How to Grow Tomatoes

As organic as storebought tomatoes claim to be, they still will never compare with delicious, vine-ripened home grown tomatoes. Growing tomatoes in an urban, suburban, or rural garden is fun and easy. Make it a family tradition that your kids will take with them for the rest of their lives. Here's how:

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Garden tiller, pitchfork, or hoe for tilling soil
• Compost
• Garden soil
• Garden shovel
• Garden spade
• Live tomato plants
• Tomato food
• Stakes, tomato cages, or tomato plant ties for support

1. Visit your local garden center, hardware store, or other retail store and purchase garden soil and humus or compost. Humus and compost both help to add nutrients to the soil and improve soil texture.

2. While you're at the store, purchase small live tomato plants. For best results, purchase mainstream hybrid tomato varieties such as Celebrity, Better Boy, Big Boy, Sweet Million Cherry, and Early Girl. Make sure plants are green, healthy, and well watered. For hotter climates such as the south and southwestern United States, it may be wise to purchase heat- and drought-resistant tomato varieties such as Heatwave, Porter, or Bush.

3. After you get home, pick a sunny spot for your tomato garden. Tomato plants should get around six hours of sun per day.

4. Till soil using a tiller, hoe, or pitchfork. Tilling loosens soil and allows roots to be properly aerated. It also aids in proper water drainage.

5. After the initial tilling, add garden soil and compost or humus. Continue tilling until evenly mixed.

6. Using a shovel, dig several holes spaced 12 inches apart. This will give tomato plants plenty of room to grow.

7. Grab live tomato plants. If plants are contained in a plastic pot, remove plastic pot before planting. If tomato plants are contained in a special fiber paper pot, you can plant the entire plant pot and all.

8. Place tomato plants in holes and bury up to the first set of leaves. Roots will grow out from the stem of the tomato plant, making the entire plant stronger and healthier.

9. Fill holes with remaining garden soil. Water slightly, but not too much.

10. Every two weeks, feed tomato plant with special tomato food. Tomato food can either be spikes or liquid, and can be purchased in any garden center, hardware store, or big-box retail store.

11. When tomato plants grow taller, support plants with stakes, tomato cages, or tie to a fence.

Tips & Warnings

• For best results, purchase hybrid tomato varieties that are more resistant to viruses and diseases.
• Planting from seed is an option, but purchasing small live tomato plants is advantageous in the sense that you will get tomatoes faster.
• Feeding tomato plants with specially formulated tomato food will increase the health of the plants. This will lead to a greater abundance of healthy, large, juicy tomatoes.
• For hotter climates where daily summertime temps rise above 90 degrees, consider purchasing a heat-resistant tomato variety such as Heatwave.
• Humus is essentially compost in its mature stage of organic material decomposition.
• Garden soil is advantageous because it is specially formulated with an optimum texture and nutrient balance.
• Growing tomatoes from seed takes several weeks longer and can produce mixed results.
• Tomato plants must be supported with tomato cages, staked, or tied to a fence.
• To maximize health and nutrient balance of tomato plants, feed with special tomato food twice weekly.
• Bury tomato plants up to the first set of leaves. This results in stronger, healthier tomato plants as roots will actually grow out from the stem.
• If your tomato plants are being attacked by insects such as spider mites and aphids, consider a natural remedy such as neem, soapwater, and frequent pruning. Also consider planting anti-pest plants such as marigolds around the tomato plants.

[writedesign]

on 2/27/2009 We used to have a tomato garden in our backyard growing up. Our parents would can them by cooking them on the stove in a large pressure cooker. If you have kids and want to engage them in the gardening process, a tomato garden is a fun place to start. 5*rec

[robinc]

on 2/21/2009 Tomatoes are much easier to grow than most people realize. I had my soil analyzed at the local extension office for a small fee, so I would know what to add. And this year I'm definitely trying marigolds! 5*