Everyone loves a red, juicy homegrown tomato. Tomatoes are added to many summertime recipes like bruschetta, salsa, and salads. It is not difficult to grow tomatoes, but they can have their problems. Keep reading for the best tips on growing big, healthy tomatoes.
Watering Tomatoes
Gardeners often have a lot of questions when growing tomatoes. Like How often should you water your tomatoes? Here are 5 tomato growing, care tips for watering:
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Water slowly.
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Provide an inch of water per week.
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Soaker hoses can be helpful.
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Cover tomato soil with mulch.
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Water deeply.
Fertilize the Soil
Tomatoes like rich, well-draining soil that is slightly acidic. Gardeners can test the ground and if it is lower than a pH of 6.5, try adding sulfur or composted organic matter. If it is above 6.5 pH, add some dolomite lime to the soil. A good fertilizer, such as Dr. JimZ Fertilizer, can also do wonders for tomato plants.
Tomato plants should be fertilized soon after planting and just before fruiting. Apply the first round of fertilizer a month after planting. The tomato plant will be new but should have had enough time to adjust from the shock of planting. Gardeners should give the second round of fertilizer as soon as the tomato plant starts fruiting. This schedule provides the plant a boost to produce plumper, juicer fruit. These care tips will help the plants to thrive.
Lots of Sun
Tomatoes thrive when they get as much sunshine as possible. Growers should aim for at least seven hours of sun per day for tomato plants, according to realtimecampaign.com. To let the light get to all of the tomatoes properly, plant the seedlings 30-48 inches apart, with rows 48 inches apart.
Plant at the Right Time
Gardeners can start their seedlings or buy them as small plants, but they should not plant them outside until the soil temperature stays above 60 degrees. Planters should watch if the weather turns cold and protect seedlings with covers or plant protectors at night.
Plant with Other Plants
Consider growing basil, onions, and garlic along with the tomatoes. They will repel nematodes and other pests that like to feed on tomatoes. They also will taste great with the juicy tomatoes that gardeners harvest.
Some studies show that marigolds also repel nematodes. Marigolds also deter beetles, which can destroy a garden. In addition, they invite pollinators and make the garden look beautiful with their bright yellow flowers. Tomato plants can help other plants as well. Plant the tomatoes next to cabbage to resell diamondback moth larvae that love to feed on cabbage leaves. There are plenty of extra resources online to help understand what is best planted with tomatoes.
Stakes and Cages
Tomatoes can be one of two types. Determinate plants are compact plants that produce fruit all at the same time. Indeterminate plants produce fruit throughout the summer. Determinate plants keep to themselves and do not need support from stakes or cages. Gardeners need to place stakes or cages on tomato plants early before they get so large that they begin to fall over and lose fruit.
Tomato plants bear fruit that can be enjoyed all summer long. Proper care will yield the best results.
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