Growing tomato plants can be done indoors or out. One of the advantages to growing tomatoes indoors is that you can start planting long before the last frost. This will give you tomatoes much earlier. All you need to grow these plants inside are a few pots, soil, and sunshine.
Instructions
1. Prepare your pots. Make sure they are clean and ready to be used. If you have used the pots before for other plants, soak them in a 1 part bleach and 9 parts water solution for 10 minutes and rinse.
2. Fill the pots with potting compost. You can also use equal parts peat and sharp sand to start the tomatoes in.
3. Place the tomato seeds 1 inch apart from each other. You can place as many seeds as you fit in a single pot as long as they are 1 inch apart.
4. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of potting compost and press it down lightly.
5. Cover the top with a piece of plastic or cardboard to hold heat and moisture in and place the pot in a warm room. A sunny window sill in a warm room is perfect.
6. Water the seeds occasionally to keep the soil a little damp. You don't want the soil to dry out but don't over water the seeds either. It will take about two weeks for the seeds to germinate.
7. Remove cover when the seedlings appear and place in a well lit area.
8. Transplant the seedlings with their leaves appear. Prepare a pot for each seedling. Gently grasp the seedling and pull upward to remove it from the soil. It should come easily. Plant the seedling in the new pot and allow to mature.
9. Transplant the tomato plants again when they have filled the second pot with roots. They should measure about 5-inches tall at this point. You can either plant the tomatoes in your garden or transfer them to their final pot. A 10-inch pot is perfect as a final pot for most tomato plants.
Tags: tomato plants, inch apart, potting compost, warm room