New Year's Day always finds me planting tomato seeds and eating black-eyed peas.
This is not too early to start tomatoes for planting in the garden. Heirloom varieties like Pomodoro or Brandywine work well for this. In a warm, sunny window, plant 4-5 seeds in a 4" pot of potting medium and wait until they have true leaves. True leaves are not the first leaves that develop, but the next set to grow. Carefully remove the plants from the pot. Do not hold by the stem. If the delicate stem is crushed the plant will die. Pot up into individual 4" pots. Let them grow to about 6" tall, turning the pots often toward the light to keep the plants growing fairly straight. When they are 6" high, transplant them into 1gallon sized containers, stake and grow them until the threat of frost is past. Take these tall, gangly vines outside, nip off the leaves from the bottom up to 6-8" from top. Dig a trench as long as the container and the naked plant, slightly lower at one end. Remove the pot and put the root ball at the lower end and lay the stem in the trench. Cover gently with soil and wait a couple days for the top to start growing up. At that point, pinch back the tips to cause branching, stake or cage the tomato and expect fruit in May.
Joyce Gay, Smith County Master Gardener
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