Chapter 2
The Joy of Germination
(Or, Killing Your Own Tomatoes from Seed)
Now that you’ve selected the tomato varieties you intend to grow over the next several months, it’s time to turn some tiny little seeds into gigantic plants bursting with luscious ripe fruit.
Starting tomatoes isn’treally difficult, like growing eggplant or watermelons, but it isn’t easy like growing zucchini either. Although seed startingis a very different endeavor than actual gardening, it really just requires that you don’t screw up the important things. Think of it as a corollary to life itself—or your driving test. And yes, that means you mightnot get it right the first time.
Actually, if you are atotal rookie gardener, you have complete permission to buy your plants already started the first year and practice killing nice big grown plants before you move on to little bitty ones.
Anyway, first, do the math. To figure out when to start your seeds, you need to have some idea of when you hope to put actual living plants out into the garden. Put those plants out too early, and the poor little babies will freeze to death. Do it too late, and you won’t get as many tomatoes as you could have, unless you live in Syracuse, and then you won’t get any.
So, find out what the average last frost date is for your area. Call your local Cooperative Extension office (type “Cooperative Extension” and the name of your state into an Internet search engine and it should lead you to a list of your state’s local offices) and ask them what your average last frost date is. Theylive for this kind of stuff. Or just type “average last frost date” into the same search engine, and I’m sure you’ll be interactively informed.
Pineapple
Pineapple is a very large, classic bicolor (yellow streaked with red) heirloom tomato type that can be found under a dozen different names. Pineapple is one of the largest—and the cleanest. At least in my garden it resists cracking and splitting, even in wet seasons, and ripens up smoother and more perfectly formed than most of my other bicolors. It’s a nice love apple to show off—or maybe even enter at the county fair.
The term “Average Frost Date” has killed more tomatoes than summer hailstorms. When you get to your “AFD,” check the 10-day forecast. If any nights are predicted to drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, do not plant. Look at this forlorn frozen thing; even if it survives (and it won’t), it will be weak and sullen the rest of the season. Daytime temps don’t matter—it’s the nighttime lows (and Mother’s Day snows) that will getcha.
But, for many of us, the date we use is simply theaverage average: If you live above the Carolinas, but not so far north that your snow shovel is still handy in June, you can typically put your plants out safely between May 15 (warmer climes) and June 1 (cool climes) and pretty much count on success. If you live in an area where itnever f
