How to Grow a Tomato Plant

Grow A Tomato Plant

Tomatoes are a rich source of antioxidants such as vitamin C and lycopene. Used to be called love apples, they are actually the most popular vegetable that exist in the gardens of America. They’re best grown during the summer season.

With its bright red color, the tomato is not only an attractive garnish but is also a tasty vegetable when eaten raw. Sure it’s easy to just buy them from the grocery store. However, many people may be unaware that the tomato is also easy to plant and grow right in your backyard.

The tomato comes in so many varieties today. Each variety requires specific days of growing before you can harvest the produce. This juicy vegetable is available in different sizes, shapes, colors, plant type and maturity season. Apart from the red tomatoes we know, there are also the pink, green, yellow and orange varieties. The yellow and orange varieties have the same acid content as the red but they’re sweeter in taste because they contain more sugar.

With the hundreds of varieties in existence, it may be a real challenge to pick the best one for your personal use but as long as you know what you need to grow in your garden, making a decision won’t be hard to do.

First step is to assess your needs. Ask yourselves these questions. Do I want to plant a tomato in the garden or in a plant box? Do I want the hanging type or one planted in soil? What is the color of tomato I like? What is the climate in my location? If you live in the warmer areas, the Big Boy, Beefsteak, Roma, San Marzano, Celebrity, Marglobe and Better Boy varieties are ideal.

Next is to determine the space you have available for planting tomatoes. Proper spacing is required for specific varieties to allow healthy growth. For the dwarf tomato, a 12-inch allowance is needed in the row while the staked ones need to be planted 15 to 24 inches apart. The ground bed plants have to be 24 to 36 inches away from each other.

From there, find out the best time to plant tomatoes. You can plant a tomato during warm weather when there’s a good amount of sunshine available and when the soil is warm. If you’re targeting to harvest by fall, then it’s ideal to plant your tomatoes in the later part of spring or during the summer season. When frost is present, make sure to cover the plants for protection. You can use the black plastic mulch as cover.

In planting the seeds, you can use any small container with a good drain such as milk cartons cut in half, peat pots and yogurt containers. Although you can already plant in the garden, planting the tomato seeds indoors is ideal to protect the seedlings from early diseases and infestation of pests.

Put two to three seeds in a hole but be sure to weed out several of them when they begin to germinate. As seedlings, water them little by little only. You can put your containers in a plastic bag to keep the moisture but don’t forget to take away the plastic when the seedlings start to sprout.

Plants need light so put your pot in the window with enough sunshine for at least six hours. When the seedlings have grown to a height of about three to four inches and you see the growth of full leaves, it should be a sign that they need to be transplanted to a bigger pot. As you observe your plants to have grown to about six to 10 inches tall with strong stems and health green leaves, then it’s a sign that they need to be planted now in your garden.

Growing tomato plants need nurturing, enough water and sunshine to be able to grow healthy. Fertilizing them every now and then is also helpful.

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