How to Look After Tomato Plants

Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables grown at home. Tasty and versatile, they are delicious right off the vine, on a burger or used in a sauce. It's common to see tomatoes being sold at farmer's markets or growing in a neighbor's yard. Although popular, they can be difficult to grow properly. They need proper amounts of sun and water in order to produce healthy tomatoes.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel or trowel Organic mulch Watering tools Support for the plant, like a tomato cage

Instructions

How to Look After Tomato Plants

1. Plant your tomatoes at least one foot apart, and preferably two feet apart. Tomato plants need a lot of room to grow.

2. Make sure your tomatoes get a lot of sun. While most tomato growers know that tomatoes like full sun, not many realize that the plants need eight hours of sunlight every day in order to produce optimum fruit. If they get less than this amount on a regular basis, they will produce small, poor fruit.

3. Make sure your tomatoes get a lot of water. In fact, they need moist soil at all times. If the soil is allowed to dry out, the roots will absorb calcium, resorting in rot. Try to avoid standing water, however, as this can also lead to rot and disease.

4. Support the plants. If the leaves, blossoms or fruit touch the ground, the plant can break, or it can develop rot where the fruit is touching the soil.

5. Mulch the plants. Tomatoes like to be fed weekly, and the best way to do this is to put a two- or three-inch layer of organic mulch around the base of the plant. Not only will this fertilize the tomato plant, but it will help keep the soil moist as well.

Tips & Warnings

• Five or six plants is enough to supply you with tomatoes throughout the season, with some left over for a neighbor as well.

References

• Tips for growing tomatoes
• Ten mistakes to avoid when growing tomatoes

Resources

• More about growing tomatoes