As the sharp knife sliced through the tennis ball-sized tomato, the sweet scent of the fruit jogged my senses with a memory from my childhood, when tomatoes were always picked ripe, and not green, as those sold in grocery stores are today.
It was the first tomato of many from my backyard garden last year, and I wolfed it down on the 30th of June. Yes, June 30, and no, I don’t live in Tucson but on the Front Range of Colorado.
I plant about 15 types of vegetables and fruits in my backyard garden, and I plant nearly all of them from seed. Some, like beans, carrots, beets and lettuce, are directly sowed in the soil. Other seeds that traditionally are sowed in the soil, like cucumbers, squash and cantaloupe, I plant inside my home and transplant a couple of weeks later.
I do this to get a head start on the growing season, which results in harvesting the vegetables earlier and for a longer period of time. When other gardeners are waiting for their seeds to germinate outside, my transplanted cucumbers are almost ready to start their journey up the trellis.
Additionally, plants that are normally purchased at garden centers, such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, I grow from seed inside and transplant to the garden at the proper time.
For years I have used Walls-O-Water to get an early start on tomatoes. Tomato seeds, usually three varieties, are planted about the first of March (so, you better get going now). They are transplanted into the garden within Walls-O-Water, weather permitting, about April 10. This allows me to harvest my first tomato by the Fourth of July, at least a month earlier than gardeners who don’t use this method, and I continue to have fresh tomato juice dribbling down my chin until the fall frost.
I put out this extra effort for several reasons. Garden centers stock the most popular plants, but the plants sold are not necessarily the best ones for our climate, elevation or short growing season. For example, by trial and error I have determined that New Ace sweet peppers, Park’s Whopper eggplant and Burpee’s Early Pick (not Early Girl) tomatoes are all varieties that do very well in my garden and bear fruits that are delicious, but it is unlikely that I would ever locate any of these varieties at garden centers.
Also, by growing my own plants I can assure that they are healthful and are the right size for planting outside at the proper time. I transplant peppers and eggplant around June 1, when the soil has warmed and there is little chance of a late frost. The plants for sale at garden centers on June 1 are generally larger than I prefer and may be root-bound.
Finally, I plant from seed for the joy of watching the miracle of the seeds germinating and growing, and for the satisfaction of knowing that the vegetables and fruits we enjoy are totally the product of my labor – no middlemen involved.
I buy a bag of ordinary potting soil for a growing medium, plant the seeds in black plastic individual plant trays, provide some bottom heat for germination, and use ordinary fluorescent shop lights, about 12 hours a day, as a source of light to grow the plants. My plants grow in an unheated storage room in our basement at about 60 degrees, and they thrive, although they would do as well in a warmer location. I harden the plants outside for a few days and watch the long-range forecast to be certain that no late-season cold spells are on the way before I transplant.
For earlier production, robust plants, a better choice of varieties and more fun, Colorado gardeners might find that planting from seed is worth the effort.
Gerald Miller is a master gardener who lives in Pueblo.
