Topic: Tomatoes - don't fall for it!

[tim]

You might be excused for believing the advice given here to get started.

It's only later that you realise you need heat to maintain at least 50F - for quite a long time!!

[ruud]

I never ever had problems with sowing them inside,but it is true that they need a lot of heat and they cant stand cold,and yes you have to turn the tray every day.I have already nice tomatoes on the windowsill.They got there first real leaves and i have to put them in pots.On nice days when its warm enough,i suspect not before end of march,i put them outside in the shelter of the house.Every night the go into the greenhouse,till they are hardend enough to stay outside on the field.but then it is already may.

[growmore]

Its quite a while before we can put tomatoes out into a cold green house.Maybe we have still a lot of frost to come .This will catch them in a cold greenhouse without heat on .Maybe we stand to lose more than we gain by getting plants ready too early I am just listening to weather forcast on gardeners question time and they say we getting some minus 7to10's this next  week ..Jim...

[Lily]

I planted tomato seeds under glass in the cold greenhouse about 2 weeks ago, there is no sign of life.  Have I killed them off, or can I bring them into the house to start germination.  :'(

Lily

[Mimi]

Lily, bring them into the house and give it a go.  They should be alright. ;) 

[Lily]

Thanks Mimi, It's my first try at growing my own tomatoes, I do have a friend who is growing 2 plants for me in case I don't succeed.

Lily

[ina]

My tomato seeds go in a propagator with the vents closed on the windowsill.
The propagator is sitting on one of those heating pads people use when they have a sore back, on the lowest setting. This keeps the heat between 18 C (when the room is cold at night) and 25 C (in the daytime).
 
Because we don't get a lot of light, late afternoon I put a halogen reading lamp about 10 cm above the lid of the propagator. This keeps the temp. up so I turn the heating pad off and at bed time, the lamp goes off and the heatingpad back on.

When I turn the light on, the seedlings are bend towards the window and whithin half an hour they are standing straight up towards the light above so it seems the reading lamp does do something for them.

Germination starts around 6 days.

[tim]

Effect? Yes - because you have the light close.

Our 10,000 lumen special thingy goes about 5 cm above the growing tips.

[ina]

Tim, what kind of light thingy have you got? I'm looking for something small enough to put over a few propagators on a table.