Transplanting Tomatoes into bigger pots

In this earlier post we shared an update on our tomato, pepper, and eggplant seedlings that we planted in little seed pots.  We planted 12 varieties of tomatoes and seven varieties of peppers.  They sprouted on top of the freezer in the utility room as I've discovered that the heat from the top of the freezer keeps the soil warm and allows a great growing area for seeds.  Once they sprout, though, the seedlings need light.  At that point I remove the four foot fluorescent light fixture that hangs above my work bench in the garage and bring it inside.

I have found that the very top of the cabinet in the utility room is a good place for raising young plants for several reasons.  First, hot air rises and it is warm up there. Next, the area is a perfectly sized space for the amount of plants I start indoors. Although there's no place to hang the light from, I carefully balance the light fixture atop some canned goods stacked on top of each other.  Finally, the cabinet top is out of the way.  I simply use a stool to climb up and stand on top of the washer and dryer to water and care for the little plants.

Tomato Seedlings under the grow light

Well, the plants are growing and look pretty good.  We had a few casualties, but that is to be expected.  The survivors have outgrown the little seed pots that served them well up to this point. There's not enough dirt in the seed pots to sustain a growing seedling that is pulling in the amount of water that a growing seedling takes in from the soil.  In the past few days, I've come home to wilted tomato plants from lack of water.  We can't have that.

They've outgrown the seed pots

So, it is time to re-pot them into a bigger container.  They are well past the cotyledon stage and have several true leaves that are growing upward to the grow light.  I rescued some Community Coffee cups from the trash at work.  I find that these are the perfect size pots to transplant the tomatoes into until the weather stabilizes and I can transfer them to the garden soil.  The residue remaining in the coffee cups also provides caffeine to the growing plants, giving them a solid, invigorating jolt of energy and give the tomatoes a rich, robust flavor.  I kid... I kid.

Caffeinated Tomatoes

I use a plastic fork to coax the seedling out of the seed pot, being careful not to damage the delicate roots.  Then I put the seedling with attached soil into the cup that's half filled with an organic soil mix and fill with extra soil until its full.

Carefully replanting the seedling

A liberal squirt of water will get the young plants happily growing in their new pot. I can't even think of putting these out in the garden yet.  First I'll have to harden them off for a week to get them used to the cooler temps and wind.  Then, it has been raining cats and dogs and the garden soil is saturated - way too wet for planting, not to mention the weather is still quirky and we had freezing temps as recently as last week.

Watering the newly planted tomato seedlings

One thing I'm noticing on the young plants is some yellowing of the leaves on some of the tomatoes. I think they are trying to tell me that they need some fertilizer.  I'll give them a dose of fish emulsion tomorrow.

Yellow leaves!