Posts Tagged ‘heirloom seeds’
Germinating Tomato Seeds
Germinating tomato seeds, or more specifically growing tomatoes from seeds, really isn’t that difficult. Using seeds, you can grow a whole lot more varieties than what you find in your local garden shop.
If you’re adventurous, why not try growing a new variety (or varieties) of tomatoes from seeds? Maybe some heirloom tomatoes, while you’re at it?
Tomato Seed Germination Rates
Before I get into the technical aspects of planting, I want to discuss germination rates for tomato seeds. It’s quite rare for all the seeds you plant to germinate, or once germinated, to thrive. While I’m glad when it happens, I don’t expect it. In my experience, 75% to 80% of my seeds in any given packet germinate and thrive. So, I normally plant 25% more than I think I will need of a particular variety. If everything germinates and thrives, I can give away or sell the extras.
A lot of things affect the tomato seed germination rate. For one, how old are the seeds? Whether you buy them online (which is what I do mostly) or pick up the seeds in a garden center, you don’t know how long those tomato seeds have been sitting around. The older the seeds, the lower the germination rate.
(That being said, I have seeds 10 or more years old that still germinate…just slower and with a lower percentage.)
Another issue is how have the seeds been stored? Two things can hurt seeds; too much humidity and…not enough humidity! Too much, and the seeds want to sprout, or else they can mold. Too little and they can dry out and not germinate at all.
How Long Does It Take for Germination?
There isn’t really a set time for tomatoes, as different varieties germinate at different times. The fastest I’ve ever had is 3 days; the slowest 12 days. In general, most germinate in 5 to 7 days. I generally wait 2 weeks before I consider a set of tomato seeds a lost cause for germinating.
Right now, I have SuperSweet 100, Brandywine and White Bush sprouting. SuperSweet 100 raised it’s head after 4 days and at 7 days (which is today), I did the first transplant to a slightly larger container. I had a 75% germination rate with a fairly new packet of seeds. (I planted 4 seeds and 3 germinated.)
White Bush is the next in line, sprouting yesterday (6 days). Brandywine is just starting to poke its head above ground today (7 days). My germination rate is really low with these two, because I am using 10-year-old seeds. (I just did plant some newer Brandywine seeds today for comparison.)
I have about 3 other varieties that haven’t sprouted yet, but once again, these are all 10-year-old seeds. What can I say, I am curious as to how they grow and thrive! Some of my 10-year-old seeds are pretty rare, and I want to try them again.
(Read my update on how well the 10-year old seeds germinated, 10 days out – I was amazed!)
Germinating Tomato Seeds – Tips
First, make sure that you have a nice, warm place for your seeds to germinate. I use a windowsill greenhouse in a south-facing window; some people use the top of their refrigerator. Others use a heating mat
or grow lights
. A soil temperature of around 80 degrees is ideal for tomato seed germination.
The “soil” I’ve had most luck with is a seed starting mix. It’s lighter than a regular potting mix, so it’s easier for the plants to poke their heads above ground. The soil needs to be moist but not wet.
I tend to plant my seeds rather shallow, 1/4 inch or less. Keep the humidity high while you’re waiting for the seeds to germinate. This is where I like the mini greenhouses (windowsill and tabletop
), because they have a cover that keeps the seeds and soil nice and moist. Not to mention they take up very little space.
I have used those jiffy potsand compressed peat disks
. The main reason I don’t generally use them these days is because I plant 5 to 10 different varieties at a time, and I need to label my pots with the variety name. But if you just plan on growing one to three varieties, then the jiffy pots and compressed peat disks work fine.
Once your seeds have sprouted, they need light — from sunlight or a grow light. If you live in a chilly climate, grow lights might be your best bet. Where I live (South Florida), a windowsill works fine just about any time of year.
I hope all these tips have helped, and that you have much success in germinating tomato seeds!
Heirloom Tomato Seeds
Heirloom tomato seeds aren’t any more difficult to plant than hybrid tomato seeds. The trick is finding the seeds you want to grow — and there is quite a variety!
But before I talk more about the seeds, let’s talk a little about what makes an heirloom tomato an heirloom.
About Heirloom Tomatoes
So what exactly is an heirloom tomato — what makes it different than “regular” tomatoes?
