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Starting with tomatoes
stott.cwsRckvJsC
Posts: 1
in Fruit & veg
Hi everyone,
I have essentially 0 experience growing anything at all but would love to get started growing some bits of food for my family as something to do with my little girl.
I'm hoping to start simple with some tomatoes, but from what I can read online it seems like I'm a month or two late on getting the seeds sown!
If I got some in a propagator now would I still have some success or have I missed the boat?
Like I say, complete newbie starting from scratch so apologies if this is just a daft question.
I have essentially 0 experience growing anything at all but would love to get started growing some bits of food for my family as something to do with my little girl.
I'm hoping to start simple with some tomatoes, but from what I can read online it seems like I'm a month or two late on getting the seeds sown!
If I got some in a propagator now would I still have some success or have I missed the boat?
Like I say, complete newbie starting from scratch so apologies if this is just a daft question.
0
Posts
Sow some seed indoors in small pots. About 3 to a pot - any multi purpose compost. Stick them on a window with good light and they'll germinate and grow quickly. No need for any extra heat
If all germinate, remove one so that you have two to grow on. Once they're filling the pots [you'll see roots starting to poke through the bottom] you can pot on separately into bigger pots, putting them slightly deeper [up to the seed leaves] to help with rooting. By the time they're filling those it'll be fine to put them outside if you're in a warm enough part of the country. They will probably need putting into a decent size of pot at that stage - about 12 inches in diameter, and give them good supports. Generally speaking, you remove the little side shoots which appear in the leaf axils, if growing as a cordon. If you know which variety you have, you'll get advice on what to do. Feeding starts once the first truss of fruit starts to set - but that's further down the road.
If you're in a colder area , they're best kept inside, so you may need a shelter of some kind for them, or will need to incest in a small greenhouse of some kind.
You can always come back for extra advice as you go along - always plenty of tomato growers here.
Should have said - lettuce is easy from seed too, and grows quickly, so you might want to try that too. Seed is easy to come by - supermarkets all sell it, and you get quick results which is always good with children.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
When growing from seeds, what are the pros/cons on seeds you buy in a package in the shop, or just seeds you extract there and then from a supermarket tomato. Or maybe stored seeds from my own tomatoes of last year...
But tomatoes are the most exciting of course
If you buy a packet of seed from a reputable outlet, they're pretty inexpensive, and keep for many years
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
If you are feeling like you are a little on the late side of things though you can pick up seedlings in cells/little pots from nurseries or garden centers that will be at the stage a lot of people are now. That's what I did with some things.
That said, growing from seed and seeing those little things poke through for the first time make me giddy with excitement. I even talk to them, sad as it may be haha!
Strawberries are a good pick for little ones and pretty hardy. I got some from my garden centre already potted and they have lived up to the all that the weather has thrown at them. I put them in a crate style vertical planter but people use washing baskets, hanging baskets, wooden pallets and all sorts.