When do I Sow Tomato Seeds Indoors?
It is very important to know when to sow tomato seeds indoors. The area in which you live, the time you have available to care for the seedlings and the space available are factors to consider when determining a start date for sowing the seeds. Does this Spark an idea?
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Your Area's Frost-Free Date
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Marking the frost-free day is important to gardeners. An area's frost-free date is when it will no longer have frost and indicates when plants and seeds can be planted. Seed catalogs provide that information, and it also is available through your area's Extension office and websites such as Mother Earth News, which is linked in the Resources section. Knowing the frost-free date will help you plan when seedlings started inside can be taken outdoors.
Exact Planting Date Calculation
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Tomato seedlings ready to go through hardening off Figuring the seed-sowing date depends on your area's frost-free date and climate. The timing for this approach is based strictly on when you want ripe tomatoes. If frost is a problem, then it's necessary to sow the seeds five to eight weeks before the frost-free date. The specific number of weeks is determined by the time you are willing to spend on care of the seedlings and their growing space.
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Planting Space and Time
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Time is another factor that needs to be considered. The longer the tomato seedlings are kept indoors, the more work they require, from watering to transplanting. Also, the larger the seedlings get, the more space they require.
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Resources
- Photo Credit tomatoes image by Marius Lazin from Fotolia.com calender of 2007 image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com tomato plants image by Gina Smith from Fotolia.com clock image by Clark Duffy from Fotolia.com
