A friend of mine wanted to grow some tomatoes because I gave him some of my home grown tomatoes, he said it tasted so much better than the store bought ones he usually eats. Before I get started planting my own tomatoes, he said, I want you to give me some tomato growing tips that will make my tomatoes taste every bit as good as yours.
If you want to grow your own bigger, juicier even tastier tomatoes; perhaps you too would like some tips on what tomatoes and their plants love! After all giving your plants a good strong start will be putting the goal of growing better tomatoes within your reach.
The first tip may not be for everyone but is important for people living where they have cooler winters. Most tomato growers know that tomatoes love heat, so to get them off to a good start some growers preheat the soil they will be planting their tomato plants.
Before you go digging up your soil to heat it up; I am not talking about micro-waving it to get it hot. Usually a gardener a couple of weeks before actually planting seedlings in the garden, the area would be covered using black or even red plastic, which in turn would heat the ground a few degrees.
Tip two, after you have chosen the variety of tomato that you will be enjoying in a few months, you will need to start your seeds about six weeks before planting outdoors when its warm enough. When planting keep in mind what was said above about tomatoes loving heat, the seeds are the same so find a warm place like a window sill that will catch the sunlight. Using cling wrap to cover the planted seeds will keep the soil from drying out, when the seedlings appear remember to remove the cling wrap.
The third tip is well grounded. What I mean is a healthy tomato plant needs a great root system that will support its rapid growth with what it needs to produce those big juicy tomatoes. I know what you are thinking, just how can you do that? The tomato plant has the ability built in if you give it a helping hand.
The ability I am talking about? The tomato plant has the ability to grow more roots along its stem, and you can help them to do this when you are transplanting your seedlings into the garden. How? You may ask. By planting them deeper into the soil; the normal planting of seedlings is done when they have developed at least six leaves, when planting them leave the top four showing, and a bigger, better root system will develop.
These tips as you can see are the beginning stages of growing tomatoes and doing these will aid you in growing a very good crop, but as your plant reach maturity there are still things that you can do to give aid too and nourish your plant.