Tomatoes of several varieties grow easily when started indoors before the beginning of your region's growing season. Starting tomatoes indoors allows for the sprouts to become strong enough to withstand the elements before you transplant them into your garden soil. The easiest way to start tomato plants indoors requires very few items and only minutes of your time.
Choose a peat moss pod for each seed you want to plant, and set it on the aluminum pie pan. Standard 8-inch pie pans give enough space for up to five peat moss pods. Condensed into a flat, small disc, peat moss pods serve as growing medium that can be transplanted directly into the ground, eliminating the need for potting soil and containers.
Place a single tomato seed in the shallow notch located in the center of each peat moss pod.
Water the pods containing the seeds by filling the bottom of the pie pan with approximately 1 1/2 inches of water. The pods will immediately begin to swell in size, and the peat pod will cover the tomato seed in the middle.
Place the pie pan on a sunny windowsill or other area in your home that has access to warmth and lighting. UV lights provide simulated sunlight for the plants when used with a 12-hour cycle of light and darkness.
Allow the tomato plants time to grow to four inches before transplanting them into a large planter box or directly into your garden's soil. To do so, tear open the thin fiber casing from the bottom of the pod and set it into a 5-inch deep hole of similar diameter.