First seeds started for 2018: The earliest bird gets the earliest tomato
I couldn't wait to get a head start on the growing season. Now that the sun is staying around a bit longer there's enough light to support growth.
Last year I grew peppers very successfully in 5 gallon grow bags, so I figured I'd start them early and possibly be picking my first pepper in May or June, when I usually first plant them out in the garden.
I had a bit of trouble with Tomatoes in the bags, as I planted indeterminates. So I'm testing out an early heirloom determinate that's more compact and should do better for container growing.
This compact plant becomes loaded with long trusses of perfectly round, smooth beautiful clear pink tomatoes. The flavor is very good, sweet yet tangy, making this a wonderful addition to an early harvest. Heirloom variety of Russian origin. Determinate. 58 days.
The other three bags are planted with leaf lettuce and spinach from saved seeds.
And no, my soil microbes aren't drunks! I'm using those wine bottles to keep the soil moist. We'll see how they work out, but watering these indoors can get messy since the bags are porous and can leak out the sides. Keeping them consistently moist without heavy watering from a can should solve this problem. It's worth a try, we'll see ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Great use for an old wine bottle. Much more sustainable than using LED grow lights!
Having a large south facing window allows me to start a ton of seeds without any grow lights. I have to plan it a bit strategically to rotate it all, but it works out. Thanks for the follow and upvote!
i have never seen that tomato growers site before - AWESOME! thanks for linking over to it.
that number of days is based on the time from transplant, right?
No problem! Yeah the days are based from transplant time for tomatoes and peppers. But in general, if you never transplant you'll have tomatoes a lot faster. Transplanting usually sets them back 2-4 weeks, maybe more.
true - i learned about transplant "shock" with cucumbers and summer squash. just put the seeds in the ground and let 'em go!
Man those tiny seeds are always sprouting everywhere I put some of our worm castings, as the seeds just wait to explode after sitting in all that magic potion for some weeks...
Are you using this setup in your greenhouse for some extra heat, or is this in your kitchen?
This is the south facing window in my living/dining room.
My husband just found a ton of old bottles during a job site dig. Now I think I know what I'm going to do with them!!
Nice! They are working pretty well for me. They do let out a bit more water than those expensive glass ball waterers. So there is a slight danger of over watering if constantly refilling. Still, much better than watering with a can in my opinion.
I'll keep a good eye on the moisture in the soil. Thanks for the tip!
I'm trying to keep myself from sowing - so far I'm not very successful, I must admit. Here in Belgium, tomatoes need to stay indoors until May. If I sow now, my entire groundfloor will be filled with tomato- and other plants by that time.
Although I did find a solution: I'm already growing 'Red Robin' tomatoes - it's a real miniature tomato plant, so those won't take up too much space :-)
Good luck with the growing - I'll be following your adventures
Yeah, that’s why I’m only starting one Tomato and Pepper. They go out around the end of May here too. I’m checking out those Red Robin’ Tomatoes now. Good luck with your growing as well!
Thanks