Growing tomatoes is no easy feat. To get wonderful, juicy fruit you need to put in a lot of work. In order to grow tomatoes, you need to keep a few things in mind. Do your research when it comes to tomato families and different kinds of tomatoes. Some tomatoes are easier to grow than others. If you are a beginner and don’t know a whole lot about gardening yet, we recommend not growing your tomatoes from the seed, but instead buying a smaller (already growing) plant from a nearby greenhouse. If you are growing your tomatoes from a seed, put them in a small pot in a sunny environment until you have small sprouting tomato plants. Also keep in mind to not grow tomatoes in cold seasons, because they will never give much fruit or even not grow at all.
Once you have your small, slightly sprouting tomato plants, you’re going to want to put them outside. Tomatoes thrive in natural circumstances. They need between 6-8 hours of sun every day. What’s also important is to keep in mind that you don’t want your tomatoes on the ground. Give them a nice stake, trellis or cage so that the plant can wrap itself around that. If you’re going to use a stake, make sure it is at least 6 to 8 feet long and thick enough to support a heavy harvest of tomatoes. Don’t tie the tomato plant to the stake in very tight knots, you don’t want to restrict the plant. Multiple stakes should be placed at least 2 to 3 feet away from each other, so the roots can grow and expand freely.
If you don’t know anything about soil, that’s fine. Just look for soil with a pH range between 6.2 and 6.8 and make sure to buy soil that holds moisture well. Adding compost to the soil will help improve how many fruits you eventually will be able to harvest. Once your soil is down, plant the tomato plants deep. At least two-thirds of the stem should be covered (it’s okay if you cover some of the leaves).
A neat little trick to keep weeds away from your beautiful tomato plants is by putting down 2 to 4 inches of straw, leaves or mulch. These things will not just keep weeds away, but they will also make sure that moisture is distributed evenly. This way you’ll prevent weeds, rotten plants and more. If you don’t like the smell of mulch or leaves, try straw. We find it’s the most pleasant smell out of the three. Of course, if you’re using compost or fertilizer, it will also cover this smell up a little bit. Win-win, right?
Tomatoes will grow fine without fertilizer, but it’s recommended to use fertilizer if you want your plants to grow better, faster and stronger. Often times the use of fertilizer also improves the taste of the harvest in the end. When picking out a fertilizer, look up what different kinds there are. There are organic ones and chemical ones. Ideally, you’d use the organic ones. Pick the right one and pay close attention to the small letters: do they promote healthy vegetables or promote fruit? That’s the one you want. If they promote growing stems and leaves, are labeled as a “lawn fertilizer” or anything, don’t buy that kind. You don’t want strong leaves; you want good fruit!
By now we’re sure you’ve learned that growing your own tomatoes isn’t easy. Aside from the right location, soil, fertilizer and plant, you must also keep in mind that you should water your plants if they don’t get enough natural rain. Ideally tomato plants should receive 1 to 3 inches of rain per week, but if you’re planting in the summer it might rain a lot less than that. If you don’t get that much rain, try watering your tomato plants 2 to 3 times a week. The bigger the plants, the more water they need. If it’s really hot or dry, it’s acceptable to give your plants more water. The “normal” amount of water to give your plants is 0.75 to 1 gallon of water.
If you are a tomato lover or if you have a family full of them, you’re going to want a lot of tomatoes. Generally speaking, a good rule of thumb is two plants for each family member. If it’s just you, but you plan on using tomatoes a lot for cooking (salsa, tomato sauces, etc.) you’re going to want four plants.
