Are you learning how to grow sweet juicy tomatoes? It’s easy to grow them anywhere as long as the surrounding environment is warm and a little damp. With enough sunlight, water and patience, your tomatoes are sure to grow tall, with big, red, and juicy fruits! (or you may grow small cherry tomatoes, or other varieties of colors) The growth of tomatoes requires you to pay enough patience, which is what it needs the most. Start enjoying the fun of growing tomatoes now!
If you are growing tomatoes for the first time, you can buy small tomato seedlings nearby flower shop and then transplant it into your yard or plant pots. If you’re already experienced, it’s actually easier to start from seedling trays. It’s suggested that plant in a greenhouse or indoors by a sunny window for a month before moving to the yard.
If the light in the room is not very good, you can hang a fluorescent lamp or other light 5 cm above the plant and keep it shining as the seedling grows. When the seedlings are 15-25 cm tall, choose a sunny, warm day and transplant them into the yard. There is no need to pay higher prices for larger seedlings, unless you miss the best season and must be in a hurry.
It is recommended for beginners to grow large tomato varieties such as ” Lemon Boy”, “Creole”, “Amana Orange”, “Better Boy”, or any variety of cherry tomatoes, easier to take care of. It’s best to plant several different varieties at the same time to ensure a harvest.
Generally, two tomato plants are enough for each tomato-lover in a family. If you plan to use these tomatoes for canning or salads, make sure to prepare four tomato plants for per person. A tomato plant needs a plant pot with a diameter of 12″, or grow seedlings on seed trays, with six plants in a tray, each divided into areas 3 cm in diameter.
Transplant the plant to a sunny location. Tomatoes need at least 7 hours of sunlight a day for the best flavor. When the weather becomes hot and the minimum temperature at night reaches 24 degrees Celsius, do not plant new tomatoes. The ones that have been planted will grow well, but will not be able to sprout in such hot weather. Don’t take the tomatoes out too many days after the best date, or it will be too late .
A large amount of compost (55-88kg per square meter) should be added to the soil in the yard in advance. It should be fully fermented, not newly collected. Bury the compost into the top layer of soil 2.4-3 inches. Tomato growing medium needs to be rich in organic matter. If you don’t make your own compost, you can also buy ready-made compost or fertilizer from the store.
Tomato seedlings should be buried deep in the soil. The soil should be buried to 50%-75% of the seedling length (especially those seedlings with very slender stem before transplanting), and it does not matter if it is buried in the lower leaves. Mew roots grow on the stalks buried in the soil, promoting plant development. The condition of the roots is the most important thing to pay attention to when transplanting plants.
Space between two tomato plants is 17.7-35 inches. If the climate is warmer, especially when using tomato cages, the interval should be halved. Regular spacing helps tomatoes spread widely on the ground, and if planted more closely in cages, the tomato branches will shade each other’s fruit, keep the sun from getting too hot, and help get sweeter fruit. Don’t forget to leave enough space for you to walk in for watering, weeding and picking. Those cute little tomato seedlings will grow up!
Wait a week or two after transplanting, then spread a layer of straw, hay, or pine needles on the ground to control weeds and keep the soil moist in dry weather. This layer of mulch needs to be 0.98 inches thick and cover at least 12 inches in diameter around each tomato seedling. Using pine needles especially helps increase the acidity of the soil. Do not keep the soil wet all the time, as this can suffocate the roots, especially in warm or hot weather, and can lead to fungal infection of the stems.
Drip irrigation or using a seepage hose is better than pouring water directly from the top down, as the latter increases the disease rate of the plant, especially tomatoes.
After 10 days of transplanting, spread the watering interval widely, while ensuring that the plants receive 0.98-3 inches of rain per week. Two weeks after transplanting, if there is no rain, water each tomato 7.5 liters per week. Water 2-3 times a week, to be thoroughly watered. Each plant is watered 3-4 liters per time. As the seedlings grow larger and the weather gets hotter, the amount of water should be moderately increased. In hot or dry weather, you can increase the frequency and amount of watering.