How to Grow Tomatoes

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

Grow Tomatoes Grow Tomatoes

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More Americans grow tomatoes than any other vegetable. No wonder - there's no resemblance between the tasteless pink slices served in restaurants and the real deal, fresh from the vine and bursting with flavor. Tomatoes crave heat, but they'll grow anywhere in USDA zone 3 and warmer.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Step1
Buy tomato plants at the nursery for planting after all danger of frost has passed. Otherwise, start seeds indoors six to eight weeks before the last expected frost.
Step2
Choose a site that gets full sun and has soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Tomatoes need plenty of warmth to taste their best, so provide shelter from chilly breezes, whether with a windbreak of trees, a garden wall, or a vine-covered trellis.
Step3
Amend the soil with plenty of compost; tomatoes need soil rich in organic matter.
Step4
Harden off seedlings, whether store-bought or homegrown, and move them to the garden when nighttime temperatures remain above 50 degrees F.
Step5
Dig a hole the size of a basketball for each plant. Add a shovelful of compost and a handful of crushed eggshells (for needed calcium) to each hole.
Step6
Set the plants 12 to 18 inches apart depending on variety (see the seed packet or plant label). Plant them deeply - up to the fourth branch from the top - to encourage new root development.
Step7
Place a paper collar around each plant to deter cutworms, and cover the plants with cloches or floating row covers to protect them from insects and cool temperatures.
Step8
Remove the covers when the weather has warmed, mulch the soil and install any supports the plants will need as they grow.
Step9
Make sure plants get between one and two inches of water every week, and to ensure a bumper crop, spray them with compost tea or seaweed extract four times: two weeks after transplanting, after the first flowers appear, when the fruits reach the size of golf balls, and when you spot the first ripe tomato.
Step10
Pick tomatoes when their color is glossy and even, and their texture midway between soft and firm.

Tips & Warnings

  • There are more than 25,000 varieties of tomatoes to choose from, in many colors, in sizes ranging from half an inch to half a foot in diameter, and suited to a variety of climatic ranges. Consult seed catalogs and comprehensive garden books for both heirloom varieties and modern hybrids that will perform best in your growing conditions.
  • All tomatoes grow well in containers, and there are many miniature varieties, including "Tumbler," a sweet red cherry tomato bred specifically for pots and hanging baskets. For larger varieties, use at least a 10-gallon container (a half whiskey barrel is ideal) with good drainage, and fill it with a mixture of potting soil and compost. Provide plenty of moisture and feed every three weeks with a low-nitrogen organic liquid fertilizer.
  • Tomatoes are prone to a number of diseases, but you can avoid most of them by rotating your crop every year, cleaning up garden debris in the fall, and planting disease-resistant varieties.
  • Tomatoes are members of the poisonous nightshade family, so don't eat any parts of the plant but the fruits themselves.

Comments

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on 6/24/2008 What do you mean when you say "harden off seedlings"?

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on 6/19/2008 I personally use about two tablespoons of Epsom Salts on each of my tomato plants.

shirl333 said

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on 6/6/2008 i am a novice at growing tomatoes. However, my tomatoes are "MUSHY" inside. They also have a slight discoloration in the flesh. They have little "LIGHT COLORED LINES" in the flesh. They don't taste as good as some. I put 80% of the plant in the ground as stated. I also feed them with MIRACLE GRO FOR TOMATOES and I keep them watered. What am I going wrong? I have followed all instructions but can't seem to get it right...HELP!!!!I have some in CONTAINERS and some in the ground...HELP ME!!!!They get a lot of sun too.

shirl333 said

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on 6/6/2008 I do everything that I am suppose to do for growing tomatoes. But the problem that I have is; they are MUSHY and have little "light colored" "lines" in the flesh of the tomato...What am I doing wrong?..I keep them watered and fed with "miracle grow for tomatoes HELP!!!

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on 5/6/2008 How much epsom salts do you suggest?

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eHow Article:  How to Grow Tomatoes

eHow Home & Garden Editor

eHow Home & Garden Editor

Category: Home & Garden

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