Planting out

Dorothea planting a tomato start

Even with the cold temperatures, blustery wind and buckets of rain Snohomish has endured this past week, Flying Tomato Farm's growing season has begun. The farmers, Neil and Dorothea, have been transplanting their starts out to the greenhouse. To accommodate the time needed to successfully reach fruition in the seed-to-tomato growth cycle in the Pacific Northwest, Flying Tomato Farm sows their tomato seeds indoors in seed flats around the new year. Heating mats gently warm the seed flats, hastening germination. Tomato cotyledons are the first to appear. These are the initial little sprouts and smooth leaves that a seed will shoot out of the soil. They contain all of the essential food stores from the embryo of the seed which will help the tiny tomatoes get  a good start. Soon, the cotyledons will give way to the tomatoes' "true leaves", also known as the distinctive foliage matching the grown plants. These little leaves are able to photosynthesize. Tomato leaves are variegated, fuzzy and have a citrus-like fragrance. Gently wafting your hand past a row of little tomatoes releases a perfume like summertime. The tomato sprouts grow fast and strong with the help of UV lights, filtered water and good potting soil. Once the tomatoes begin to outgrow their plant rack and are full of "true leaves", it's time to move them out to their new home in the greenhouse, where they will spend the rest of the growing season.

In the past few days, Flying Tomato Farm has been busy getting their starts established in the greenhouse.  It's a team effort. Neil digs the holes and Dorothea plants the starts right behind him. To dig the holes, Neil runs down the greenhouse rows with a farming tool known as a planting dibble.

This tool helps him to dig perfectly round planting holes at just the right depth. Dorothea was joking the whole time about how they were truly trying to put "square pegs in round holes" as their tomato starts were grown in square plant pots.

After settling in all of the starts, Dorothea walks up and down the rows with a watering can full of "worm juice".

This is some good stuff. Plants love it as it is full of the nutrients they need to grow big and strong. This "worm juice"  comes from the spigot of her multi-layered worm bin, located inside the greenhouse.

Kitchen scraps such as vegetable peelings, coffee grounds eggshells and bread crusts find their way into this stacking worm bin. The worms work hard at transforming these scraps into black, rich compost which can be spread around the tomato starts.

There's a worm egg hiding in this clump of compost.

The tomato plants will continue to receive lots of love and care in the next few months. It's fascinating to watch the process from seed to plant, and to really taste the fruit of one's labors. These tomatoes will be ready to enjoy at the farmers market by mid summer.