Slugs and Salal: Veggies

TOMATO

There is no more popular home garden vegetable than the tomato, for the juicy tang of fresh-picked, sun-warmed tomatoes is something that cannot be bought.

March is the month to seed indoors for sizeable transplants to set outdoors later in the spring when the soil has warmed and nights no longer dip much below 50 F (10 C).

Vine ripened tomatoes are possible on the west coast despite the threat of blight.

Starting tomatoes from seed

To eliminate an initial transplanting from flats to individual pots, start the seeds two or three to a three-inch (7.5-cm) wide peat or plastic pot, or in disposable cups with drainage holes punched into the bottom.

Use a sterile, lightweight, fast-draining mix and cover the seeds with a scant quarter-inch (six-mm) layer of the mix.
Germinate in warmth (soil temperature 68 F, or 20 C). When the seeds sprout move the pots into bright light and cooler temperatures, ideally around 60 F (16 C).
Clip off all but the best seedling in each pot.
To keep plants at a window growing evenly, give them a quarter turn daily.

The conditions that build the strongest, sturdiest transplants are bright light, cool temperatures and a sparing hand with water and fertilizer. Once the seedlings have produced a set of true, tomato-like leaves begin weekly waterings with a very dilute (quarter strength or less) solution of a balanced formula such as 20-20-20 or 15-30-15. Water thoroughly, to moisten the entire soil mass, only when the soil surface has dried.

For the largest root system possible at outdoor transplanting time, move the plants up into deeper containers as soon as roots have filled the current pots. Each time bury a little more of the stem, removing the leaves first on the portion to be covered. Feeder roots will develop along the length of covered stem. Use large-sized disposable cups, milk cartons, deep peat pots, or six-inch (15-cm) wide nursery pots as you keep the plants on the move. Trials indicate that the more extensive the root development at transplanting, the heavier and earlier will be the harvest of tomatoes.

Growing tomatoes in pots

Condominium and apartment dwellers with a sunny balcony or patio space can enjoy home-grown tomatoes in pots. The trick is to select varieties suited to pot culture.

The very best cherry tomatoes I've grown in pots are Red Robin and Yellow Canary, which are combined in a mixture called Birdie Mix from T&T seeds. The plants are very compact and multi-branched, and highly decorative when loaded with little red and yellow fruit, which are sweet and flavorful. They are fine for pots 15 or 20 centimetres (six or eight inches) wide. Use plastic rather than clay pots for better retention of moisutre, and a fertile, humusy planting mix.

For larger fruit, I'd choose either Patio Hybrid or Pixie II. Patio Hybrid, from Stokes Seeds, yields five-centimetre (two-inch) fruit on 60 centimetre (24-inch) plants that need the support of a wire cage or short stake. Pixie II, from William Dam Seeds, is a very early tomato that grows about 45 centimetres (18 inches) tall. I've grown it in cages stuck in pots, with great success. For these larger-fruited tomatoes, use a 30 to 40-centimetre (12- to 16-inch) wide pot. Or, plant two or three in a half-barrel or large patio tub.

Seed tomatoes for pot culture in late February or early March, and move the plants into their final containers in April. Keep the plants sheltered until warm weather arrives in May.