Bob this is right, however, I had the worst luck last year from the best nursery around. I purchased 20 tomato plants last spring. Many different varieties. Only two varieties were marked properly it was a huge disappointment. ‘Green Zebra’ turned out to be a large reddish brown tomato etc. I don’t mind having extra seed, I just want the tomato I want. Out of 11 different varieties only two fruited as marked they were ‘Kellogg’s Breakfast’ and ‘Sun-gold’. The rest were horrible.
Sorry to hear that- it’s got to be pretty frustrating. I’ve been getting them from Vaiuso, in Branford (far from me, but my parents swing by on their way over for a visit). I think the price on the small plants is $0.75 and I haven’t ever noticed a mislabel. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened, since a lot of what I get is just a big red beefstake, not necessarily distinctive. But, all the weird ones (purples, blacks, yellow, etc) seem to be accurate.
I just checked their website and it was an interesting read. It seems that an Italian immigrant family bought it in 1927. Then in the 1950’s when I-95 was constructed, half their acreage (30 of 60) was needed for the highway. At that point they didn’t have enough to just grow veggies, so they focused on greenhouses. Now, they supply garden centers throughout the NE.
Again Bob, thanks so much! I’ll check it out. 
I use a fan too, it helps keep the stems thick, it doesn’t really totally harden them off, you still need to expose slowly to the sun. Mine are in warm conditions. It cannot be helped my light is very hot! So I start them myself about 6 weeks before plant out. I have a cold frame so as long as it is 40F out and sunny I can put them out. The cold frame adds 20 degrees of heat.Now this hardens them off nicely! They are truly fulled exposed to the sun before plant out. I will put them in the cold frame as early as possible,
Do you transplant once before putting the plants outside? I started my tomatoes about two weeks ago. I use my sunroom floor and keep a ceiling fan on during the day. Windows are open when I can, so there is some temp change and a breeze. Seems to work. I will probably need to transplant in two weeks. After reading about the basement idea I wish I could give it a try. My Grandfather grew amazing tomatoes and the seeds were all started in a cool basement on a ping pong table.
I usually transplant once. A few a 2nd time one year when i started way too early.
I no longer transplant I just plant in larger peat pots now. Two seeds per pot in case one doesn’t take and the pots are four inches in diam.
I start mine in cut-off milk jugs a sunny window, but then divide and repot them into bigger individual containers, which I put outside on the deck if it is a pleasant sunny spell. (You can set leggy plants deeper when you repot them.) I set an inverted clear plastic tub over them, like a mini cold frame. Our son had left a cracked clear tub meant for storing a Christmas tree next to our trash can, so I commandeered it. You have to check the temperature from time to time to be sure the plants don’t overheat. You might need to prop up one side of the tub on warm days. Keep a thermometer under there. Then at night I bring them inside, if necessary. This only works if you are home most of the time, however. Those of you who have to work away from home for a living would not be able to do that. With any plants that have been grown indoors or under glass, be sure to break them into full sun gradually–first a day of shade, then a half day of sun, finally a full day of sun. If they wilt or start to turn brown, back off on the sun for a bit. I have found that peppers grow very slowly, so I start them first, then the tomatoes and onions, and much later the melons or squash. My tomatoes which I planted two weeks ago are now about two inches tall, onions about an inch. I once had peppers take four weeks to sprout when the seed was old! By then I had bought fresh, which was already growing merrily.
I find peppers need heat to germinate well. Why I start them in seed trays. Hard to get 20 pots unto one heating pad. I had about 99% germination of my peppers this year. A good year!
I repotted my tomatoes yesterday into 1 gallon containers.
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is 1gallon container big enough to grow tomatoes?
No…just to get them bigger because the tray they were in was way too small for the plants. The next step will be putting them in the ground around the 1st or 2nd week of May (weather)…by then they should have really put on some size.
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