Get Ready To Grow Tomatoes

It's true that nothing tastes as good as a juicy red, vine ripened tomato picked fresh from the garden. That's why tomatoes are the most popular home garden vegetable, and well worth the effort involved in growing.

Tomatoes are easy to grow in the desert if you get them off to an early start. It's best to order your tomato plants and grow them from seed, for planting in March. Ordering from seed catalogs also allows you to select the most tasty and best adapted varieties for our hot, desert climate. Three of the most consistent performers are "Celebrity", "Big Beef", and "Patio". They are All American Selections award winners, denoting the best garden varieties for North America. The red, white, and blue All-American Shield on seed packets denotes winning varieties.

Celebrity is a medium-sized tomato with good flavor and resistance to cracking. Big Beef is a meaty, medium to large fruited, and arguably the best "beefsteak" tomato for the home garden. Patio has medium, dark red fruits and grows well in containers. All are quick growing; producing tomatoes in around 70 days.

Tomato varieties grown in Tucson should be 70 day or shorter varieties to get the earliest crop of spring tomatoes possible before the heat sets in. Other proven local performers include; Burpee's Heatwave II, Sunmaster, Lemon Boy, Scarlett Express, Enchantment, Roma (paste type), and Gardener's Delight (cherry type).

Many large seed catalog companies now have web addresses that can provide information on varieties and accept seed orders for quick turnaround. You can access these through a web search for "garden seed catalogs" or some derivation thereof. MySeasons.com provides access to several seed companies including; Gurney's, Henry Field's, and Spring Hill. Some other select addresses include; Park's Seed at parkseed.com, Johnny's Selected Seeds at johnnyseeds.com, Burpee Seeds at burpee.com, and Shepherd's Seeds at shepherdseeds.com.

If computers are not your thing, and you need a list of addresses of garden seed catalogs, you can obtain a free listing by sending a self-addressed stamped envelop to: Garden Seeds, 4210 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, 85719.

Getting tomato plants out early means planting them in your Tucson garden in mid-March. Since it usually takes 4 to 5 weeks to grow sturdy 4 to 5 inch tomato plants from seed, have your seed ready to sow by mid-February. That means ordering seeds soon!

To grow your plants from seed, you'll need a location indoors that offers lots of light, and warm temperatures. A south facing window is ideal. Next best is a west facing window.

You can also provide seedlings the light they need artificially. A utility or shop light with florescent tubes works well. These can be purchases at hardware and home supply stores. Purchase the florescent tubes separately. You'll want one warm-white florescent tube, and one cool-white florescent tube. In combination, they will provide the best light for plant growth.

Utility or shop light fixtures come with adjustable chains, ideal for growing plants. The light should be maintained just a few inches above the seedlings. As they grow, the light can be moved upward to maintain the proper distance from the seedlings. Positioning the light too far away will not provide the light intensity needed to grow healthy, compact plants.

Your tomato seeds can be started in just about any container that will drain, and hold soil. Plastic trays, pots and "cell-paks" can be used and reused to grow seedlings. Peat pots, and Jiffy 7 peat pellets can also be purchased at garden centers and are excellent for starting seeds. Items around the home such as egg cartons, the bottom of milk cartons, and microwave food trays can also be used. Just be sure to poke holes in the bottom for drainage.

Fill you containers with a high-quality potting soil. Seed starting mixes can also be purchased. Water the potting soil until water comes out the drainage holes. Next, make small holes in the soil to plant your tomato seeds. Make the holes one-quarter inch deep, using a sharp pencil. Space planting holes 2 to 3 inches apart in trays. If your using small individual pots, make just one hole in the center. Plant 2 tomato seeds per hole, and cover lightly with soil. Keep the seeded containers in a warm location, and keep the soil moist.

The seeds will germinate in 7 to 10 days. As the seedlings grow, pinch out the weaker plant of each pair. Keep watering, and provide plenty of light. When the seedlings are about 2 inches tall, fertilize them with a water soluble house plant fertilizer. The seedlings will be ready to plant out in the garden in 6 to 8 weeks after germination.

In future columns I will discuss preparation of the spring garden bed, for the planting of plants and the sowing of direct-seeded vegetable varieties.