—Lancaster Fannins, Saturday, December 2,1978
118
Winter is the season for indoor gardening
Some varieties of tomatoes will grow indoors
over the Winter months.
DOYLESTOWN - With the
close of the growing season
outdoors in much of the
United States, gardening
moves inside for the Winter
months. Many folks have
only a few pots of ivy,
philodendron and other
foliage plants to decorate in
their homes. Attractive and
fresh as these are, they are
missing a lot of fun, color,
variety and yes, even a taste
treat if they don’t garden
from seeds on sunny window
sills or under plant lights
“Pine Hybnd Tomato,
Nugget Mangolds and
Carefree Coleus all grow
well inside from seeds sown
now or before New Year’s”,
says Jeanette Lowe, Burpee
Seed Company hor
ticulturist and avid home
gardener. “I start some
seeds every year about this
time; I just have average
growing conditions on sunny
windowsills. My rather
unusual houseplants, are the
talk of my guests. Plant
lights can create “sunshine”
if you don’t have sufficient
natural light, but I have
great success with only
sunlight.”
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Name
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Phone
Planting formula or peat
pellets are ideal for indoor
planting. One can fill small
pots, about four mches
across, to the top with
planting formula and press
down gently. A person
should plant two or three
mangold or tomato seeds to
each pot or pellet, covermg
lightly and keeping evenly
moist. At average room
temperature, seeds sprout in
about a week to ten days.
Young seedlings need to get
all the sunshine possible,
either natural or artificial.
Pots or pellets on win
dowsills should be elevated
so rims are at least on a level
with the glass panes. This
helps prevent seedlings from
getting spindly reaching up
for light. If one uses plant
lights, one should adjust
them four to six mches above
the tops of plants, turning
them on for twelve to sixteen
hours per day, off at mght.
Extra seedlings should be
transplanted or snipped out
to leave just the strongest
one to each pot or pellet.
Some mangolds grow to
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k Newville. PA 17241
W Phone - 717-776-3129
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blooming size very mcely in
4-mch pots or pellets. The
tomatoes eventually need
more root room, and should
be shifted to containers at
least six inches wide and
deep.
Coleus seeds are tiny; they
should be sprinkled over the
surface of planting formula
and barely covered. It may
be two weeks or more before
small, all-green leaves
appear. Locked in the
“coleus computer” are
hundreds of amazing dif
ferent color and pattern
designs, which start showing
with the second pair of
leaves. When the seedlings
are big enough to handle, one
can select those that are best
to transplant to four-inch
containers.
Plant should be watered
thoroughly so the excess
comes out the drainage hole
of the pot or the bottom of the
pellet into the saucer below.
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After about five minutes,
this excess should be poured
off. One can water again
when the surface of the
planting material feels dry
to touch. This may be every
day, or every few days
depending on “weather”
conditions indoors and out.
During bright sunny days
plants will dry out much
faster than m dull weather.
Plantmg formula, pellets
and special potting mixtures
contain nutrients, but
eventually these need
replacing. It’s wise practice
for one to apply a water
soluble fertilizer according
to manufacturer’s direc
tions, to houseplants about
once every two weeks.
Mangolds start bursting
into bloom in February or
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early March. The sooner one
starts seeds, the faster the
plants will usually begin to
flower, especially as the
hours of sunlight lengthen
toward Spring. The
tomatoes, now a stockly foot
or so tall, attract attention,
too, with their blossom
clusters. These should be
tapped with a pencil or
finger to help them pollinate.
Soon little green fruits ap
pear which swell in a few
weeks to bright red juicy
tomatoes the size of ping
pong balls. The developing
load of fruits is heavy, so the
plants need support. One can
insert a sturdy stake
alongside each stem and tie
up the branches with soft
twine. A person may prefer
three stakes evenly spaced
around the pot edge.
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312 W. Main St.
New Holland, PA
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It should be a thrill for
everyone to enjoy the beauty
and color of Summer indoors
m Winter and early Spring.
Perhaps best of all, however,
is when one can pop freshly
picked tomatoes into his
mouth or mto his favorite
salad.
Now is a good time to start
indoor gardening fun from
seeds. One can still order
from the full selection of
varieties hsted in Burpee’s
Spring Gardening Catalog;
seed starting supplies from
Burpee’s Fall Bulb & Gift
Ideas Catalog. To be sure of
getting future issues, one
may send his name and
address to the Burpee
Branch Office nearest you:
Warminster, Pa. 18974;
Clinton, la. 52732; Riverside,
Ca. 92502.