Tomato Seedlings

I've finished transplanting the tomato seedlings into their own separate pots. I started them off two to a pot, in case one of the seeds didn't come up, and now they're all at least an inch high, and some of them are nearly three inches. So I separated the twins and moved them into their own four-inch peat or coconut fiber pots. They'll go from these straight into the ground in mid-may. Normally, I would have already transplanted them in early April, but since I planted my seeds a little late this year, we're not as far along as we would be normally. But that's okay.

Since my experience last year, I'm getting better at recognizing signs of a baby tomato needing more nutrients. When they're still a healthy green but showing the faintest signs of their leaves tending to change in color toward a slightly olive tinge, that's a sign that they need more nutrients, like Miracle Grow or similar. Last year I did not know what was going on when the leaves began to turn yellow, but this year I'm all over it before it becomes a problem or stunts the growth of my tomatoes. This means a person who wants to head off a nutrient deficiency in baby tomatoes needs to pay very careful attention to the color of the leaves. It actually helps to have seen the plants when they're nutrient-starved, so I know what the difference in color looks like. Suffice it to say for those who haven't seen this, a tomato plant that is healthy and getting plenty of nutrients is nice and richly green. The color is vibrant and unmistakable. Any tendency toward an olive-green or yellow tinge to the leaves means that the plant is starving for nutrients, especially minerals like nitrogen, calcium or magnesium. Their color will start to go off long before they are in serious distress from the lack, giving you enough time to supplement their water with Miracle Grow or something else before the plants start failing. Tonight when I transplanted the babies into their own pots, I noticed a slight color change in some of the ones who'd been sharing a pot with a sibling, so I know that now that they're in their own pots, a little extra snack might give them a necessary pick-me-up. I also planted them with the dirt up around their stems a little higher, which will encourage them to put more energy into roots and not shoot up long and spindly. If all goes well, by the time I get them into the ground, they should be of a reasonable size and hardy enough to live out their lives in the garden.

In the next couple of days, I'm going to be fixing up their garden spots, adding crushed eggshell for calcium and finished compost for valuable nutrients. I'll add a little of our extra topsoil to make up for what came out of the bed when last year's dead plants were pulled up, and the beds should be ready to receive their new tenants when the time comes.