Description
74 days. Iconic Italian heirloom. Its elongated plum shaped deep red meaty fruit are much sought after for sauce, canned and as sun dried tomatoes (dry or packed in olive oil). In all my years growing tomatoes, this is my first experience with them, and of course it would have to be during one of the coolest wettest summers we’ve had in many years. I didn’t start the plants from seed myself, so this might have left an echo if the plants weren’t given the ideal conditions in their first 6 weeks. I will grow them next year to do a true comparison with our other tomatoes.
- Seed Count: 25-30
- Collection Date: Oct 2024
- Hardiness Zone: annual
- Height and Width: indeterminate
- Germination test type: hand sort
How to germinate San Marzano tomato seeds:
Sow 5 mm deep. Keep moist; plastic cover improves success. Opt. germination temp: 18-25 C. Days to germ: 5-10. We use warmed moist medium (25-28C) when sowing. Equally warm water is used to mist in the seeds so there is good seed/medium contact. This jump starts the germination process. When watering your tomatoes ALWAYS use warm 25-28C water. This keeps the root mitochondria happy and vigorous. After all a plant is only as good as its roots. Give strong indirect light. After the 3rd true leaf, they’re transplanted from plug trays into individual containers. Medium is amended with rock phosphate, Gaia Green 4-4-4, and green sand. Once a week, the warm water is amended with 1 tbsp soluble kelp powder (2-2-16) and 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses per 5 gallon bucket. BTW: blossom end rot is a nutritional disorder caused by a lack of calcium causing fruit to rot from the blossom end. Use mulch to retain moisture. Never hit them with cold water.
