Tips for Growing Your Own Tomatoes

The culinary joy of growing and harvesting your own tomatoes in your garden is truly unmatched. With your own tomato garden, besides getting fresh produce when you need it, you can also be sure of your fruits' superior nutritional value over market produce. You have complete control over the fertilizers and pesticides feeding your plants. You can grow organic tomatoes without synthetic additives.

With proper care and attention, you can have a bountiful harvest of nutritious tomatoes every year. Here are some tips for growing tomatoes.

• Growing tomatoes at the right time - Tomatoes are very averse to frost. They like warm soil and warm temperatures ranging between 65^o F and 85^o F. Depending on the weather in your region, plan to grow your tomatoes when they can get enough warmth. Typically spring and summer are good times for tomato plants. If it gets too hot, tomato plants grow a lot of foliage but they reduce their produce.

If you have only a small window of agreeable weather to grow your tomatoes, you can begin by planting tomato seeds inside your home during the late frosty months. During the warmer days, you can transplant the seedlings into your garden.

• Find the right place for growing tomatoes - Tomatoes love the sun. Grow your plants where they are not overcast by shadows from buildings or trees. It is common to plant them in in-ground beds of soil. For better drainage and aeration, plant them in raised beds.

You can even grow tomatoes in containers or hanging planters.

• Growing the right variety of tomato - Your choice of tomato for cultivation should depend on the climatic conditions of your place. Some plants do not do well in peak summers while some mature within short durations.

Choosing between heirloom and genetically engineered varieties is another option available to gardeners. Genetically altered plants have engineered modifications for improved pest resistance, better yield, larger fruit-size, etc. but there is a lot of debate over their nutrition and safety. On the other hand, heirloom tomato plants are grown from unaltered seeds - their yield may be lower but they are completely natural.

You can also choose between determinant and indeterminate variety of tomatoes - the determinant types grow for a while and then produce most of their yield all together within a short duration. The indeterminate variety produces fruits over its entire lifetime.

• Preparing the soil for growing tomatoes - Tomatoes are big feeders and they need large amounts of nutrients. So the soil must be conditioned before planting for a good yield. Dig and turn your soil thoroughly so that it is well aerated, loose and drainage-friendly. Mix plenty of mature organic compost to provide nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous - this also helps in removing acidity in the soil. Preferably use organic soil for your plants.

• Sowing seeds or planting seedlings - You can buy seedlings and plant them in your garden or you can begin with seeds. Growing tomatoes from seeds is a particularly good idea when you want to start gardening in late winter so that seedlings will be ready to take advantage of the spring weather.

Sow seeds in an indoor container with organic soil and seed-starting mix about ½"-1" apart. Have holes at the bottom of the container to allow excess water to drain. Provide 10-14 hours of sunlight or fluorescent light. Place a plastic cover over the container to contain warmth and humidity but allow adequate air circulation. Water the container once in a couple of days and check back periodically to see if your tomato seeds are germinating. Within a week or so you should start seeing tender growth. When the seedlings are 5"-8" tall, you can transplant them.

Carefully dig holes around the seedlings and gently uproot them with their roots. Dig deep holes (8"-10") in your garden's bed and place the seedlings in them. Water adequately. If it is very hot, water the tomato plants every day.

Do now crowd your plants when you transplant them. Leave the recommended spacing for your variety of tomato between adjacent plants.

• Mulching your plants - Once you plant you tomatoes in the garden, lay a 1"-2" layer of mulch on the soil to thwart weeds and to conserve humidity.

• Staking the plants - Stake your plants when they are over one feet in height. Place wooden shafts, trellises or cages for support without hurting the roots and the foliage.

• Pruning the tomato plants - Prune the lowermost branches of your tomato plant so that they do not come in contact with pests and insects in the mulch.

• Fertilizing the tomato plants - Fertilize your plant with an organic mix rich in both phosphorous and nitrogen. Add fertilizers to the soil prior to planting and also periodically (once in 3-4 weeks) as the plants grow.

• Pest control - Inspect your foliage for signs of infestation and use an organic pesticide periodically to keep pests and bugs away from you plants.

When your tomatoes are ripe and juicy, harvest them and enjoy the fruits of you labor!