Growing tomato plants in your own outdoor vegetable garden is something that many of us think about but quite often never get around to doing. Let me tell you, growing tomatoes is easy to do and nothing compares to the taste of your own fresh organically grown tomatoes.
Believe it or not there are actually over 7,500 varieties of tomato so you have an incredible selection to choose from. Perhaps you like the idea of making your own sauces or salads and if this is the case you might want to look at some of the larger fruits such as Beefsteak or Early Girl. Or maybe you are interested in the smaller more petite ones like the cheery tomato. Growing tomatoes is really easy and whichever variety you decide to go with you will have lots of them when it comes around to picking them at harvest time.
Growing tomato plants outdoors requires a reasonably warm climate. Hardy though they can be, tomato plants don’t handle frost particularly well. Temperatures of around 65 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit during the day would be ideal and no lower than 60 degrees Fahrenheit during the night. This would suggest that the ideal weather conditions for growing tomatoes would be around the end of May.
When planting your tomato plants you need to ensure they are not too close together. You need to be aware that their roots spread out quite a lot under the soil and need plenty of room. Another factor to take into account is that if you do get any pests or diseases and they are too close they can easily be passed on. Also if the leaves from a neighbouring plant create too much shade it can stop the fruits from growing to their full size. Therefore a basic “rule of thumb” guide distance between plants, depending on their size and variety, should be 12 and 36 inches apart.
Using a Trellis for some of the larger varieties is recommended as they provide support for the tomato vine. These trellises or cages as they are often referred to, also keep the fruit from trailing on the ground. If the tomatoes are left lying on the ground they will become rotten and you will end up with a lot less usable crop.
Tomato plants require at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day and watering them on a constant basis is also an important requirement. They tend to thrive best in aerated and moist soil.
Pruning is recommended to support growth and help towards a better harvest. If you are not too sure how to do this, start with a branch that is non fruit bearing. You can recognize these because they have no blossom or fruit on them. It can also be beneficial to trim back some of the leaves to let more sunlight onto the plant. The leaves provide the plant with sugars which gives the fruit its flavor so be careful not to “over trim” them.
Trimming the suckers can also help the development of the plant. By removing them it will stop the plant wasting energy on its own growth and transfer it to the growth of the tomatoes.
Growing tomatoes is something everyone can do. It’s both simple and rewarding. Tomato plants are extremely hardy and can usually survive even the most inexperienced efforts of the first time gardener. When you get that first taste of one of your own home grown juicy tomatoes you will wonder why you ever actually bought them from a vegetable store in the first place!