
Tomatoes are a favorite crop for many home gardeners, and even beginner gardeners can have success when growing their very first tomato plant.Tomatoes are relatively easy to grow and can provide delicious fruits for many months. It takes more than just experience to grow tomatoes effectively. Here are a few tips to help you improve your tomato-growing skills and see bigger yields. We've created a list of tips for growing tomatoes in your home garden that will result in healthier plants, bigger yields, and less work.
Which tomato varieties are best for you?
What types of tomatoes should a beginner or intermediate gardener grow? It depends on how much time you have. The first year requires more time for setting up.
Cherry tomatoes have many advantages. They grow well in large pots. Harvest them as soon as they are ripe. Since the fruit is smaller and weighs less, tomato cages work well. If your cage starts tipping over, put a sturdy stake in the middle to keep it stable. They need less pruning. And sometimes no pruning is okay too. Pruning excess leaves and stems will allow the plant to put more energy into producing fruit. You can harvest gradually all season long. Many people enjoy eating the fruit directly from the plant. Plus, squirrels don’t generally like to eat them.
Since determinate tomatoes are smaller, they are the easiest to grow. They don’t require a trellis or pruning. You might need to support the plant with a stake if it grows too tall. You need to carefully protect them from squirrels if you don't have a dog that often runs around your yard. The downside of determinate tomatoes is that you get a lot of them all at once, which is great for a farmer who sells their crops, but not as good for a family who only wants a few tomatoes at a time. Always choose determinate tomatoes for a small container. If you want a big harvest and healthy fruit, add ash from a fireplace to the bottom of the seedling hole. The ash will add potassium to the soil.
Indeterminate tomatoes are a type of vine that grows tall and produces fruit gradually. But they will need careful pruning, support and staking. A plant with a heavy fruit needs a sturdier support. If there are a lot of squirrels in your area, the birds will need extra protection.
Tomato Growing Secrets
Some secrets to growing tomatoes successfully involve tomato planting tips and soil health, while others are focused on how to properly care for tomato plants throughout the growing season. The following tomato growing secrets are meant to help you reduce the amount of work you have to do while still getting a large harvest.
Tip #1: Phosphorous is a big deal
Tomatoes love sun. The ideal amount of full sun per day is at least six hours. Did you know that in order for plants to grow, they need more than just water and sunlight? They also need nutrient-dense soil with a particular focus on ample phosphorous. Phosphorous encourages the development of sturdy roots, flowers, and fruits. If you want big, leafy green tomato plants, don't overfeed them with high-nitrogen fertilizers because they will have few flowers and fruits.
Tip #2: Soil pH matters
The pH of soil is a big influence on tomato production, even though most gardeners don’t know what it is. The deepest tomato plant roots are found in soils with a pH between 6.2 and 6.5. When your soil pH is within a certain range, the plant's roots can absorb a greater variety of nutrients. It is recommended that you buy a high-quality do-at-home soil test kit and use the results to guide you in adjusting your pH to reach the optimum target.
The key to healthy plants and soil is having a large population of healthy microorganisms. The most important factor in increasing the harvest and growing nutrient dense organic produce is keeping your families and community healthy. As the microbe population grows the soil fertility increases. Soil that is high in organic matter promotes the growth of roots that are large and efficient, allowing them to access more nutrients and water. The result is extra-lush, extra-productive growth and pest resistance. Soil microorganisms protect plants against disease and other threats while also digesting nutrients.
Don’t till your soil. Soil fertility decreases when it is disturbed or compacted. Soil should beLoose and Fluffy, with lots of Air Pockets to allow air and water to flow. So don’t till or walk on your soil.
This soil blend is ideal for growing vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers. This soil blend contains topsoil, dense leaf mulch, leaf compost, sand and charged biochar in the proper proportions, making it ideal for growing vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers.
Biochar is a type of charcoal made specifically for use in agricultural and gardening soils. The biochar mixed into the initial soil of a bed or container will remain in the soil to increase fertility and water absorption while decreasing nutrient leaching. Biochar that has been “activated” or “charged” already has microbes and nutrients in its pores. Never add raw “uncharged” biochar to your soil.
Biochar can be used as an ingredient in potting mix for container plants, seeds, cuttings, or transplants. Peat moss can be improved with the addition of perlite, vermiculite, wood chips, and/or pine bark. These additions improve the physical properties of peat moss including water drainage and aeration.
Tip #3: No “splash and dash” allowed
Tomato plants need a lot of water during the growing season. If you do not provide consistent moisture, your tomatoes are at risk of developing a physiological disorder called blossom-end rot. If you see this on any of your tomato plants, you should cut out the canker and any surrounding affected area. If you see a black, sunken canker on the bottom of your tomato plant, you should cut out the canker and any surrounding affected area. Blossom-end rot is a symptom of a lack of calcium in the developing fruit, but it is not caused by a lack of calcium in your soil. Most soils have ample calcium. When the soil is not kept moist, the tomato plant cannot absorb calcium through its roots. The result of not having enough calcium in the plant is a deficiency (but not in the soil). Adding calcium to the soil will not help. Proper watering is the answer.
