How to Grow Successful Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a delicious addition to dinner or a refreshing mid-day snack. Caring for a tomato plant is easy and saves you money in produce costs as well. Another benefit of growing your own tomatoes is that you can regulate the pesticides used on the plants and always ensure that your tomatoes are as fresh as possible. Follow a few simple tomato-growing guidelines and you may find yourself with a resilient plant and plenty of fresh tomatoes. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Spend some time walking around your home or garden to select the best area to plant your tomatoes. Tomatoes need a great deal of sunlight, so find a location that gets sun most of the day.
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Plant your tomatoes during the spring---the warm season is the best time to grow tomatoes. You want your average daytime temperature to be 90 degrees and 76 degrees at night for best results. You can plant once daytime temperatures are around 70 degrees, and night temperatures around 60 degrees.
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Choose slightly acidic soil with a pH balance of 6.2 to 6.8 that drains well. You may need to amend your soil with gardening soil to create the best conditions.
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Plant your seeds. Leave 24 to 36 inches of space between your tomato plants. This allows the plants to spread their roots without crowding one another and will improve the yield of each plant.
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Heavily water your tomatoes in order to produce a bountiful harvest. Remember, tomatoes are made mostly of water themselves, so your tomato will need more water than other plants.
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Use pesticide soap spray if insects become unmanageable. Spray the plants once a month for the best results.
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Tips & Warnings
Use mulch to protect your tomato plants from potentially dangerous weeds. Red plastic mulch is effective at reducing weeds.
Build a fence or barrier near your tomato plants in order to reflect heat and light towards your tomato plants. White is a good color to choose for your barrier or fence because the color strongly resists heat absorption and reflects light, projecting it onto nearby plants.
Consider making a small greenhouse for your tomato plants. The heat and humidity in the greenhouse may help increase the growth rate of your tomatoes.
Do not harvest tomatoes until they are a nice, ripe red. This means that the tomato is fully ripe and will have the best flavor.
Wash your fresh tomatoes carefully, especially if you had to use pesticide soap on them.
Apply pesticide soap in a well-ventilated area.
Thoroughly read and follow all directions listed on the pesticide package to avoid any accidents.
Wash your hands thoroughly after using the pesticide soap on your tomatoes.
