Growing Tomatoes
The tomato is an essential part of most gardeners vegetable garden every year. Many of us plan the rest of our garden around our tomatoes. They are that important. One thing about planting tomatoes is they are not that hard to grow. Add some tender loving care and a little water and compost and you should be enjoying this wonderful plants harvest before you know it.
By following a few simple steps you will be well on your way to a great tomato season, and eating your own home-grown, plump, juicy and tasty tomatoes
Types Of Tomato Plants
There are many "varieties" of tomato plants, but only two main types:
Indeterminate: Indeterminate tomato plants are actually vines that continue growing in length throughout the growing season. Also referred to as "vining" tomatoes, indeterminate tomato varieties will also continue to set and ripen fruit until killed off by frost. Tomato growers seldom allow tomato plants to actually vine. Indeterminate tomato plants will require substantial staking or caging to support what can become a large 6-10' heavy plant. However, tomato plants can easily be grown as a hanging vine. This eliminates the need for support, keeps the fruit up off the ground and permits the plant to grow in an open manner, allowing sunlight to reach throughout the plant.
Determinate: Determinate tomato plants are varieties that grow to a fixed mature size and ripen all their fruit in a short period, usually about 2 weeks. Once this first flush of fruit has ripened, the plant will begin to diminish in vigor and will set little to no new fruit. Determinate tomato varieties are often referred to as “bush†tomatoes, because they do not continue growing in size throughout the growing season. They are generally smaller than indeterminate tomatoes, with most growing to a compact 4-5 feet. Pruning and removing suckers from determinate tomatoes is not recommended. Despite their compact size, staking or caging is still recommended, since the concentrated fruit set can contribute considerable weight to the branches. Many paste or roma tomatoes are determinate varieties. Some others bred to be determinate include: Celebrity, Marglobe and Rutgers. Growing determinate variety tomatoes makes good sense when you want a large omount of tomatoes all at one time, to make tomato sauce.
Where To Begin?
Start by deciding whether you want to start your tomato plants from seed or by buying ready-to-plant tomato plants at your local nursery.
There are good reasons to go either way. Planting from seed will save you some money, as a pack of seed will usually cost less than tomato plants. You also will generally have a better choice of different varieties when starting from seed. Planting tomatoes that you buy from your local nursery has some advantages as well. You only need to plant the best looking plants you can find. Seeing how green and lush a plant is will help you pick out the best ones.
TIP: Pick a few different varieties of tomatoes to grow so your harvest will not all come at the same time. Too, you'll get to explore the taste and textures to see which one(s) you like the best.
When To Plant Tomato Plants?
In colder regions, where the growing season is much shorter, you may want to start your plants indoors from seed, or wait to purchase plants that are ready to plant straight in the garden at the right time: when all chances of frost and damaging cold weather has passed.
Your local independent nursery and garden center should have a good selection of tomato plants when the time is right for planting. They may even have some organic-grown plants.
Either way you go, be patient by waiting until all chances of frost have passed and nightime temperatures will remain above 50 degrees F. If you jump the gun and plant too early, and a late frost or cold blast comes, protect plants by covering with plastic or some type of other suitable cover.
Where To Plant Tomato Plants?
Whether growing tomatoes in containers or growing your tomatoes in the garden, they will grow best where there is plenty of sunshine.
Picking your gardening spot is very important. Your gardens success or failure may depend on where it is. You will need to plant somewhere that gets a lot of sun. Tomato plants seem to do better if they are in a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sun each day. More is better in the case of tomatoes. Make sure your planting spot can be watered without a lot of trouble. When you do not get an inch of rain a week you will need to water your plants so they can thrive.
Planting tomatoes is a very satisfying thing to do. Follow a good plan and you should be enjoying the fruits of your labor well into the Fall.
See the links below for pruning tomato plants, and various other instructional information related to caring for your tomato plants.
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Pruning A Tomato Plant - Yes You Can!
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