Spring Into Spring!

At the start of spring, the days may still not be very warm, but they are getting longer and so it's a good time to get a head start and grow some seeds inside so that they are ready to plant outside when the weather and the soil is warmer.

Try this favourite of mine:

TOMATOES

These plants grow throughout spring, and set their fruit - the tomatoes - in summer.

You can buy already-grown seedlings in the nursery and plant them directly in the prepared soil in late October or early November; or you can grow your own from seeds.

TO GROW YOUR OWN FROM SEEDS

...you can start in August or September and you will need:

• A packet of tomato seeds. Cherry tomatoes are good to grow and yummy to eat too!

• A sunny and warm windowsill indoors

• Some small containers. These could be washed out yoghurt containers, or other small tubs. The tomato seeds will grow in these until they are big enough to move outside.

• Seed-raising mix Buy this in small bags from the nursery.



• A spray bottle. This is useful for watering small seeds, instead of a large watering can.

• Some newspaper or a tray to sit the pots on

• Clear plastic bags Bread bags are good or clear plastic containers such as the ones that strawberries come in

If you are growing seeds:

1. Get an adult to help here. Punch holes to allow water to drain out the bottom of your containers.

2. Fill each container to about 1cm to the top with seed-raising mix. Wet this soil thoroughly. Let the water drain out again.

3. Add two or three of the tomato seeds to the top of the seed-raising mix.

4. Sprinkle a little bit more seed-raising mix over the top, just enough to cover the seeds.

5. Use the spray to water the seeds

6. Put the pots now on a tray or some newspaper and put them on their sunny windowsill. Place the plastic bags or the clear plastic container over the pots. These help to trap even more of the sun's warmth so that the soil stays warm overnight.

Keep spraying the soil when the top looks dry. Seeds mustn't be allowed to dry out before they germinate. You should see the seeds starting to sprout about 2-3 weeks later.

7. Remove the plastic covering when the first leaves come through. These baby leaves will soon be replaced by the tomato's true leaves. You may notice that the tomato stalk bends towards the sunlight. To prevent it staying crooked, rotate the pot occasionally. If your first pots were very small, you may carefully re-plant your baby tomato into a larger pot.

ONCE YOU HAVE PROPER SEEDLINGS (OR IF YOU HAVE BOUGHT THEM FROM A NURSERY):

Tomato plants need to grow outside to fruit. The plants will be ready to plant outside in a garden bed or a large pot only when the soil is warm enough. In Melbourne, from late October onwards is a good time.

Before putting them in the soil, allow the plants to harden off. This means that they have been outside in a sheltered position for a week or so before putting them in soil.

Some handy tips from experienced gardeners

- Tomato plants make lots of tomatoes. To do this, they need plenty of water and food, as well as plenty of sunshine. You can help by making the soil very rich in food, before you plant the seedlings. The food you add is in the form of fertilisers. These could be animal manures, such as cow manure; or manures in powder or pellet form, like Dynamic Lifter. Make sure you mix this through the soil at least 2 weeks before you are ready to plant the seedlings.

- It's a good idea to plant the seedlings on their sides. Tomato seedlings will put extra roots down from the plant stalk. Extra roots will make the plant stronger as it can take up extra food from the soil as well as make it more drought tolerant. Do this by removing all the lower leaves and leaving just 4 or 5 at the top. Instead of digging a hole to put your plant in, make a horizontal trench and lay the seedling on its side. Cover all but the top leaves with soil.

- Some tomatoes grow to be very tall. If so, you will need to put in stakes to tie your plants to as they grow. Put the stakes in place before putting in the seedlings. (If you put them in later, you may damage the roots).

- If you are going to grow your tomatoes in a large pot, or even a polystyrene fruit box, use the best potting mix you can buy. This will already have fertilizers added to it.

- Watering is important, but try not to waste water either. Put a few pebbles around your plant. If you pick up a pebble and it is dry underneath, it is time to water your plants again. If it appears wet or damp, you can wait another day or so before watering.

- Later on, when the plants start to flower, give them some liquid food every fortnight.

In about 8-12 weeks time, start eating your yummy tomatoes.