Check the seed package for the recommended spacing between seedlings for each variety you are planting. Dig a hole in the middle of your tomato bed that is at least a few inches deeper than the depth of the pot the seedlings are in.Consult a biodynamic calendar or farmer’s almanac to time your planting according to the optimal alignment of the moon and other celestial bodies – or just plant them when you have the time. Tomatoes are ready for transplanting into the garden when the seedlings are 3 to 4 inches tall, and the nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees. Using a hard metal rake, sculpt the loose soil into a low broad mound no more than 4 feet wide.Spread 2 or 3 inches of compost over the surface and thoroughly mix it into the soil.Using a Rototiller or a digging fork, loosen the soil to a depth of at least 8 inches.Tomatoes prefer a location with 8 hours or more of direct sunlight and rich, well-drained soil. Day one of the hardening-off period is a good time to start preparing the soil. And because heavy, waterlogged soil covered in weeds or cover crops is slow to warm up in spring, it’s helpful to prepare tomato beds a week or more before transplanting. The warmer the soil is, the faster they will grow. Keep an eye on the weather and bring them in if there is any danger of frost. After five or six days of going back and forth, leave the seedlings out overnight for the remaining four or five days.Continue taking them back and forth each day, leaving them out a little longer each time and slowly increasing their sun exposure by inching them out of the shade.On day two, leave them outdoors for a little longer.Take your tomato seedlings outside and leave them in this protected place for a few hours on day one.One option is to string a shade cloth overhead and on the windward side. Find a sheltered place outside where the seedlings can sit in filtered sunlight, out of the wind.Acclimating tomato seedlings to outdoor conditions is a bit like helping your child adjust to kindergarten – it takes plenty of patience and hand-holding. “Hardening off” tomato seedlings means gradually introducing them to the outdoors. To help them along, there are two things you need to do before you transplant your seedlings: Prepare the soil and something gardeners call hardening off. Between desiccating winds, the heat of the sun, and armies of bugs and diseases that may be waiting in ambush, there is much that can go wrong for a young tomato plant. What they don’t realize is that conditions are harsh in the outside world. Gradually decrease the frequency of watering during the hardening off process but don’t let seedlings to wilt.You’ve sowed your tomato seeds, and now the seedlings stand like little green soldiers in your window, patiently waiting to be liberated from their pots and plunked into a warm bed of earth.
At this point of time, it is safe to transplant your plants.If the nights are still cooler, cover the plants with flee or row cover.
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