Seeds of Success

Sew your seeds indoors to achieve summer tomato victories

By Bev Bennett
CTW Features

Image courtesy Stock.XCHNG

Growing vegetables during the summer can save you surprising sums when you compare the cost of seeds to supermarket produce. In fact, if you spend $50 on seeds and fertilizer you may end up dining on at least $1,250 worth of vegetables, says a spokesman for Burpee, the Warminster, Pa.-based seed company. And your biggest bargain starts with tomato seeds.

"There's an incredible price spread [between home-grown and store-bought tomatoes], says George Ball, chairman of Burpee. Ball estimates the price ratio of 1 to 200. For every penny you spend on tomato seeds, you'd have to spend $2 to get the same yield of store-bought tomatoes.

However, to get a healthy crop of tomatoes from seed you'll have to start the germination process indoors, say the experts. You'll need tomato seeds, soil, containers, a sunny spot or fluorescent lighting and a heat mat, says Barbara Ellis, a gardener and garden writer.

For example, use yogurt cups with holes in the bottom for starting seeds (or purchase peat pots from a garden center) and set the cups in rimmed baking sheets to catch the run-off after watering.

It's more important to have the same size cups than a particular material so all the plants can be watered on the same schedule, Ellis says. Purchase soil labeled as seed-starting mix available in most garden centers. You can also use potting soil, Ellis says. Avoid a soil mix with fertilizer, which encourages more growth than your plant needs in the beginning.

Bright sunlight for a good portion of the day is essential to prevent tomatoes from becoming weak, spindly plants.

"You want really sturdy, stocky plants," says Ellis, author of "The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book" (Storey Publishing, 2008). As an alternative to natural light, suspend fluorescent lighting from chains to hang no more than two to four inches above the seedlings. Raise the lighting as the plants grow. Tomato plants like their tops cool and their soil warm, says Ellis, who recommends setting the plants on a heat mat.

Water the plants regularly and in six to eight weeks you should be able to transplant the tomatoes outdoors, provided your area has passed the last frost, usually by mid-May, according to Ball. If you can't start seeds indoors, you still have the option of growing tomatoes from plants you buy. You also have the advantage of being able to buy several tomato varieties, not just what's in the seed packet, Ellis says.

Peppers and eggplant, like tomatoes, should be started from seed indoors and transplanted to your garden, according to Ball. Most vegetables, including lettuce, green beans and peas, can be directly seeded in the ground.

Bev Bennett, a veteran food writer and editor, is the author of "Dinner for Two: A Cookbook for Couples" and "30-Minute Meals for Dummies"

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