Tomato growing at home is becoming a very popular hobby today among gardeners. If not for anything else because nothing can beat the taste of organic home-grown tomatoes; but how do you get started growing this all-important fruit?
While the end always justifies the means, many first timers always commit various ‘innocent mistakes’ which end up compromising on the health and quality of their tomatoes. Here are a few proven and tested techniques that will guarantee you consistent results with your tomatoes.
Tomato Garden preparation and planting
The first step when preparing to grow tomatoes is to preheat the soil in which the seedlings will be grown. As any successful tomato farmer will tell you, tomatoes thrive and flourishes in warmth. Your best course of action therefore would be to ensure you preheat the soil before planting for optimal growth and performance of the seedlings.
Talking of seedlings, it is always advisable to plant your seedlings nicely and deeply inside the soil. Because tomato seedlings are always ready for transplantation when the first 6 leaves sprout, it is advisable to plant deep into the soil such that only the top 4 leaves are visible. This way, you will be guaranteed of strong and sturdy tomato plants as the root system starts to form.
Some people find planting sideways as a good tomato planting technique. This is where you dig a small trench into the soil and then plant your tomato plants on the side ways. The plants will start to grow naturally towards sunlight. This has proven effective in different settings but you should be very careful not to interfere with the rooting system when inserting a pole or a cage.
Tomato plant maintenance
Pruning – pruning is very important when it comes to tomato plants. This is where you cut all the suckers growing in between the joints. Suckers are known to take up important nutrients from the main plant yet they do not bear any fruits by the end of the day. Pruning also entails trimming back leaves to facilitate easy ripening by providing the tomato plants with direct access to sunlight. Be careful though not to remove too many leaves because the leaves are the ones that provide sugar that make the fruits succulent… a process known as photosynthesis.
Watering
Like any other plants, tomato plants require an adequate supply of water which should be done on a regular and consistent manner. Avoid over-watering though as it may lead to diseases such as blossom end rot. Towards the ripening period, it is advisable to use less water and equally water the plants less frequently so as to coax the plants to make the sugars more concentrated, hence enhancing the flavor.
There is a lot more that goes into tomato growing. Be sure to follow the right procedure and you will be guaranteed of succulent, juicy, and flavored home-grown tomato plants all year round.
