Thursday, April 12, 2012

Tomatoes

Our tomato seedlings are doing great!  Note the electrical plug on the wall for scale in this photo:


I measured the soil temperature in the centre box today...it is 11.1 degrees celsius six inches down.  From what I have read,  tomatoes prefer soil temperatures around 20 degrees celsius, though we can probably plant when the temperature is around 14 degrees celsius.  We have put the plastic cover over the central box...hopefully that will raise the soil temperature.  Still, if we plant our seedlings now, they won't be terribly happy.  I'll keep checking the soil temperature.

When we do plant them, we will plant them a bit sideways.  We'll pinch off some of the lower leaves, while leaving lots of upper leaves.  Then we'll dig a hole and put the tomato in sideways, slanted upwards.  We'll leave the leaves above ground, but bury the stem.  The stem will then form more roots, making the plant stronger.

Here is an illustrated guide.

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