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Okay, right now, the photo gallery is going to be a tutorial on raising superior tomato transplants. I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the complete setup, I was focusing on the plants.
Materials include: trays of 6-packs in flats with covers or humidomes. In some countries 6-packs are called punnets.
You must use a very good quality soil, like Black Gold CoCo Blend brand potting soil or equivalent. It is organically certified, with Coir. It also contains earthworm castings and micro-nutrients. It is all-natural and comes in big bags. This mix does not contain artificial ingredients or fertilizers.
You need a heat mat under your flats. They come in various sizes. Mine is for four flats. The seedlings won't germinate on time without a heat mat, wet soil, and the humidome in place to retain the heat and moisture. The flats sit on a trestle table about waist height for convenience. Ambient room temperature is 65°F.
And overhead, near the ceiling, hangs a 1000 watt HPS indoor plant light. I would run the light at night only, due to electricity costs, in a place like California. If you can, run it 24 hrs a day, like I do here in Iowa, where electricity is cheaper.
For fertilizer and feeding you need stuff like: General Hydroponics brand Florigrow and FloriMicro, Chi, RootJuice, Garden's Alive's SeaRich foliar spray, and Humboldt County's "Bushmaster", certified organic from kelp, for use on edible plants.
Start 10 weeks before last frost date. Plant seeds in flats/punnets with moist soil. Turn on heat mat and use it until the plants are about 3 weeks old; the warmth encourages root growth. Keep soil evenly moist during germination. For me in CA, the start date was March 1st, with a plant out date of May 1st, using row cover for 2 weeks until last frost date, May 15th. 8 weeks total. In Iowa, I still begin on March 1st, but in late April to early May, depending on temperatures, we put the plants in a large coldframe until we can plant them out.
Set your HPS lamp to run 12 hours on/off if energy is expensive. I run mine at night for the lower energy cost of off-peak power. Then the plants get some bright indirect light from the window during the day. But if you can afford it, 24 hours of light is the best. Here in Iowa my seedlings are in the cool cellar in the dark, so they get the light all the time.
Once your seedlings are up and have their first true leaves, you need to start feeding them well. Don't fertilize the soil, spray the leaves! Mix the Chi, Bushmaster, and SeaRich in a gallon milk jug, and spray the leaves each day til they are thoroughly wet. Use a hand mister/spray bottle to apply.
These seedlings are only 16 days old,
counting from the 1st. Look how healthy and green they are. They are
staying short and stocky, the way I want them.
The Chi additive helps encourage a stocky, thick stem.
The seedlings don't need fertilizer on the soil yet, the worm castings and coir provide enough nutrients, even minor ones, for now.
The RootJuice helps their little roots grow faster and better.
When I water the plants, I take the flats to the kitchen sink, and use the gentle faucet sprayer turned on low, to water them. This way, the leaves also get washed and refreshed. I think this helps them breathe better. I never let the soil dry out. I also dilute the Root Juice and water with it following label directions. I use a large wine bottle with my thumb over the hole to control the flow to a gentle drip.
Once a week, after they have a couple of pairs of true leaves, I use the hydroponic Flora Gro fertilizer on the soil. I use a hydroponic brand because they are formulated to be easily, readily, and immediately available to plants. Follow label directions.
Grow your plants on for 6 weeks. They will be compact, bushy and stocky. Then pot them up into 3 inch cells, and when they get too big for that, into 1 gallon pots for moving to the coldframe. Below are these same plants at 6 weeks of age, right after being potted up to 3-inch pots. They are loosely tied to the bamboo skewer, which I buy in packs of 100. Cheap stakes. I want the plants to be straight and not hog light from other plants. Water with Root Juice to encourage rapid rooting. You're planting out in just 2-4 weeks! They need roots and a growth boost!
At this point, I slowed down on the foliar spraying to every third day. The SeaRich can make the branches curl up, or under if overdone. Which I did. Mine later straightened out, once planted out and the effects diluted..
As you can see, I also have some younger babies tagging along on the sides of the flats. These seeds refused to germinate over the heat mat. But they did germinate once I began putting the flats outside in the sunshine, each morning at 11.
On May 1st, I planted the tomatoes out with row covers in case of frost or freeze threat. The plants were 2 feet tall by May 23rd, and 3 feet tall by May 30th.
Here in Iowa, the plants get moved to a large coldframe and sit there until frost is passed, near the end of May. The plants get very large during this time, and begin blooming, so when we plant them out in the garden on Memorial Day we dig very deep holes and plop the plants in with much of it underground, to grow extra roots.
Contains Canadian Sphagnum peat moss, coconut fiber, earthworm castings, pumice, dolomite lime, and an organic wetting agent
FLORA GRO®:
Stimulates structural and vegetative growth. Builds strong roots.
Provides Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium, and secondary minerals.
CHI™
Liquid Organic Foliar Spray
CHI is a foliar spray that improves crop yield, adds resistance to
environmental stress, and increases plant vigor. CHI contains chitosan
salts, a naturally occurring polymer found in the shells of crustaceans,
insects, and many fungi. Research has demonstrated that when plants are
exposed to CHI they respond by thickening their cell walls. This
increases the plant's resistance to environmental stress and disease
while increasing its structural integrity. CHI also induces the
activation of genes that stimulate protease inhibitors that help protect
against insect attacks.
ROOTJUICE is a harmonious balance of premium humic acid with seaweed especially formulated to promote vigorous root development, organically. To be used on soil, soilless, hydroponics, or bonsai gardens along with regular nutrition during stages of intensive root development. It was originally developed to accelerate the root growth of transplants in soil. However, ROOTJUICE has now become popular with North American deepwater culture hydroponics, and rock wool growers because of the explosive roots associated with this product. It has also found favor with bonsai gardeners in Japan and the USA who need increased harvest success rates and strong roots developed from eco-friendly and organic sources for long-term and sustainable development.
Emerald Triangle Bushmaster
Based on their proprietary kelp extract,
Emerald Triangle's BushMaster will shorten the transition to flowering
from 10-12 days to about 3 days while also eliminating the stretch that
usually occurs before flower development. The result is bushier, more
compact plants and denser flowers. Works well in soil, hydro or as a
foliar.
NPK 3-2-2
from Garden's Alive
Sea Rich is 100% organic foliar
fertilizer that improves the health, vitality and yield of garden and
indoor plants.
Ingredients: Sea Rich contains fish solubles and liquid kelp.
This all-natural liquid concentrate of fish emulsion and kelp extracts
promotes plant growth and helps plants withstand drought and heat
stress.