Down the Stretch They Come...

Momotaro Tomatoes

Momotaro. That's the answer to the annual Bird Heirloom Tomato Contest of: Guess which variety of tomato seed germinates first? NeCole Brownwell Scott of Antelope, CA was on top of her game with her guess of Momotaro, which isn't all that surprising since she's a Tomato Maniac herself. For her brilliant perception and forecasting skills, NeCole wins her choice of two tomato plant starters from the Bird 2013 starter crop.

Yes indeed! It might be a bit chilly outside, but this is prime seed-starting season for backyard enthusiasts like the wife that is Venus and myself. Once again employing the seed-starting rack setup that we employed last year for the first time, Venus and I are growing many treasured favorites from the past plus quite a few new varieties this season.

Seed Starting Rack

One of those new varieties? Momotaro. While the variety certainly isn't new, it will be a new addition to the Bird Back 40 tomato crop later this spring. Momotaro, as you might have deduced, is a Japanese variety. It's one of the most popular varieties in Japan thanks to its legendary productive status. The fact that it's named after a legendary Japanese folk hero (it loosely translates into "Peach Boy" in English) also might help.

The story and legend of Momotaro was heavily promoted by the Imperial Japanese government during World War II. It should come as no surprise then that the "demons" that Momotaro was sent out to fight lived at a well-known United States naval base called Pearl Harbor.

Bingo Tomato: Impulse Purchase: Lockhart Seeds

I suppose this is one of the many reasons as to why I like growing as many varieties of heirloom tomatoes that I can get my greedy little hands on. Each one represents a little slice of international history. The story of Momotaro, the folk tale, and Momotaro the tomato, represents one of those interesting little discoveries.

How does the old saying go? Learn something new every day?

Venus and I set out on our planting adventure last Sunday, February 17th, just a day after this seed starting article appeared in the garden section of the Sacramento Bee. Some people start a week or two earlier than this. Still others start out a week or two later? Point is? The goal is to have starter plants ready to set out in the garden by May 1st, or Farmer Fred Hoffman's birthday if you will.

Germination after five days: Momotaro Tomato

Once again, we have outdone ourselves. 120 starter plants now sit under a collection six shop lights in a spare Bird bedroom. Believe it or not -- we have room for even more. We're not even using the bottom rack (yet), which would provide room for 40 more plants. And we haven't even considered using the top rack yet... Though I suppose that will come with time.

Point is? With a cheap metal rack and a few shop lights? You can do some serious garden damage. And that's just what we intend upon doing this year.

Of course -- not all of these are tomato plants. I WISH I had room for 120 tomato plants. I'd be in tomato heaven, as would every neighbor on the block. But our collection also includes a number of sweet and hot pepper varieties. These will come into use when it's time to can the legendary Roasted Garlic, Pepper and Heirloom Tomato Salsa. Venus also has about six different varieties of basil that have already germinated and are growing quite well.

Siam Queen Basil Seeds

Why have just one variety of basil when you can have all of them? Genovese Basil is a "must have" in any garden and one of the most popular starter plants you'll find at any garden store. But why limit yourself to Genovese -- when the hot variety of Siam Queen Thai purple basil beckons? Like a hint of lemon in your basil? There's always the popular Lemon Basil. Point is -- there's a basil for every dish.

Venus didn't just limit herself to vegetable garden selections with her seed starting efforts this year. Nope! With an excellent and hard-to-find selection of flower seeds purchased from Lockhart Seeds in Stockton, this year's indoor starting effort includes multiple flower offerings that you probably will not find at you local gardening store.

Love Lies Bleeding Seeds

Sure -- you can find your ordinary, run-of-the-mill, marigolds and petunias at your local Big Box Store. But if you've got your heart set on something called "Love Lies Bleeding," or "Oxford Blue Scabiosa," I hope you got it started early at home. The point is? We want our front and back flower beds to contain items that you just don't see in those everyday, mass planted gardens.

Seed starting is one of our favorite rituals. It's one of those "together" things that we both enjoy. The payoff is a fun afternoon and a summer's bounty of delicious tomatoes and flowers that bring a riot of color to the Bird Back 40. It's also a chance to share and trade with others who have been bitten with this gardening bug. One afternoon of seed planting brings out a season of beauty. Try and find a downfall to this. I've tried. I can't.

Afternoon of Fun

There is nothing quite like the joy and satisfaction that comes when the first seedling pops to the surface, or that first starter plant produces its first tomato, first pepper or first bite of fiery basil. I keep thinking of what the backyard flower gardens will look like when our Desert Bluebells or Penstamon Blue fire up into a riot of flower beauty.

Yes, I suppose this is a bug. Call it a twitch if you want. Disease works just as well. Just count me glad that I have it.

Bird 2013 Heirloom Tomato Garden

Agro 410

Arkansas Traveler

Beefsteak

Believe It Or Not

Berkeley Tie Dye

Big Zac

Bingo

Black Cherry

Chadwick Cherry

Cherokee Chocolate

Cherokee Purple

Costaluto Fiorentino

Dixie Golden Giant

Eva Purple Ball

Grushkova

Lemon Boy

Lush Queen

Magnus

Martha Washington (last year’s top garden performer)

Momotaro

Mr. Underwood’s Pink

Polish Giant

Pruden’s Purple

San Marzano

Schilling Giant

Siletz

Solar Fire

Sungold Cherry

Tangerine

Valencia

X-Large Spanish

And -- They're Off!!!

