Looking after our windowsill tomatoes and peas

This is my widowsill - above a radiator so it's very warm. These were sown on Weds 24th Feb - peas 3 out of 5 sprouted and looking good. Tomatoes all sprouted, they seem to stop growing but there are teeny tiny signs of the true leaves coming through.

These are my Saturday 27th seedlings - not quite so good - I didn't put them on this heated mat till a week later, oops! But you can see how hot it gets - too hot really. And the compost dries up quickly. So I prefer my windowsill... fortunately I could use my heated mat for raising bread instead!

The peas are big enough to start 'hardening off' - getting them gradually used to a cooler place so I can plant outside in a couple of weeks. I've put them in our 'garage' - its more like a garden shed... 

 

I've got a light on the tomatoes as they were growing long and skinny trying to get the light. The windowsill is still better I now think, and cheaper!

 

Grow At Home Project

Sowing Tomatoes at Home

Dig In is closed to volunteers at the moment, so we've delivered seed kits and people are growing at home. Here's how to sow tomatoes at home.

Tomatoes can be sown in late February to April, they need a temperature of 15-20 °C. Tomato seeds are very forgiving, they will grow in any shape of container - square pots, round pots, a mushroom tray or a tetrapak with holes in (and a tray underneath so water doesn’t leak!)

Cut out a rectangle on one side, leaving an edge so the sides don't splay out.

Then use a skewer to make holes in the bottom. 

 

Fill with compost up to about 1.5cm from the top. Give the tray or pot a little shake and tap it on the table to settle the compost and make sure it is flat.

Shake the seeds out of the packet onto your hand or a piece of paper and sow them thinly - for the tetrapak there are 6. That’s the densest you should really sow tomato seeds, any more and the roots get tangled too much. Make sure they are spread out over the whole surface. 

Sprinkle a thin layer of compost on top of the seeds, about 0.5-1cm. 

Pop it in a tray and onto the windowsill, water it by pouring water into the tray, not on the surface of the compost (this might dislodge the seeds).

...and a plastic bag helps keep the poisture in. Make sure you label it with the date - you should see seedlings in a week or two.