Tomatoes are one of the most favorite plants in our vegetable garden. It’s not surprising since almost everything you cook demands the tasty flavor of tomatoes. Although we love growing tomatoes, it’s a stubborn plant and requires a lot of attention before maturity to produce a better yield.
We’ve composed all the essential information to help you grow and take care of your tomatoes from the planting stage to the harvesting period. Read on to find out crucial tips for growing great tomatoes.
1. Don’t crowd the seedlings
Avoid crowding the tomato seedlings to enable them to get sufficient light and nutrients. If you are planting the tomato seedlings in your vegetable garden, the spacing between each should be about 18-24 inches. Use a big container and place a single seedling in each if you grow tomatoes in pots.
2. Plant seedlings deeply
Planting your tomato seedlings deep will enable them to produce many roots that will utilize all the nutrients in the soil. Therefore, it will make your tomato plant grow fast and have strong stems.
Plant your tomato seedlings about 1/2-inch-deep and bury the stem up to the first leaves.
3. Remove the lower leaves
The bottom leaves from your tomato plants to avoid spreading fungal and soilborne diseases. Because the lower leaves are close to the soil and don’t get enough light and air, they create a conducive environment for fungus problems.
Remove the lower leaves when the plant is about 3 feet tall.
4. Mulching
Mulching will help retain moisture in the soil and protect your tomato plant against soilborne diseases such as root-knot nematodes. Therefore, you won’t have the hard task of watering daily and regular spraying.
5. Support your tomato plant
Support your tomato plant to stand upright to avoid diseases, eliminate pests, and protect the fruits. Common ways of supporting your tomato plant are through staking and caging.
6. Pinch and prune the suckers
Pinching and pruning the suckers will enable your plant to yield great tomatoes and extend its harvesting period. Remove the suckers when they are small to avoid damaging the plant.
7. Water deeply
You should water your tomato plants deeply and should be at their base. It would be best to water your garden tomato daily because they require about 1-2 inches of water every week.
8. Preheat the soil
It would be best to heat the ground with black plastic or a garden fleece to increase its temperature to provide favorable conditions for your garden tomatoes. You should warm your soil to about 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Provide enough light
Tomatoes provide higher yields when exposed to light. You should find a suitable position where your tomato plant can receive full sunlight for about 6-8 hours a day.
10. Feed your garden tomato
Prepare the soil with organic fertilizers before planting your seedlings to enrich the soil with nutrients that will feed your tomato plant. Also, you can apply dry fertilizer to the topsoil to slowly absorb it into the ground when watering the garden.
Conclusion
Maintaining tomato plants is quite challenging and requires sure tips to ensure you increase your yields. We want to see your garden tomato flourish, so we created a guide that will help you grow great tomatoes.
