03/05/2026
I’m not embarrassed to admit that I’m a bit of a rockstar 🤘🍅 when it comes to growing tomatoes from seed. In fact, it’s the number one veggie plant that I grow successfully and in abundance every season.
After nearly 10 years, I’ve honed a system that yields healthy, juicy, high-producing tomato plants every season.
Quick methods I swear by:
1. Start early
I start my tomato seeds indoors about 13-14 weeks before planting out to get a head start. By the time I’m planting them outdoors, they’re already 4-6 feet tall and producing fruit. That means that I’m harvesting bowlfuls of tomatoes by the end of June!
2. Stage my setup
I stagger the growing into stages, starting with a Nanodome mini greenhouse, then adjustable LED shelf, followed by a move into my greenhouse. I wait for frost-free days and nightly temps above 9°C before permanently planting outdoors. Even without a greenhouse, I continue to grow in a sunny window indoors.
3. Plant in deep-rooted containers for easy upgrades.
I start my seeds in deep rooted large seeding containers and plant only one seed per cell. I absolutely love the 6 cell containers for seeding deep-rooted plants like tomatoes - they’re reusable, extra deep and larger than the average disposable ones. Tomato plants run out of room fast, so planting in these containers means I don’t have to transplant my seedlings immediately after they have germinated.
4. Transplant once roots fill the pot
I only upgrade to a larger pot once I noticed the stem getting too long, and the leaves starting to yellow - a sign that the plant roots are running out of space. This means only a couple of container size upgrades before planting permanently in the ground.
5. No repeat fertilization
I also don’t bother with repeat fertilization. Instead, I use a liquid organic fertilizer only at the time of each transplant.
THE RESULT = Healthy, delicious, highly-productive plants every season!
Tell me your best tomato tips in the comments, or try one of these tricks this season and share your results! 🌿🍅
