Sowing tomato seeds is easier than you think. Find out here all the important steps to make it work behind glass. So the project is under a lucky star right from the start.

This pre-treatment improves the germination mood of tomato seeds

The 2-3 millimeter small tomato seeds with their velvety, slightly hairy shell indicate a natural germination inhibition. Before you sow the seeds, it is advisable to stimulate germination.

  • Soak tomato seeds in lukewarm chamomile tea for 6 hours
  • alternatively place in 1:10 diluted garlic juice at room temperature

Of course, normal tap water is also suitable for the pre-treatment. The advantage of the solutions mentioned is the simultaneous prophylaxis against mold formation, which is probably the greatest danger in the context of sowing.

Early sowing behind glass - these steps are trumps

Regardless of whether you want to cultivate your favorite tomato varieties in a bed or in a bucket, cultivation behind glass is recommended. The best time to start sowing is late February/early March. Ideally, a light-flooded conservatory is available, a bright greenhouse or a spacious window sill.

  • Fill seed pots (16.68€) or a seed tray two-thirds full with commercially available seed soil, coconut fibre, perlite or peat sand
  • Sow tomato seeds individually, 3 centimeters apart
  • fill the seed pot with substrate so that the dark germs are covered by 0.5 centimeters
  • moisten the seed with water from the hand sprayer

An exemplary germination temperature ranges between 18 and 24 degrees Celsius. If you keep the growth medium permanently slightly moist, you can look forward to the first seedlings after 10 to 14 days. During this phase, create a warm, humid microclimate on the windowsill too, for example with the help of a heatable mini greenhouse. Alternatively, you can quickly stretch clear film over each culture vessel.

Compensate for poor lighting conditions

The lighting conditions are a key factor in the cultivation of tomatoes. Experience has shown that it is bright enough in the conservatory or greenhouse. On the windowsill, special plant lamps improve the light supply during cultivation. Otherwise the little plants stretch towards the sun, inevitably withering and tipping over. For this reason, we recommend sowing on the windowsill from mid-March at the earliest.

If you then place a mirror behind the seed pot, the light-hungry tomato seedlings should no longer go looking for light. Rather, they then assume the desired compact habitus.

All important steps up to planting out

If the general conditions are right, the first tender cotyledons appear after 2 weeks. Now the development is proceeding rapidly, while the warm and humid climate is still maintained. The ventilation flaps in the conservatory or greenhouse should be opened for a few minutes every day. In addition, the substrate and seedlings must not dry out under any circumstances. Once at least one more pair of leaves has developed above the cotyledons, the time is ripe for pricking out. Here's how to do it:

  • Pour compost-based vegetable soil into 9cm pots and moisten
  • lift the strongest seedlings out of the substrate using a pricking stick
  • shorten very long root strands with scissors to a length of 2 centimeters
  • Drill small planting holes with the pricking stick
  • Plant each tomato plant in the ground up to the base of the leaves
  • press the substrate and moisten with a fine shower

Water the tomato plants moderately but regularly. Fertilization is not yet done at this stage of growth. By mid-May, the tomatoes have reached a height of about 30 centimeters. Once the ice saints have said goodbye, plant out in the bed or in the tub.

Does direct sowing make sense?

In our latitudes, there is a tight time window for the outdoor cultivation of tomatoes every year. Direct sowing is possible from mid-May at the earliest. In order for the tomatoes to ripen by autumn, good to optimal weather conditions are required. Before you refrain from growing tomatoes yourself, it is at least worth a try if you take the following precautions.

Choose a sunny, sheltered location. A place in front of the south wall of the house is best suited, ideally under a canopy. Provide the heavy feeders with nutrient-rich, humus-rich, fresh soil. Protect the seeds with a foil tunnel.(11.46€) As a result, build a tomato roof as rain protection. Proceed as follows when sowing:

  • Thoroughly weed the bed soil and remove roots
  • Work garden compost, horn shavings (€32.93) or horn meal into the soil
  • draw a gutter and sow the tomato seeds in it
  • Sieve thinly with soil and moisten carefully
  • Pricking is done from the second true pair of leaves

tips and tricks

The mildly spicy tomato aroma unfolds even more intensively if garlic broth is used for the soaking from the start. To do this, leave two cloves of garlic in 10 liters of water for 12 hours. Every 14 days, this solution replaces the irrigation water for one pass.

Category:

Vegetable garden