How To Plant Tomatoes: Now That The Wintry Weather Conditions Are Over, Here Are This Year's Top 10 Hints For Harvesting Great Tomatoes
Here are your 10 top tips on how to plant tomatoes.
1. It's all in the ground work so they say, a good tip is to turn your soil over throughout January and February. You will be amazed how many insect eggs have been hidden in your soil over the winter and if you open them up to the frosts you hopefully will have less pests during the year.
2. Groundwork of your earth is important. You can push the boat out and test your soil for PH and insert chemicals or supplements correctly or you can add some well rotten compost which typically is just as effective at balancing the soil out
3. Mulching your soil is the best way of reducing the weeds around your plants in addition to adding nutrients, maintaining the warm soil and retaining moisture
4. If you are growing tomatoes from seed it is a great idea to choose an assortment so you have late and an early crop. In addition you can have cherry and plum ones These are perfect for making sauces which will give you a wonderful harvest which will see you throughout the season
5. Seedlings need sunshine and warmth to mature into healthy plants. Leggy seedlings can be planted deeply when planted up as this will allow them to grow stronger stems
6. When growing tomato plants do not fertilise your plants either too early or too much as you can set off a build up of chemicals in the plants leading to problems with leaves and fruit production. Only start to add fertiliser after the plant begins to flower and then only one each week
7. Diseases can easily affect your plants if they are kept too humid or become diseased. "Know the enemy and be prepared". Companion planting will stop some pests and is environmentally friendly
8. Supporting your tomatoes as they develop is essential as tomatoes which aren't tend to become damaged leaving fruits trailing on the earth. Using either cages or stakes and strong but gentle ties will prevent damage and make sure a well supported and productive plant
9. Watering accurately is always a problem, too much can lead to fruiting problems too little can lead to fruiting troubles. Try not to let the plants to dry out if they are in either pots or grow bags as when you do water them it will simply run off
10. When thinking of the finest tomato growing tips the most feasible is probably the storing of your magnificent stock of tomatoes. This is worthwhile as well as cost effective. You can simply make sun dried tomatoes and thick rich sauces which you can freeze and use throughout the winter months reminding you of summer and tasting so much better than those bought at your local supermarket