This New Gardening Solution Will Make Growing Tomatoes Easier Than Ever

Starting tomatoes and peppers from seed is one of the more rewarding endeavors a home gardener can undertake. Planting a tiny seed and nurturing it until a tender seedling emerges not only feels like a genuine accomplishment, it can also be downright life-affirming. But tomatoes and peppers typically require starting indoors, delaying the gratification of getting right to work in the garden, explained George Ball, Chairman of Burpee, headquartered in Warminster. “Most of our customers think of their seeds as their babies,” Ball said. “They love to grow them inside before replanting them. But some of our customers feel this is too many steps. We believe they’d prefer to sow seeds into the ground outside and watch them grow in their garden.”

Could full-flavor tomatoes and peppers be easily grown directly from soil? It’s a question Ball sought to answer. Thanks to his company’s new gardening breakthrough, Garden Sown tomato and pepper seeds, it’s possible to grow five varieties of these veggies in outdoor soil, in any hardiness zone (including Philly’s zone 7), that taste every bit as delicious and grow as early as transplants. Ball said, “You can save time and work outside. The sun, fresh air, and birdsong are part of the fun of gardening.”

Typically, tomato and pepper seeds need to be cultivated for six to eight weeks in the warmth of the indoors, in trays perched on a sunny windowsill or under a plant light. For folks in our area, the process usually begins in March. Here in Pennsylvania, seedlings are moved to a sheltered area outside in early May before they’re planted in the garden about a week later. While you can opt to buy tomato plants, they have to be replanted from pots, their growth slowing as their roots adjust to their new environment. With Burpee’s Garden Sown tomato and pepper seeds, the process is simple for newbies and experienced gardeners alike. Garden Sown is a new collection of direct-to-garden seeds that produce fruit within 70 days of being sown in fertile, well-worked soil as early as one week before your region’s average last frost date (typically April 3 to April 10 in the Philly area).

“You can save time and work outside. The sun, fresh air, and birdsong are part of the fun of gardening.”

One secret to Garden Sown’s success, distinguishing the collection from standard seeds, is that these seeds thrive in cool spring temperatures. It’s the result of six years of research and development by the Burpee team in Holland and Doylestown at Burpee’s historic Fordhook Farm. “We grew tomatoes in colder-than-usual temperatures and saw a few thrived in that environment. So we collected the seeds from those that did well,” Ball explained. “By selecting only the seeds from those cold-tolerant plants and continuing from generation to generation, we ended up with a hearty crop that does well in the cooler nighttime air of early spring. We’ve created a new type of tomato that can grow after the last frost.”

Under the care of rain and sun, Garden Sown seedlings will grow as fast as — if not quicker than — seedlings started indoors and transplanted. “Tomatoes prefer to be grown under the shining sunlight,” Ball explained. “The sun is going to grow that seedling for its entire existence. The sun is its father for its entire life.”

The collection features five mouth-watering varieties, all available at Burpee — with no need for a seed tray or grow light. Ball does recommend a cage to support your tomato plants, though. “Otherwise, your plants will droop under the weight of all this fruit, some of which will eventually touch wet or even moist soil. These tomatoes will rot and so will those on the next vine.” Ahead, a look at the new Garden Sown varieties.

Burpee’s Groundswell Tomato is low-hassle, time-saving, and resistant to transplant shock. “It’s so large, you need two hands to hold it,” said Ball. Like other beefsteak tomatoes, it ripens early but keeps producing for months. Expect heirloom-like fruits with a savory flavor and enough heft to top burgers, sliced into sandwiches, or wedged for salads.

Who wouldn’t love a long trail of larger-than-average cherry tomatoes dripping from an easy-to-grow plant? Rain Drops is a marvel: A direct-sow, easy-to-grow, crack-resistant hybrid that will keep producing until the first frost. Toss Rain Drops in salads, blister them in a hot skillet, and serve them with crusty sourdough bread, or clip a grape-like tumble of these beauties to add color to a cheese platter or arrangement of crudités.

Plant and pick this colorful red snacking pepper if you want high yields and few seeds. Burpee’s exceptionally sweet Sow Sweet peppers ripen quickly. They can be roasted with olive oil, pureed and stirred into hummus, sprinkled over nachos, or baked with spicy jalapeno cream cheese if you’re in the mood for pepper poppers.

These easily grown, bull-horn-shaped “corno” peppers have a bite like Michael Corleone but with as much savory sweetness as Kay. Red in color, The Groundfather plant offers huge yields, so you can generously add them to a chopped salad, fry them with olives and capers, or stuff them with cheese for an Italian take on chili rellenos.

These flavor bombs come in early and give big yields. “These peppers are so plentiful per plant that I’ve lost count,” Ball said. He described Lavaland as “a 4-inch long red Thai pepper that’s hotter than cayenne but without the bitter taste.” Use Lavaland to make salsa, add spice to your stir fry, or crank up your queso fundido.

While the Garden Sown collection from Burpee is a game-changing innovation, the line reflects the brand’s long-held aim: “Our mission is to help everybody garden,” Ball said. “These are created to work.” Burpee has been based in the Philly area since 1876, so area gardeners can feel great not just about their abundant crop, but about supporting a local business. And if you’re headed to The Philadelphia Flower Show, March 1 to 9, be sure to visit Burpee’s shop, where you can stock up on seeds, including the new Garden Sown collections.

LUCY DANZIGER is a journalist, author and the former editor-in-chief of Self magazine, Women Sports & Fitness, and The Beet.