“If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need.”
-Marcus Tullius Cicero
Just days ago, I sat at our kitchen table and planted tomato seeds, tucking their pale little bodies into potting-soil-filled red Solo cups. It is winter and so begins my gardening year.
For those of us “green thumbers” who enjoy dipping our hands into the good earth and coaxing produce from the ground, winter is a special time. In years past, before we were all compelled to become “computer-head Freds” and do everything online, gardeners would pour over old-fashioned paper seed catalogs on winter nights, dreaming of spring and what they might grow. We still dream, but now most often simply plop down at our computers and shop for seed the modern way. And these days, with my gardening glory behind me (maybe), I find myself only wanting a small bounty of home-grown tomatoes.
It has been some time since I started my tomatoes at home. Normally, as spring arrived, I would prowl the garden section of our local Home Depot looking for my tomatoes. But this year I decided to go back to starting my own plants.
Thinking there might be a few intrepid gardeners within the ranks of my readers, a column on starting tomatoes seemed appropriate now. What follows is simply my elementary process and guidelines. If starting your own tomato plants, change things up any way you like…
First, decide what you want to grow – choose your varieties. If you’ve had success in the past, you might want to stick to your favorites. If your tomato crop was less than you hoped, maybe try something new. Note – tomatoes can be divided into two categories, determinate and indeterminate. Determinate plants bear all their fruit at once (good for canning) and tend to be more compact in size (good for containers). Indeterminate tomatoes bear fruit continuously throughout the season, typically until they are killed by frost, and plants keep growing so they need to be staked or supported.
I am trying some new varieties this year. Last year’s tomato crop was less than expected. My large beefsteak tomatoes were not setting fruit before our blistering summer heat kicked in. So this year I am cultivating smaller and earlier varieties in hopes of getting more fruit before our boiling August arrives.
Tomato growing success starts when you first plant your seeds (start seeds 6-8 weeks indoors before your last frost date). I use 18-ounce red Solo cups (the kind you might use for beer pong in college – I never did that). With a sharp knife cut two triangles at the bottom of each cup (on opposing sides). Use indoor potting mix or seed starter (this is usually sterilized so lacking the heebie-jeebie microscopic critters that might hurt your young plants).
Fill each cup half full with potting soil. Poke two holes into the soil and tuck your seeds in place, two seeds per cup. Cover seed with ¼ inch of soil and gently tamp down. Water soil for the first time from the top. I use a medicine dropper and gently water, so soil is not disturbed.
Next, place each red Solo cup in another plastic cup – use clear cups for this purpose. Using two cups allows you to water your tomatoes from the bottom (and clear cups let you see water level – bottom watering will promote root growth and is easier than carefully sprinkling every time you water). To allow space for water at bottom add a marble or small rock. Water level should be kept halfway up on your triangle. Water will wick up through the soil and keep your plants moist (be careful not to overfill).
After planting, place a small sandwich bag over each cup to help keep moisture inside as seeds germinate. Remove bags as soon as plants emerge. Seeds will germinate best at about 75 degrees Fahrenheit, so find a warm spot in your house for them (or use a heat mat).
As soon as plants peak through the soil, they will need 6-8 hours minimum of sunlight daily. If you have a very sunny window, this may work. But it is usually better to use a shop light or grow light. LED lights work well for this, but numbers have to be right for this to work on your tomatoes. Look for lights rated at 1500-3000 LUMENS (this is how bright light is) and 4500-6500 KELVIN (this is color temp which mimics daylight). You will have to find a way to hang lights above your tomato cups (lights need to stay on approx. 16 hours and off 8 hours each day).
Once plants emerge and true leaves appear thin by choosing strongest specimen, clipping the weaker seedling at its base. You can water with liquid organic fertilizer every week to give your plants a good start. It also helps if you talk to them.
Once plant grows over the top of your cup, fill remainder of cup with potting soil. Tomatoes will grow roots where the stem touches soil, so doing this will give your plants a larger root ball before planting.
Plant your tomatoes outside in the garden after your last frost date. Plant them deep and cover stem again for extra root growth. Be sure to stake plants or use tomato cages as needed. And get ready to enjoy your tomatoes! Happy gardening…
© 2026 Jody Dyer
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