1. In March or April, get a small plant pot or a paper cup with a hole in the bottom. (Of course, if you want more than one tomato plant, get more pots.)
2. Fill it to ½” from the top with potting soil.
3. Lay two seeds in the center. (Park Seed sells a wide range of highly rated, nationally adaptable varieties. Indeterminate varieties grow large and need be planted in the ground. Determinate varieties can grow in a large pot.)
4. Cover the seeds with a bit of soil.
5. Cover the pot’s top with plastic wrap.
6. Put the pot in the center of a plate.
7. Fill the plate’s basin with water. That way the soil gets watered without disturbing the seeds.
8. Put the plate in a warm spot in your house, but out of the sun.
9. Check the plate every day or two to be sure there’s at least some water in it.
10. In 5-12 days, at least one of the two seeds should germinate. If both do, snip out the scrawnier of the two with a scissor or your fingernails.
11. Prop up the plastic wrap with a plastic plant label or short pencil.
12. Move the plate into a sunny window. From now on, only put water in the plate when the top of the plant is dry. After a few days, move the plate outdoors--a place that gets a few hours per typical day of sun.
13. When your seedling has two or three sets of true leaves (the edges are lobed or serrated), it’s ready to be transplanted into its final home: a full-sun spot in your garden. To prepare the soil, dig out a 1-foot cube of soil, replace it while adding perhaps 25% potting soil or planting mix plus a handful of granular fertilizer—general purpose, tomato, or even lawn fertilizer will do. (As mentioned, determinate varieties of tomatoes can grow in a large pot.)
14. Plant the seeding deep: so that only the leaves are above ground. The rest of the stem will sprout roots, making for a stronger plant. Surround the plant with a tall tomato cage, such as this one available on Amazon.
15. Snails like tomato seedlings. So if your area gets snails, put a 1” wide circle of snail bait that’s one-foot away from the plant.
16. Keep the plant well-watered: when you put your finger 1” in the soil and it’s dry, it’s time to water.) Do water deeply, so the water reaches the roots. Of course, as the plant gets bigger, you’ll need to water more deeply.
17. The plant will grow quickly. When it reaches about 2-feet tall (about a month after planting in the garden), to get bigger tomatoes, prune away perhaps 1/3 to half-of the side shoots.
18. Keep the plant growing inside the tomato cage by tucking stems into the cage.
19. When the fruit are just starting to turn from green to yellow, cut back the water by 1/3, that is, water, only when your finger has to go down 3” to reach dryness.
20. Harvest when reasonably red if you prefer some tartness or fully red in you want to prioritize sweetness. With yellow or orange varieties such as Orange Paruche, Sun Sugar, Northern Lights or Brazilian Beauty harvest when they’re yellow or orange.
21. This should yield you wonderfully delicious tomatoes, and if you grew at least a few plants, plenty to give to friends and neighbors.
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