How to Grow Pink Tomatoes
Several varieties of pink tomatoes exist on the market, including pink heirloom tomatoes, pink Momotaro (Japanese heirloom tomatoes) and pink cherry tomatoes. These tomatoes grow as easily as normal red tomatoes and can be raised successfully with a few simple tips. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Pink tomato seeds or starter plants
- Outdoor garden space or pots with soil
- Water
- Shovel
- Gardening gloves (optional)
- Sunny space
- Fertilizer (preferably 5-10-10 ratio)
- Stakes, trellises or cages
- String
Instructions
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Buy pink tomato seeds or pink tomato starter plants. As more tomato varieties are bred around the world, pink tomatoes are becoming more common. If they are not available in the local gardening store, do not fret; it will be easy to order different types of pink tomato seeds online.
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Choose pots and a growing space or an outdoor garden space. Pink tomatoes grow well in pots or in outdoor gardens as long as the area gets enough sunlight. Choose a space with shelter from deer, because they will eat tomato plants. Pots grow well on a sunny balcony away from deer. Backyard gardens may require a fence or netting to protect tomatoes and other plants from the hungry animals.
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Prepare the soil. Both the National Gardening Association and Martha Stewart recommend fertilizing the soil with 5-10-10 ratio fertilizer before planting any type of tomatoes. Follow the directions that come with the fertilizer and add it to the soil about a week before planting the tomatoes.
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Dig planting holes. Pink tomatoes require the same planting steps as any other tomato variety. The National Gardening Association recommends that gardeners dig holes at least 18 inches apart for garden tomatoes. For potted tomatoes, dig one hole in each round or square pot, or dig holes at least 18 inches apart in large rectangular trough pots. For starter plants, make the holes deep enough to hold all of the plant's roots without burying them too far under the surface of the soil. For seeds, follow the directions that come with the seeds and dig small holes. Most types of tomato seeds need to be covered by about 1/8 inch of damp soil. Some gardeners choose to plant tomato seeds in small starter pots and transfer the young plants into larger pots or the garden at a later time, but the seeds will also grow in larger pots or the garden.
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Put a small amount of plant fertilizer at the bottom of planting holes.
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Cover the seeds or plant roots with damp soil. Most tomato seeds need a cover of about 1/8 inch of soil, and tomato starter plants just need to have enough soil to cover all of their roots.
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Add stakes, trellises or tomato cages. Tomato plants grow best when they have support. Supports help the plants hold up their fruit and make gardens more efficient by minimizing the amount of ground space that each plant takes up. It is best to add one of these supports at the same time tomatoes are planted. As the plant grows, loosely tie its stalks to the supports using a natural string, like twine.
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Water the plants regularly. Both the National Gardening Association and Martha Stewart recommend keeping tomato plants' soil damp but not overly soaked.
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Prune the plants. Tomatoes grow more fruit when they do not have too many stems, so trim off extra stems that start to grow around the base of the plant. Each plant should only be allowed to have one to three stems. This limitation helps the plant harvest its energy for fruit production, rather than for leaf and stem growth. With proper pruning and watering, many tomato plants will produce fruit in a matter of weeks.
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Tips & Warnings
Choose a variety of pink tomatoes that suits the growing environment. Since there are now multiple types of pink tomatoes, gardeners can choose varieties that suit different spaces. Smaller plants, like cherry tomatoes or plants considered patio varieties, grow well in pots. Heirloom tomatoes and other large types grow best in gardens with plenty of space.
Tomatoes generally need a lot of sunlight, but tomatoes in extremely hot climates might need some shade to help prevent their blossoms from getting burned and falling off.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit tomato image by dinostock from Fotolia.com planters image by Paula Gent from Fotolia.com
