It's Planting Time!

Today is tomato seed planting day, akin to opening day for some, maybe even Christmas for others.  For me, it couldn't arrive soon enough. The hint of warm temperatures here in Flagstaff over the past two weeks has me ready to get to planting (even as my logical self says, "perhaps you should wait a week"?).

Looking at last year's notes, I started my seeds one week later than today and made a notation that perhaps I should begin this year's seeds one week LATER. This means that I could be as much as two weeks earlier than I recommended to myself. I attended a garden club meeting a few weeks back where the speaker, an employee at Warner's Nursery, said she had already planted her seeds and puts her plants out as early as mid- to late April using wall-o-waters.

 The recommendation is to start seeds six weeks prior to the average date of the last frost. The average date at Flagstaff's Pulliam Airport, is June 7th, which means that the recommended date to start seeds is April 26. Using wall-o-waters allows you to transplant tomatoes outdoors a month earlier than April 26, which brings me to March 29. Today is March 23rd and I am going to plant today, 10-1/2 weeks prior to the average date of last frost. I am hopeful that our last frost is earlier than average. This is a risk a tomato gardener in Flagstaff is willing to take! In Flagstaff, you must choose tomato varieties that have a short average days to maturity - 59 to 65.

"Flagstaff" encompasses many microclimates. One neighborhood can have a 90 day growing season (days between average first and last frost) where others, like Baderville, can be 40.  In contrast, Chicago has a 201 day growing season!  This is what makes growing vegetables at 7,000 feet such a challenge. The average for Flagstaff is 106 days. If you live up against the warm rocks of Mt. Elden, you will have more days. You can lengthen your growing season days by planting against a warm wall of your house or on the south side of your home. 

Last year, my varieties were Sungold and Stupice. This year my choices are:

VARIETY   DAYS TO MATURITY
Black Krim          69          Heirloom, sweet, indeterminate
Sungold               67           Indeterminate, gold cherry, intensely sweet (my favorite)
Oregon Spring     58          Red, large size, good flavor, earliness
Ultimate Opener  57         Red, medium size, abundant, indeterminate


 All but the Sungold are new varieties for me this year. Didn't want to "put all my tomatoes in one basket". I have yet to grow a medium-size, red tomato with great flavor. Perhaps one of these will prove to be just that. I purchased the Black Krim, one package of Sungold, and Ultimate Opener on-line from Pinetree Seeds, the Oregon Spring came from Warner's Nursery here in Flagstaff, and am using up some Sungold Seeds from last year from Botanical Interest.

 Most Heirloom tomatoes need a long growing season, which we do not have. Black Krim has one of the shortest, and I chose to try this. Hopefully, it will combine the best of both worlds, a good heirloom and a short days to maturity.

Enough background, let's get to work!

This is my setup for seedlings. You don't need anything fancy -- crates and some plywood work just fine. We suspended one 4 ft fluorescent light fixture on one end of the shelf and use an Aerogarden we already owned on the other half of the shelf.  As the seedlings grow, the lights can be raised.  But we're not quite ready for this yet.

I purchased Jiffy's Tomato Greenhouse from Home Depot. It has 36 pods and uses larger pods that the coir pots that come with other grow kits. The larger size works better for tomatoes. I am only using 24 of the 36 pods. Just fill the tray with warm water and wait for the pods to expand, pour off any extra water and, voila! You're ready to place the seeds.

I decided to plant 2-3 seeds per pod, using 5 pods each for the Black Krim, Oregon Spring and Ultimate Opener, and 9 pods for the Sungolds (I LOVE sungolds). I love them so much that, until my plants begin producing, I will get up early on Sunday mornings to go to the local Farmer's Market and be one of the first people in line to buy these sweet morsels of tomato candy before they sell out. And there isn't much that will get me up on a Sunday morning.

Carefully place 2-3 seeds in each pod and cover with a little dirt.  After placing all the seeds, you put the plastic cover on and set the entire tray someplace warm, out of direct sunlight. Next to or on top of the refrigerator works just fine - just don't put it somewhere where you will forget it.

If the dirt in the pods turns light brown, you can add some more warm water to the tray. Keep watching for sprouts to appear!