Tip #4: Protect plants for an earlier harvest
A secret to getting a jump-start on tomato season is to use weather protection so you can plant earlier. Tomatoes like hot weather, but if you surround newly planted transplants with some type of insulation, you can plant them a few weeks earlier. Cone-shaped, dual-walled plastic insulators that you fill with water will protect your plants from cold weather. The water can store heat from the daytime and then release it at night to help keep the plants warm. Use one per plant for the first few weeks after planting. When the weather heats up, drain and remove it.
A cover of dense leaf mulch 4 inches deep can help retain moisture in the soil and prevent diseases from splashing onto lower leaves. Test before you water. If a plant is wilting, it may be because it is too hot, not receiving enough water, or receiving too much water. If you push your finger into the soil and the tip feels damp, it contains moisture. If there are a lot of tiny soil particles on your finger when you pull it out, the soil is probably very fine. Water regularly only when when seedlings are first planted. You should wait until the soil is dry before watering it deeply since this will encourage the tomatoes to be more intensely flavored. Tomatoes need approximately one inch of precipitation per week, and more during the hottest days. It's best to water plants in the morning and to avoid getting water on the leaves, as water on the leaves can promote disease. Gently pour water around the stem of the plant, being careful not to splash any onto the leaves. This can cause disease. Some people prefer drip irrigation because it keeps the soil moist.
Tip #5: Go deep or horizontal
Tomato plants differ from other garden vegetables in that they are able to form roots all along their stems (called adventitious roots). This technique is used by smart gardeners to take advantage of the fact that tomato plants can grow new roots along their buried stems. By planting the transplants either very deeply or horizontally and burying as much of the stem as possible, more of the stem is exposed to potential root growth. Tomatoes planted deeply and horizontally results in a large root system that is able to better handle droughts and access soil nutrients.
Tip #6: Loose roots are better than tight
When inspecting a tomato plant that has been transplanted, take a close look at the roots. The organisms in the container are likely swimming in circles and creating a dense, tangled mess. Before planting, use your fingers to break apart the root ball and loosen it. Don't worry, you don't have to be gentle while doing this. Dig in and pull the roots apart. When planting, the root mass should not be the same shape as the container. If you loosen or tear the roots before planting, the roots will spread out into the existing soil instead of growing in a circle around the pot. Before you cover the roots back up with soil, make sure to spread them out in the hole.
Tip #7: Always interplant
Here's a growing secret to help reduce pests: Look for a tomato. Interplanting is the answer! You should never plant your tomatoes alone; it's always best to plant them with a few friends. Herbs that are in the same family as carrots, like dill, fennel, and cilantro, grow well next to tomatoes. The flowers of the yucca plant provide food in the form of nectar for parasitic wasps. These wasps help gardeners to control pests such as the tomato hornworm. Alyssum is a great flower to interplant with tomatoes. The flowers of this plant attract several species of syrphid and tachinid flies, which feed on pests such as aphids, whiteflies, leaf-footed bugs, and tomato fruit worms.
Intercropping grows more food in less space. If you have wasted space around the base of your vertical tomatoes, you can still make use of it. Pruning the lower leaves of the tomato plants allows the short crops to grow and breath heavily.
By planting different crops in the same area, you can increase the overall diversity in your garden. This will help to naturally control pests. Tomato hornworms are attracted to crops by their scent (pheromones) like many other pests. The more diverse the ecosystem, the more pheromones are produced, which masks the scent of tomatoes and reduces the number of pests.
You should not plant heavy feeders at the base of tomato plants because they are very heavy feeders. Don’t plant spinach which feeds heavily on nitrogen. Lettuce feeds lightly on nitrogen so will work fine. You can plant radishes very early in the season in the shaded areas.
Tip #8: Prune. Or don’t.
Many gardeners worry about whether or not they should prune their tomato plants. It doesn't really matter if you prune your plants or not. You can choose to prune your plants or not, as long as you give them plenty of support and space them out properly. If you want your plant to look neat and tidy, cut off the suckers. If you're okay with a plant that is bushy and sprawling, allow the suckers to grow into full stems. Gardeners who are in between the two extremes do some pruning, but they are not religious about it.
Indeterminate tomatoes need to be pruned, but determinate tomatoes do not. What’s the difference between “indeterminate” and “determinate” tomatoes?
Pruning determinate tomatoes, or tomatoes that grow to a compact height, can help the plant to produce more fruit. Determinate tomatoes grow until the fruit sets on the top bud, at which point they stop growing. The tomatoes from the plant usually ripen over a period of 1-2 weeks. Removing the bottom leaves is sufficient.
Indeterminate tomatoes will keep growing as long as the season lasts, and they usually produce a lot of fruit. Many favorite heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate varieties. Indeterminate tomatoes need to be pruned correctly so that the plant's energy will go into the fruit and not the leaves. Cut off any new baby branches, or “suckers,” since they will turn into new main stems. Only allow one or two main stems, called “leaders.” Suckers generally grow at a 45º angle between the main stem and a branch of leaves.
Cherry tomatoes can have 3 to 4 large leaders. Prune “suckers” so plant energy goes into fruit production.
The following secrets will guarantee you have a great tomato harvest.
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