This write-up on when to plant tomato seeds indoors will explain to you how you can have a remarkable harvest of mouthwatering, nutritious, tomatoes that you start by planting seeds from the very beginning in your own home on the window sill or in the backyard greenhouse or even in the basement under grow lighting.

Tomato plants are heat loving tender plants that can simply be grown from seed with a little extra added care and a handful of tomato growing secrets. You can easily expect great results from your ample crop of your own tomato plants that you have started from seed.

There are a few vital details to think about when choosing the most favorable time of actually planting your tomato seeds indoors and if you proceed along with me I’ll familiarize you with these details and why they are vital and further more why and how you should implement them into your tomato growing goals.

No matter if you are a total beginner to planting your own tomato seeds and growing your own tomato plants or even if you are a practiced gardener you possibly may not be familiar with this hardly known tomato growing fact that most people are surprised to learn that tomatoes can be grown at home all year long providing that you give them the proper growing environment.

As a beginner to tomato growing or just the average person wanting to try a bit of gardening you may be thinking that it is enough of a task just growing a tomato plant purchased from a nursery let alone starting a plant from seed and hopefully getting it to grow and bear fruit. Growing tomatoes from seeds and having the knowledge of when to plant tomato seeds indoors isn’t as complicated as you may think. It is very simple as long as you follow a few basic gardening rules.

3 Important details to consider before buying your tomato seeds

These three details will help you make up your mind to when to plant your tomato seeds indoors. Tomato seeds take 5-7 days to germinate and should ordinarily be grown indoors for a period of about 6-8 weeks before you move them outside. If you are like most backyard gardeners your goal is to be eating your own vine ripened tomatoes. Typically tomatoes have a growing season of about 50 to 80 days but depending on your location and the type of tomato you choose to grow this could vary.

So by knowing this, here are a few points to take note of:

• Variety or type of tomato:

There are over a thousand different varieties of tomatoes to select from. Depending on if you fancy eating freshly sliced tomatoes or cherry tomatoes in salads or maybe your plan is to preserve the surplus crop of tomatoes you have.

Each variety of tomato will have their own specific growing season. With tomatoes this is called “Days to Maturity” (this pertains to the total number of days from the time you transplant them outside in the garden through to the time the tomatoes are ready to harvest) Knowing the specific variety will help you choose when to plant your seeds indoors.

• Geographic location:

Where you live is another very important factor to consider when buying your tomato seeds and growing tomatoes. Tomatoes need several months to mature and they are not at all frost tolerant. So unless you live in a frost-free area, tomatoes are basically started indoors, as seeds. Do you have a “short growing season” or a “long growing season”? Planting your seedlings outdoors should be scheduled around 2 weeks following the average last frost date for your region. Check a climate zone map or ask your local nursery, or gardening friends for the appropriate date for you to plant in your area.

• Placement:

The first thing you’ll need is a place for your tomatoes to grow. You need to think about where you will transplant your tomato seedlings. Will you be placing them outside in your garden? If you prefer you can grow them in pots. If you will be growing them under cover in a greenhouse then you have a little more control over the time period of when to plant your seeds indoors as you will not have to worry about the chance of your tomatoes being affected by frost. But if you are planting them out in your garden and you want the delicious flavor of a vine ripened tomato then that will affect the date of your initial planting.

So whether you are planting your tomatoes out in the garden or in a greenhouse or in containers on your patio or balcony these all play a part in your decision of when to plant tomato seeds indoors. A good location for growing tomatoes is a spot that gets direct sunlight for the better part of the day at least 7 hours is best. One more thing, to reduce the chances of fungal diseases you need to place your tomato plants where they get good air flow.

If you follow these details it should help you demystify the question of when to plant tomato seeds indoors and with a little more info and planning you will be delighted with the success you will have growing tomatoes from seed.