Tips for How to Garden Tomato Plants
Fresh garden tomatoes just seem to taste better than the store bought variety, so home gardeners have a big incentive to add tomatoes to their vegetable gardens. Growing your own tasty tomatoes, however, requires more than just sticking a few plants in the ground and waiting until they are ripe. You have to understand the basic requirements of tomatoes and what conditions they need to flourish. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Plant tomatoes only after any danger of frost is over, advises the Ohio State University Extension. Give your tomatoes enough room to grow, by spacing the plants about 2 feet apart for best results.
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Plant the tomatoes in a well-drained, loamy soil that is slightly acidic. Tomatoes grow best in a soil with a pH between 6.2 and 6.8
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Plant the tomatoes in a location where they will receive at least seven hours of sun per day. Avoid shady spots that will reduce the fruit production.
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Supply the tomatoes with a balanced fertilizer with equal amounts of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Do not use lawn fertilizers on your tomatoes. Obtain a fertilizer made especially for tomato plants.
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Avoid pruning a tomato plant that has growing fruit. This can lead to over exposure from the sun and will damage the fruit.
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Give your plants 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water per week. This keep the tomato healthy and ensure good fruit development.
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Mulch your plants to control weeds. Place 2 to 4 inches of an organic mulch, such as pine bark around every plant.
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Tips & Warnings
Harvest your tomatoes when they are pink and allow them to finish ripening off the vine.
Avoid putting your tomatoes in the refrigerator after you have harvested them. This will spoil the taste. Place the tomatoes in spot that has room temperature but is out of direct sunlight.
References
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