Heirloom Tomato Starter Plants Under Shop Lights

Into the first turn they go -- the 2012 Race to the Garden Finish is on! It may be bloody cold outside. It might be raining buckets. But inside? Seeds for the 2012 Bird Back 40 summer garden are jumping out of azalea starter cups and dreaming of those long, warm, summer days.

Well -- I might be dreaming. As for the tomato, pepper, eggplant, basil and lavender (yes, lavender! Talk to the boss that is the Wife that is Venus!) -- starters -- well -- as you can tell by the photo to your immediate right? We're off to a fairly nice start here in February 2012.

We are using an entirely new design for our seed starting efforts this year. A design that I'd love to tell you that I came up with. But that would be a big, fat, enormous lie, now wouldn't it? I don't come up with really good gardening ideas folks -- I watch what others do and steal good ideas. In this case? I stole one great idea from a gardener who, unfortunately, is not doing much gardening this year.

New Seed Starting Rack!

But she still gets credit for her sheer gardening brilliance.

We have eighty plants in 4.5 inch azalea stater cups this year. That's about 50 tomato plants -- 20 peppers and ten assorted cups of basil, eggplants and lavender (Yes! Lavender! Talk to Venus!). If I were still relying upon the old method of using a PVC contraption on a simple card table to hold up 4-foot long shop lights -- I'd have starter plants stacked on starter plants.

But this is a new year -- and a new idea! Check that -- it's a new year and a stolen idea.

A young East Sacramento lady by the name of Sara S. (last names have been changed to protect the innocent) first tipped me to this rather brilliant idea. Actually -- I had always longed to build my own seed starting rack. There are a million and one do-it-yourself construction plans online to build a seed shelving system. But those required time -- something I have precious little of these days.

Starter Rack by Target

It didn't even cross my mind to actually purchase already-made shelving units -- until I came across the setup put together by Sara. She contacted me out of the blue last year -- with an offer of extra starter plants for our yearly distribution efforts at the California State Capitol. It was an offer I gladly accepted.

It's always nice to meet other gardeners who share the same passion and drive that you do. Young or old -- they have new ideas and new techniques to share. You can learn a lot about gardening simply by watching and learning from others. And although Sara is probably young enough to be my daughter -- she trumped my seed starting designs and efforts by an East Sacramento mile.

The rack that you see pictured above was recently purchased from Target at nominal cost. It's almost as if the designers had gardeners in mind. It is the perfect fit for holding two four-foot long shop lights on each row. The rack has five rows. Each row can hold up to 40 azalea cups and starter plants. If you do the math -- you'll come to discover that I could be growing far more starter plants than I am this year.

Pepper Starters Under Shop Light

Hey, man, I didn't want to push it! 80 is more than enough.

I am also using a somewhat different technique for starting seeds this year. I call it the "tough love" treatment. I am no longer providing my starters with as much love and warmth as possible. As a matter of fact, although the plants are inside, in a spare room, I am exposing them daily to a jolt of the rather cold conditions outside. I am also going without bottom heat this year.

Why the tough love treatment? In past years, I had always done my best to provide a warm and welcoming environment for plants. That meant a room closed off completely to the outside elements. It meant bottom heat for the starter cups. It meant a fan to simulate an outdoor breeze.

Cracked Window Allows for Cold Air Circulation

Do you know what this loving atmosphere resulted in? Lots of plants, yes. But they were plants with very weak stems. They would invariably require stakes to hold them aloft -- plus a good two to three weeks outside to harden off and gain stem strength.

There has to be a better way.

So -- this year? The bottom heat is gone. The nice warm room -- history. Cold, drafty, outdoor conditions have been introduced. Who knows? I might even wind up dumping the shop lights. The goal isn't to produce plants with long stems that can snap in two during a spring breeze. My goal, by introducing a little bit of that rough world outside, is a strong root system.

Seed Starting Rack Assembled by Gardening Moron

If I have a starter plant that is firmly rooted, with an extensive and healthy root system to boot, by the time April rolls around? Strong stem development will almost certainly follow as I begin to expose the plants to the outdoor elements.

So far -- the experiment is working. Germination was a bit slower this year. But -- two weeks after planting -- I'm pleased to report 100%, across-the-board germination with every tomato, pepper, eggplant, basil and lavender (Yes, LAVENDER! Talk to the Wife that is Venus!) in those 80 starter cups. The tomatoes have already developed their first set of true leaves.

What are the advantages to this system? The biggest advantage that I can think of, at this point, is we won't be doing any transplant work later this spring. The cups are large enough to hold tall, healthy starter plants. By the time these starters actually become root bound -- the hope is they will be ready to transplant into a permanent, raised bed home.

Bill Bird still dreams of a true greenhouse in the backyard. A greenhouse that offers the prospect of year-round tomato and cucumber production. But this do-it-yourself backyard landscaping experiment with all things fruit trees and raised beds for gardening production is taking a bit longer than I thought it would. I'm closer to the greenhouse prize than I was four years ago when a barren, backyard moonscape greeted us upon our move to the Bird Back 40.

As a wise gardening friend once preached: Patience. Our time will come.