Oct. 1 ... 1,000% No

Very cute, right? A nice little tray of seedlings popping up in their hydroponic home. Before I get to the part about wanting to poke my eyes out with a bamboo skewer, I'll talk about how the AeroGarden seedling tray worked. At first, I was amazed. Most of my seedlings sprouted within a day or two, instead of the usual three to four days (I took this shot just a few days after planting, not today), and they grew faster than I'd ever seen seedlings grow. Within no time at all, I had a bushy little garden of seedlings going and I was starting to think I was pretty smart.

Then our power went out yesterday and it forced me to transplant all the seedlings into soil today. And that turned out to be a good thing.

As Mark pointed out on the previous blog post, roots that grow in water are not actually the same as roots that grow in soil. They are, in fact, structurally different. Incidentally, this is why it's better to start cuttings in moist soil rather than a vase of pure water. Because when you transplant the cutting into soil, the plant will go into shock.

See, I knew this when I decided to start in water, but I thought it couldn't be that bad, right? I mean, how bad can the shock be?

It turns out pretty bad. Bad enough that I can't bear to even post a picture of the results. I've got trays right now of droopy, sad seedlings. I'm pretty sure the greens won't make it, but I've got my fingers crossed and hoping the tomatoes and peppers will. I staked up the little buddies and buried them deep, hoping their stems will sprout new roots. Now it's just a waiting game.

Will I try this again? One thousand percent no. The only way I'll start in water again is if I plan to grow the tomatoes in water their whole lives. And I'll never use the AeroGarden for seedlings again. They grow too close together and their roots get all tangled, so when it's time to move them, you have to rip off most of the roots. I'm sorry to harsh on AeroGarden like this ... it's a nifty product if you want to grow some herbs on your desktop ... but it's ill suited for serious seedling production.

Anyway, I'm sticking from now on with my traditional seedling method: fiber pots; a seedling mix of composted peat, perlite and worm castings; and regular fluorescent lights. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As for the season itself, I think we're getting underway. The temps are supposed to drop tomorrow, so it should start feeling like fall. I'd say it's time to plant tomatoes outside any time—my trays of seedlings are already outside, in dappled sunlight.

Seedlings: Day 1 (A New Start)

Whew. So, here it is, September 21, and I'm finally getting things underway. Believe me, these last two weeks have been a massive exercise in self-control not to plant, but I kept having to remind myself that the season is long and, at least with non-disease-resistant heirloom tomatoes, I'm not so sure the early bird gets the worm.

Last year, I started seedlings on September 18 and had them outside by October 25. If you remember, we had a brutal hot spell right around then, and my non-resistant heirloom plants were infected by septoria fungus right away. I ended up losing a few plants early in the season and spending the rest of the season battling this stuff with increasingly strong chemicals. So if anything, I'm in favor of a slightly later start to avoid the worst of the hot and wet fall weather. That said, I don't seem constitutionally capable of waiting much past the third week of September.

If, however, you're buying tomato plants, I'd still recommend at least another two weeks, if you don't have plants already. If you do have plants already, no big deal—just hope it cools off before they start to set fruit. Many tomatoes won't set fruit too far above 80˚F.

Anyway ... to the seedlings! This year, I'm trying something a bit different with my seedlings. In the past, I've always grown seedlings the same way: in peat pellets or 2" pots with a simple and basic mix of about 70% composted peat moss, 20% perlite and 10% worm castings, under compact fluorescent grow lights. It's worked like a charm, so there's no reason it shouldn't work for everybody (just make sure your lights aren't too old—they lose lumens pretty fast).

This year, however, I have a new(ish) toy I'm taking for a test run. A few years back, I got an AeroGarden as a test unit and I've used it to grow indoor herbs during the off-season. It's a nifty little unit, and you've probably seen these things in stores. They are basic, desktop hydroponic grow units. It's not advanced hydro and it's not complicated. (If anything, the downside is expense—I think the units cost a few hundred bucks each.)

AeroGrow also makes a seedlings starter kit. The concept is pretty simple: it's a styrofoam grow plate that floats on a shallow pool of nutrient-enriched water. A fish-tank air stone is used to aerate the water. The unit includes lights. It allows you to grow up to 66 seedlings in a small space. So what the heck, I figured, I'll give it a try this year. I'll keep you posted with pictures and progress as the plants sprout (early notice: the mustard greens literally sprouted overnight ... how satisfying is that?).

