Are you ready to start a garden and take it to the next level? In this step by step guide, you will learn how to grow tomatoes from seeds the easy way!
Growing tomatoes from seed is not super hard, but it does take some know-how. There are a few things to consider when you start your seeds such as when to start them, where to grow them until it is transplanting time and more!
We will go over the best tomato starting equipment and take you all the way from planting day to transplanting day!
This post is all about how to grow tomatoes from seeds.
The first step to growing tomatoes from seed
Before you start your tomato seeds, you will want to know a few things.
- Why are you growing tomatoes? Are you looking to add a few fresh tomatoes to your caprese salad? Do you want a few cherry tomatoes for snacking? Are you looking to make your own ketchup or hot sauce or salsa? It is important to know what you are hoping to achieve so you grow the right amount.
- How much space do you have? If you have a huge property with lots of garden space, you can plan for unlimited produce. If you are in an apartment complex and have space for a few pots on your balcony, things will look different (not bad!) for you.
- Determine how much space you have indoors for your seed starting setup. If you are not careful, seeds can take over your house- which is not necessarily a bad thing lol (I have been there!)
I have put together a garden planning printable so you can keep track of your seed starts, dates they need to go into the ground, and how many you want to grow. I will admit I am not always the most organized person, but this garden planner printable has saved me a lot of chaos lol
Once you know how many tomatoes you need, it's time to decide which variety
There are 2 different varieties within the tomato world.
Indeterminate and determinate
Determinate varieties grow to a certain height and then stop, set all of their fruit at one time and generally require less maintenance.
An indeterminate will grow until the season is over and the frost kills them off- generally between 6 and 12 feet tall. This distinction is important to note if you have limited space as an indeterminate variety will require much more trellising. The indeterminate also fruits multiple times throughout the growing season so you can process your tomatoes in batches. You will also need to prune them more often.
There are pros and cons to each variety but generally I choose indeterminate so I can process the tomatoes in batches and it is less overwhelming.
It's shopping time!
Most people won’t require more than 1 seed package for tomatoes but it is always fun to choose 1 tomato variety for your purposes and also a new variety! As tempting as it can be, start small with 1 or 2 varieties (that have been chosen based on your goals) and go from there!
Another resource that can be highly under rated is your local library! My public library does a seed swap each year and also has a seed library where you can borrow seeds, grow them and bring the seeds back to share with someone else. This is usually free with a library card and a great option if you are on a budget!
Finally! We are at the planting stage!
Let's start with the soil
There is alot of chatter in the gardening world about the best seed starting mix. People will talk about how to make your own out of compost and peat moss and a variety of other materials. While these are probably superior in some ways, I am a fan of keeping it simple.
When you are a beginner at anything, there is already so much that you don’t know and it feels overwhelming to learn it all at once. For this reason, I recommend starting your seeds with seed starting mix that you can buy at the store. Here is a link to the highest rated one on amazon. This is also the mix I use and have always had great results.
How to prepare your soil for planting
There are a few important steps when planting seeds using any soil mix.
- Soil mixes can have insect eggs waiting to hatch in warm moist environments. The way to prevent this is by pouring boiling hot water over your soil (I do this in a seed starting tray) and then let it air dry. If you do this the night before you want to start your seeds, you should be good to go.
- You want to lightly dampen your soil. You do not want it to be dripping wet, but not bone dry either. Add some water and mix it around until it is just right.
- Add the soil into your seed starting cells and gently press down. This is not the time for squishing but a light pat is great. For tomatoes, you will want to go with larger cells such as these 24 cell trays. This way, you will not need to pot up which can be a bit of a hassle.
It is time to plant the tomato seeds!
In general, it is best to plant 2-3 seeds per cell to make sure you get a good germination rate. If your seeds are older than 1 year, I would try 3-4 seeds per cell to make sure each cell had at least one seedling germinate.
After the seeds are in, cover them with a little more damp soil. Tomato seeds do not need light to germinate but putting them in a warm spot will help (like the top of the fridge.) You can also use a seed heating mat but I have never found these to be necessary.
Your seeds have sprouted! Yay!
When your seeds have sprouted, it is time to place them under the grow lights! If you want healthy seedlings, grow lights are a non negotiable. These are the ones I have and I love them because the chain allows you to raise and lower them depending where your seedlings are in their journey.
When the seeds are tiny, you will need to lower the light so it is 1 or 2 inches away from your seeds. If you have them too high, your seeds will become leggy (tall and skinny) and won’t be very strong.
If you have multiple sprouts, you will need to do the unthinkable and trim the weak seedlings (keeping only the strongest one.) This will ensure it gets big and strong with all the resources it needs to thrive.
From the beginning, it is also important to make sure they have some air flow that gently blows them around so they get used to the wind and can be strong enough for outside when the time comes. You can easily do this with a fan for a few hours a day.
It is time to harden them off
Hardening plants off means that you slowly get them used to being outside for longer periods of time until they can stay outside all day. We do this so the transplant shock and weather doesn’t kill them.
Hardening off plants is simple, especially with the cart that I have in the picture as it has wheels! Starting around 2 weeks from when you want the plants in the ground, you will want the bring them outside. The first day, the plants stay out for 1 hour. The next they stay out for 2, then 3, then 4 and so on until the are consistently outside all day and brought in overnight.
It goes without saying, if there is hail, or excessively strong winds, keep your plants inside that day. You don’t want them to die!
Now the tomato plants can get planted outside!
Tomatoes are a fun vegetable as their stems can grow roots if you plant them. This means, if you plant your tomatoes too early (like maybe I did…) You can lay them horizontal in a trench you dig for them. Make sure you remove all the bottom leaves if you do this.
Tomatoes like to be planted deep! When you plant them, you can add some finely ground egg shells for an extra calcium boost! (I dry out my egg shells and then blitz them well in my vitamix blender.) Sprinkle some in the hole you dug, add some water and then your tomato plant is ready to be planted.
Ensure you have a plan for trellising if you have an indeterminate variety (I tried string training and didn’t love it so I will be investing in an arch trellis this year.)
There you have it!
I hope you enjoyed this tomato seed starting guide and you have healthy and strong tomatoes.
Stay tuned for more garden content coming soon!
This post was all about how to grow tomatoes from seeds.
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