How to Plant & Grow Tomatoes

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Choose the perfect spot for your tomato plants and begin preparations several weeks before you plan to set out seedlings. For optimum growth, tomatoes will need at least 8 to 10 hours per day of direct sunlight. Each plant will need approximately 18 square inches of space. Be sure to choose a place with good soil drainage that does not flood during heavy rains.
Step 2

Take a sample of your soil with a soil testing kit, available at most gardening centers. Follow the instructions on the kit to send your soil sample to the lab. The lab will provide a report of your soil quality with recommendations of additives you can use to improve it.
Step 3

Dig into the soil with your spade approximately one foot deep into the ground. Turn the soil to break up clumps and aerate it. Remove any twigs, weeds, or rocks from the plot.
Step 4

Mix your own compost, or store-bought compost, into your tomato plot. Smooth out the plot with a rake or hoe. Cover the plot with black plastic garbage bags. Weigh the ends of the bags down with bricks or rocks so that they don't blow away. Tomatoes love warm soil, so this will help to heat it up.

Step 1

Purchase tomato seeds or seedlings. Decide what type of tomatoes you want, such as cherry for salads, plum for great sauces, or beefsteak for nice big slicing tomatoes. Decide if you want early, mid or late season tomatoes, which will be listed on the label. For best results, look for seedlings marked V, F, N, or T, which indicates they are resistant to common diseases.
Step 2

Fill small plastic starter pots with potting soil if you are growing your own seeds. Place three to four tomato seeds in each pot. Two weeks after the plants sprout, thin the plants in each pot by cutting away all but the strongest seedling at the soil line.
Step 3

Set pots or seedlings on a sunny windowsill or outdoors in the sun in an area protected from chills and wind. Water them lightly but regularly.
Step 4

Harden off the plants about a week before transplanting, when they are six to eight inches tall. "Hardening off" is gradually adapting them to the new climate they will be in. Set the plants out in their pots, on top of the spot you have chosen for them, for a couple of hours the first day. Gradually lengthen the time you keep them out there over the course of the week by an hour or two each day for the rest of the week.

Step 1

Dig a hole in the soil for each tomato plant. Dig the hole so that approximately two-thirds of the plant will be under the soil line. Set the potted seedlings inside the holes to make sure they are the right height.
Step 2

Snip off all of the lower branches on the stem of the plant, leaving only the branches on the top third of the plant. This will help encourage good roots.
Step 3

Dislodge the tomato seedlings from the starter pots by squeezing gently until the soil holding the root ball slides out. Set it in the hole. Fill the rest of the hole with soil. Center the tomato cage around the plant and sink it into the soil until it is secure. Each plant should get its own cage.
Step 4

Water the plants after transplanting. A few days later, cover the ground with mulch.

Step 1

Water tomato plants regularly. Tomatoes need about an inch or two of water per week, and usually more if you live in a dry or very hot climate. Try not to allow your plants to dry out between watering. The best times to water is in the evening, or very early in the morning. Avoid watering in the middle of the day, when moisture on the plant can steam it under a very hot sun.
Step 2

Two weeks after transplanting, apply a good all-purpose vegetable fertilizer, such as Miracle Gro. Alternatively, you can make a tea by mixing composted manure with water and watering the plants with it. Feed your plants every four to six weeks until harvest.
Step 3

Check your tomato plants regularly for weeds or garden pests. Some common garden pests to watch out for are aphids, the tomato horn worm, and stink bugs. If you see any pests, blast your plants with a hose, or hand-pick them off and dispose of them. If pests persist, look into getting an organic or food crop safe pesticide.

References