Tomato plants

Isn’t it interesting to harvest a couple of tomatoes in your backyard to make a sweet salad or prepare a nice meal for your family? If you are interested in knowing how to grow tomatoes, then you are on the right place.
The first thing you need to know, is that tomatoes do not have many requirements and they can virtually grow anywhere provided there is a good supply of water and warmth. Nevertheless, you will also be required to spend a little time taking care of the plant for it to produce a good crop as it is with many vegetables. All you need is some patience and sufficient sunlight for you to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Tomatoes can take some time to grow and if you are a patient person, you will end up enjoying a good supply of fresh tomatoes direct from your garden. So what do you need to get to this?

Tomato plants

First of all, you will need tomato plants which you will later plant in your garden. You can find this little plants anywhere around your neighborhood where there is a nursery. This goes for people who are dong this for the first time. For others who have done it before, they can plant seeds in a nursery for themselves and later transparent them. To start you off, raise a couple of tomato plants from a sunny window indoors or a greenhouse from seeds around 30 days before you go to the garden to plant them.

If you aren’t in a position to place your little plant in the sunlight, try using artificial lights that stand near to the plants. These lights should be adjusted as the plant grows taller. The plant needs to be at least 6 inches before being transplanted and the spring weather is the best for tomatoes.
If you are good eaters of tomatoes in your family, make sure there are at least two plants for each member. For those people planning to make fresh salsa from the tomatoes, they can try four plants per member. As a guide, expect to spend around 4 bucks for an 8 inch plant or around 5 plants which are 3 cm tall. Once you acquire the plants, ensure you have a place where sunlight is sufficient to transplant them. You should choose a place in your garden where sunlight exposure is up to 7 hours on a daily basis as tomatoes need adequate sunlight for a rich taste. Make sure you note the weather changes of your state or area so that you won’t be too late to plant your seedlings. Most areas where the nights are cold, tomato fruits don’t bear but the ones that are already there will always flourish.

Preparing a garden bed

If you are preparing a garden bed, ensure it has a good supply of manure. It’s recommended to use rotten compost and avoid any green matter as it can increase the chances of disease and pest infection. The recommended compost per sq foot is around 7 pounds. Tomatoes need organic matter to grow well and therefore make sure that the compost is about 8cm on the top soil. If you don not know how to make compost manure, you can buy it in your nearest store at around 5 bucks per bag which is usually 40 pounds.

Planting your tomatoes

When you are ready to plant your seedlings, go to the garden and plant them deeply. It’s recommended to bury more tan 50% of the seedling especially because they will become skinny plants later when they are growing. There is no problem with burying a couple of the lower leaves. The stem that you bury will produce some roots which will help the plant to grow. After transplanting, make sure that the plants get around 4 liters of water which is about 80 degrees warm in not more than 10 minutes so that the seedlings don’t get a transplant shock.
It’s recommended that you leave a space of about 18 to 35 inches between the plants and in warmer areas you can use half the distance. If you are planting in a cage, there is no need for that as the plants usually shade each other which consequently make the tomato sweeter. The spacing is required to allow the plants to bush out while growing. You should also allow some space for your routine maintenance practices such as weeding.
When done planting, make sure you provide around 500 ml of water per plant each day for the first 10 days. The water should also be warm. After one week of transplanting, you can mulch the tomato plants to enhance their intake of water. Make sure you only provide the needed amount of water as excess water will slop the roots of the tomato plants. Using drip irrigation method is better for the plants and if you need to use fertilizer, you can go ahead to increase the produce.