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Growing your own tomatoes: sowing

24.4.2020

Translation: machine translated

Until now, I was more of a seedling person. Now I'm growing my first plants from seed and hope that they will soon turn into delicious fruit. But first my seeds have to germinate.

I love tomatoes. Whether yellow, red or green. Juicy or firm, big or small. But I like the panicles even more than the fruit. They smell of holidays, of light-heartedness. I often rub my hands on them to transfer some of that feeling to myself.

My love goes so far that I want to grow tomatoes myself. But it wasn't emotions alone, but also reason that led to this decision. After all, many commercially available varieties are highly bred monocultures that are harmful to biodiversity and often taste watery.

I reap what I sow

That's why I picked two old varieties: the red, deeply furrowed traveller tomato and the yellow, plum-shaped GDR tomato Ildi. To start the project, I also need: growing containers, growing soil and a water sprayer. The special containers are made entirely of biodegradable material and can then be repotted directly at a later stage. Potting compost is important as it contains fewer nutrients than normal potting compost. This is important in the sensitive initial phase, as the seedlings can otherwise burn.

I fill the seedling containers three finger widths with soil without pressing it down. The seedlings should be able to develop easily later. Then I sprinkle the soil with water. I use a bottle of empty bath cleaner for this. Of course, you can also water carefully with a spoon. The only important thing is that the soil is moist throughout the germination phase, but that it never becomes waterlogged. Otherwise the seeds will go mouldy. Using a biro - or delicate fingers - I make a hole just under a centimetre deep and put one or two seeds in it: the travel tomato at the top and the Ildi at the bottom. I then add a little soil on top and moisten them again.

Intensive maintenance

I now keep the seeds like the apple of my eye on the windowsill for ten days. They need to germinate at a temperature between 20 and 28 degrees. They must remain moist at all times. I water the seeds several times a day and place them under a cover. I use a plastic box for this, but you can also buy a small greenhouse or try it without one.

If everything goes according to plan and the seeds actually germinate, the next step is pricking out. As soon as three cotyledons are visible, I will transplant the seedlings. Until then, feel free to provide me with tips and tricks. <p

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Carolin Teufelberger

Editor

carolin.teufelberger@digitecgalaxus.ch

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