How To Grow Tomatoes

A Guide On How To Grow Tomatoes

Here in the Northern hemisphere our thoughts are turning to spring and sowing seeds.

Eating tomatoes is great, growing your own makes it even better so, know the particulars of how to grow tomatoes and have a beautiful tomato selection in your garden. Tomatoes are a popular home crop and growing tomatoes is quite easy. First, choose methods for raising, then choose the variety you want to grow. Amongst the various blogs I have produced there should be all you need to get you started.

How To Grow Tomatoes

Sowing Tomato Seeds
Sow the tomato seeds in a pot or seed tray towards the end of April. (If you are in the Southern Hemisphere then please take off 6 months as you are so far ahead of the rest of us.) Fill up a 3-inch pot with seed compost, firm the surface lightly and then water the pot. Scatter the seeds thinly, cover them with a small amount of compost and then label the pot. Always keep the compost moist but do not over water and create a waterlogged disaster. Use top quality peat free compost. Leave them to germinate at a place, which is warm, and frost-free like a windowsill.

For starting even earlier try placing a damp sheet of kitchen roll in a shallow tray sprinkle the seeds then cover with a second damp sheet of kitchen roll, place this all inside a plastic bag and put into your airing cupboard.

Handling Tomato Seeds
Let the tomato plants grow large enough so that you can handle them easily. Now, with a dibber, prick out a single seedling fetching as many roots with it as possible. Hold a leaf and lift the seedling gently. Try to avoid the stem as it can get easily damaged.

Planting Tomato Seedlings
Plant the tomato seedling in its own 3-inch pot of seed compost. Softly position it into its place and water. Keep it in a frost-free, well-lit and warm location. Turn the pot daily if you have placed it on a windowsill.

Growing on the Tomato Plants
When you see the roots of the tomato plant are growing through the drainage holes transfer the tomato plant into a 5-inch growing tomato container. Be careful to prevent the roots from damaging and water the pot well. If the plant has grown very tall, tie it to a cane for support.

Planting Out Tomato Plants
Add organic matters into the soil. Drive a strong stake around 0.75 inches (19mm) diameter into the soil after the threat of frost has passed. Then dig a hole into the soil next to the stake that is a little deeper than the height of the tomato plant’s pot. Then place the tomato plant in the hole and firm in the ground. Feed the plants with high potash fertilizers for a healthy growth. More on growing tomatoes in greenhouses will follow very soon.

Staking Of Tomato Plants
Tie the plant’s stem loosely to the stake with soft twine. Check the ties regularly throughout the growing process of tomatoes and to prevent stem damage loosen the ties occasionally. Plant the next tomato 18 inch away from the first plant so that the ripening fruits can get sunlight.

Remove Side Shoots From The Tomato Plant
The full energy of the plant should be channeled into the fruits but the side shoots often hinder the process. So you must nip out any side shoots developing between the leaf and the stem, use your thumb and finger for this job.

Harvest Of Tomatoes
After the fruits have ripened, bend back the fruit at the notch on the stem to pick it. You can eat the fruits immediately or can store them for a week in the fridge. Help the remaining fruits mature by feeding and watering them continually.

Some Brilliant Tips For Better Tomato Growing

- Sow the seeds six to eight weeks before the expected last frosts
- Label the seed pot with the “variety name” and date of sowing
- 59 F to 68 F is the best temperature for the germination of tomato seeds
- Place the tomato plants outside during the day for a few weeks to harden them off before planting them out
- The site of planting should contain organic matters
- After the first flower-bearing truss has formed, the tomato plant is ready for planting out
- Water the plants regularly to prevent the fruit’s skin from splitting
- When four trusses have borne fruit, remove the growing tip to make ripening faster
- During summer, remove weeds from around the tomato plants for better growth

These “how to grow tomato easy tips” will make your garden flourish with healthy tomato plants.