First of all, heirlooms are produced natually from seeds. In other words, if you save seeds from an heirloom, the resulting plants will be just like the parent. Not so with a hybrid tomato, because you’ll never know what you’ll get! This is because a hybrid is a cross between two varieties, neither of which may be great on their own (but wonderful together).
So that’s one; an heirloom produces plants like itself. The next is how long the plant has been producing tomatoes; that is, how many generations have been produced with consistent results. I’ve heard quite a few different numbers — 100 and 50 seem to be the two that pop up the most. Some people use the year 1945 as the cutoff; if the tomato variety was growing in 1945 with consistent fruit results, the plant can be considered an heirloom.
One other thing about heirloom tomatoes is their taste! In general, the heirlooms produce a sweet, meaty tomato. Many of the heirloom varieties produce big fruits — beefsteak or larger. If you love tomato sandwiches, you’ll love these tomatoes.
There is a downside, though. Heirloom tomatoes are pretty strong growers, but they are not necessarily disease-resistant. So especially if you live in a hot and humid climate, you need to keep a closer eye on your heirlooms. (But it is worth it!)
Heirlooms generally produce, on average, fewer tomatoes per plant than hybrids. If your household is small, that’s not always a bad thing, so you’re not drowning in too many tomatoes at once!
Heirloom Tomato Seeds
There are tons of varieties or heirlooms out there, and I’ve tried many of them in my day. But I keep coming back to a few that are the easiest for me to grow, but that also have fun results! I like red tomatoes for sure, but I also get a big kick out of the purple and the striped tomatoes. That being said, here are a few of my favorite heirloom tomato seeds.
Brandywine always seems to be on the list whenever I do my seed planting. I love the big fruits and the juicy meat of this heirloom tomato. The seeds germinate fairly quickly and transplant easily. I do have to keep my eye out for blight here in the south, though. Some of that can be circumvented by putting a protective layer of mulch over the soil. Whenever my friends ask for suggestions on tomato varieties, Brandywine is always on the list. This is an indeterminate plant that needs staking and bears fruit in about 80 days.
This is a fun tomato because it’s purple! OK, it’s not the kind of bright purple you might be imagining; it’s more of a dusky violet. The name comes about because it’s believed to have originated among the Cherokee people, and is over 120 years old. These are big tomatoes, which can weight a pound or more. Sweet and meaty, they are great for salads and sandwiches. But the purple does take a little getting used to, especially when you serve it to guests! Cherokee Purple is an indeterminate tomato that bears fruit in about 80 days and requires staking.
I plant these heirloom tomato seeds just about every time because my husband David loves them so much. He claims that they make the very best tomato sandwiches, and they sure are pretty. Why? Because Pineapple is a yellow-and-red striped tomato! They are absolutely gorgeous to look at, and deliciously sweet to taste. Pineapple is also a great way to introduce a tomato of a different color to people who have never eaten anything but a red tomato. This tomato is indeterminate, needs staking and is late-season, bearing fruit 85 to 95 days out, so it’s best grown in a warmer climate.
If you regularly use tomato sauce, you really need to consider growing this heirloom tomato. Once you make sauce from this red tomato, you won’t want to go back to store-bought. Not into sauces? You can eat this tomato fresh, too. This variety is among the smaller of the heirloom tomatoes, but is still nice-sized. One thing, Constoluto Genovese really likes warm weather, so it’s not great for cooler climates. Another indeterminate, this heirloom tomato needs staking and produces fruit at around 78 days.
The last of the heirloom tomato seeds I’ll talk about today is one that bears monster fruits — Big Rainbow. It’s also another of the striped tomato colors, with gold and red, so it’s very pretty to look at. Not to mention great to eat! This heirloom tomato can get fruits up to 2 pounds in size! Naturally that’s with optimum growing conditions, but 1+ pounds tomatoes can be expected on average. This tomato is also exceptional in that it’s one of the most disease-resistant of the heirlooms! (Reason enough to grow it.) Big Rainbow is an indeterminate, requires strong staking (possibly multiple stakes). It bears fruit roughly 90 days out.
So there you go; some wonderful heirloom tomato seeds for you to consider planting. For additional information on planting, check out the post on planting a tomato garden. Not to mention how to germinate tomato seeds!