In general, this year I'm hoping to try a few new things, and I think I'll have to really revisit the question of organic versus non-organic growing methods. My own thinking on this topic is far from settled, and I've received a few letters from people who thought I really stepped on the kitten last year by switching to chlorothalonil in mid-season to control the leaf-spotting. I had another very, very good grower—someone I respect a great deal who makes a living from this—recommend preventive spraying with neem oil, an organic insecticide, bactericide and fungicide. I dunno yet. Right now, I see this as the central challenge of the season.

Mostly, though, I'm pretty excited. I've already developed the bad habit of checking on the seedlings like twenty times a day ...

The Plan

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I've started to get seed packages in the mail over the last week or so, which can only mean one thing: tomato and veggie season is on its way! Yes, there's a hurricane apparently brewing in the Atlantic, and yes, it's still three million degrees every afternoon, but no matter—I'm already starting to fantasize about this year's veggie garden.

Before I get into this year's plan, I think it's worth remembering last year. I did pretty well last year—we ended up harvesting dozens of Brandywines and Cherokee Purples, plus yellow pears and other varieties—but it was definitely a building year for me. I had particularly bad fungal diseases last year and ended up using chlorothalinol, which made it possible for me to harvest lots of heirloom tomatoes in a climate that isn't exactly perfect for heirlooms (South Florida). But it was the first year I abandoned organic gardening principles. This year, I'm a little torn—do I treat preventively or not? I don't know yet. I guess I'll see what the plants say.

But all that's still in front of me. First, to the plan ...

We did some re-landscaping over the summer, so I've lost some growing room. But that just means I had to pick my varieties more carefully. As always, I'll be growing exclusively in containers, and I'm hoping to make an EarthTainer III at some point this year. Also as always, I'll be starting my seeds indoors under lights and growing them for about two weeks indoors, then two weeks outdoors before planting them out. I'm also hoping to hear from more readers this year with interesting and novel grow set-ups. I know from my emails that some of you are mad geniuses with tomato plants, so I say share the love! Let us all know what works. I'll be doing the same—lots of posts on nutrition, pests and diseases, varieties, techniques and all that good stuff.

Anyway, without further ado, here is my plan for this season:

• Green Zebra tomatoes (25 gal. container)
• Brandy Boy tomatoes (25 gal. container). I understand this is a controversial choice among many serious tomato growers. Brandy Boy is a hybrid created by Burpee seed company. It supposedly has the taste of the Brandywine, which is stellar, plus better disease resistance and vigor. The problem is, many people who are serious about heirlooms really detest Burpee, for a whole bunch of reasons. I get it. But I've heard good things about this tomato and I figured I'd give it a try.
• Kellogg's Breakfast tomatoes (25 gal. container). Giant orange beefsteak tomatoes. They're a bit trendy, sure, but they're Giant Orange Beefsteak Tomatoes. I'm in.
• Paul Robeson tomatoes (25 gal. container). I'm ridiculously excited about these. The Paul Robeson is a black tomato, similar to the Cherokee Purple, with a supposedly excellent flavor. I can't wait to see if these live up to the hype.
• Laroma III paste tomatoes (2 x 15 gal. containers). I like a lot of paste tomatoes for salsa and whatnot. These are VFFNA, so they should have good disease resistance.
• Various lettuce greens. This includes a mescal mix, mustard greens, and Swiss chard. I've been on a big greens kick this year. Not only are leafy greens great for you, they're just good.
• Strawberries (AgroTower stackable containers). I'm doing another tower of strawberries, but this time a smaller one. We shall see.
• Broccoli (Earthbox). This is a no-fail way to produce awesome broccoli.
• Habanero peppers (Earthbox). Chocolate habanero (see above: salsa).
• Bell peppers (Earthbox). Because they rule.
• Herbs. Probably a full herb garden ... plus I established lemon grass over the summer, so I've got lots of Thai food growing in my yard.

And that's where I start. These plans always sort of expand as the year goes on, so stick around and let's keep our fingers crossed for perfect weather, no bugs, and even less disease ...