 leaves and spindly they are desperately seeking light, if this is the case you will need to "pot on" you will course have to do this eventually anyway.

Get a single pot per plant and fill with compost, poke a pencil into the dry compost to make a hole, "pr*ck out" (gently tease) a single seedling and plant into pot ensuring compost is high up to neck of plant, then water also as mentioned before, ensure you turn them round daily as they will keep pointing towards the light.

Aldi are doing their cloche's again this week which are useful to give plants a head start if you have the space.

Oh and pray we don't get the rains we did last year as most of us lost every single tomato plant to blight.

Growing from seed to plate is very very satisfying, best of luck

PS save yoghurt cartons, mushroom cartons etc etc as plant pots, just drill or poke holes for drainage.

YorkiePud_3

Thank you SO much for your advice!!
It all seemed like a great idea at first and then it hit me how little I knew!! Ha ha!!!

Right, I took the lid off last night and bunged em on my window ledge and am happy to say all 33 of em (just counted!) are still standing up straight!
I was laying in bed last night thinking I probably should have left em till this morning to transfer them, thinking the shock may have done for them but whew, they are all ok!

So when do you start putting them outside then?
I thought it was only when they were big strapping foot tall things?!!

I bought some (I think there are 40) mini plant pots standing in their own tray (think they are 3 inches) from Morrisons and a mini cold frame thing (couldn't afford a proper plastic greenhouse and this was only £8.99) so could you say at what size you would start putting them outside for a bit?

Also (I know, I'm a pain!! But I'll think of you if ever I get to eat any of these, I promise!!), can you tell me do the seedlings need light watering or a soaking? And how best to water them, given that they look like they could snap if I breath on em!! Also, which compost do you guys (and gals!!) use? Cheapo supermarket or some special stuff? Am probably getting way ahead of myself but if I have it all written down then I know what I'm supposed to be doing!

Thank you!!

Am laughing about phoning Heinz ... hmmm, wonder if I could make my own tomato ketchup?! Would save myself a fortune cos I bung it on everything I eat! Ha ha!

Oldangrumpy

Well done to get where you have with the tomatoes. Remember for the future that the whole packet of seeds doesn't need to be sown at once. I usually do about 6 of each type of toms. I want.
The window sill is fine during the day but be careful of the drop in temperature over night. !!!!! the seedlings out by holding the seed leaves only, not the stem or you will damage it. Dibble a hole in any multipurpose compost with a pencil or similar to drop the seeding into. Water the compost not the seedlings. Grow the little plants on indoors, depending on where you live, until late April, early May, potting them on into bigger pots as they grow, wait until you can see roots around the edge of the compost when you gently tip one out, before doing this.
I'm still using up frozen slices in cooking, from last years Legend and Ferline, both blight resistant, lovely!:)

Good luck

Kazipoo

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ketchup/Detail.aspx

We are growing several different varieties of tomato this year, as I plan to make my own tomato based sauces and freeze them. Have fun, we have only been growing our own for 3 years, but we are addicted....oh and you will get lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of tomatoes with that many plants lol.

YorkiePud_3

Oldangrumpy wrote: »

Well done to get where you have with the tomatoes. Remember for the future that the whole packet of seeds doesn't need to be sown at once. I usually do about 6 of each type of toms. I want.
The window sill is fine during the day but be careful of the drop in temperature over night. !!!!! the seedlings out by holding the seed leaves only, not the stem or you will damage it. Dibble a hole in any multipurpose compost with a pencil or similar to drop the seeding into. Water the compost not the seedlings. Grow the little plants on indoors, depending on where you live, until late April, early May, potting them on into bigger pots as they grow, wait until you can see roots around the edge of the compost when you gently tip one out, before doing this.
I'm still using up frozen slices in cooking, from last years Legend and Ferline, both blight resistant, lovely!:)

Good luck

*LOL* I definitely will do!!
I have just had to pr♥ck out 35 seedlings into little 3 inch pots! I have had to turn them round 4 times already today and they looked to be getting a bit straggly and tall so it seemed the right thing to do. There's still one seedling in the original tray but that was so tiny I thought it best to leave it there. The way they seem to be growing it may be ok to put into a pot tomorrow!
I've stuck them back on my window ledge but have cleared a space on my shelving unit to stick them on there overnight ... I never thought about it getting cold at night on the window sill, so thanks for that!

I also would never have thought about just handling them by their leaves! I'm not good at close work and have no patience, but I levered them up gently with the end of a spoon handle and held them by their leaves and they came up easily and I haven't butchered any of them! Ta dahhh!!

Hey, I'm getting to enjoy this!

YorkiePud_3

Kazipoo wrote: »

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ketchup/Detail.aspx

We are growing several different varieties of tomato this year, as I plan to make my own tomato based sauces and freeze them. Have fun, we have only been growing our own for 3 years, but we are addicted....oh and you will get lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of tomatoes with that many plants lol.

Several different varieties? Oh Lord, where'd you put em all?! Ha ha ha! Thanks for the address, I have saved it to favourites incase I get a tomato glut!! It would be wonderful if they all took and grew! I'm nowt if not optimistic!
:rotfl:

Megansmum

Well done for getting them all going! If you don't want to keep them all yourself you could alwas sell the extra ones on ebay or at a car boot sale etc. People pay for tom plants all the time - some are scared of starting them off themselves from seed.