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The Top Vegetable Gardening Tips for Tomato Growing
When it comes to tomato growing, vegetable gardening tips abound. It seems like every gardener has vegetable gardening tips for tomato growing and arent shy about sharing them. The hard part comes when it is time to decide what are simply old wives tales and what are truly good vegetable gardening tips for tomato growing.
Start With Good Soil
Tomato plants are pretty easy to grow if you start with good soil. Not all soil is created equal so the best list of vegetable gardening tips for tomatoes starts with ways to amend the soil for tomato growing. Before you plant your garden, make sure to till at least ten inches down into your soil.
For a larger garden, you can rent a tiller, but for a small garden space you can use a spading fork. As you turn the soil over, add a rich compost to the dirt. You can mix in a 10-10-10 fertilizer or even add a little bone meal. Once you have tilled this mixture into the soil, water it in thoroughly so it has a chance to really sink into the ground.
The day you plant your tomatoes, add more some humus to the hole before you place your tomato in it. Then make sure to sprinkle some humus about six inches around the stem of your plant. Cover this with mulch to retain water and your are well on your way to having lovely tomatoes.
Keep Feeding Your Soil
It is important to feed your tomato plants at least once a month. You can use a commercial feed such as Miracle Grow or you can concoct some of your own fertilizing mixes. Tomatoes thrive when you add calcium to the soil so sprinkle powdered milk at the base of your tomato plant every few weeks. You can also add calcium by grinding up egg shells into a fine powder and sprinkling that around your tomato.
Watering your tomato is just as important as feeding it. If you live in an area that gets at least an inch of rain a week, you probably wont need to water your tomato plants. If you have a few days without rain, water the plants by hand instead of with a hose. You conserve water and wont risk the leaves or fruits rotting from the wetness.
Never let your tomatoes dry out to the point that they wilt. Even though you can usually save the wilted plant by water it, the dry period will take its toll on the plant and affect the outcome of your harvest. Extended dry spells cause your tomatoes to crack.
Stake Your Plants
Most gardeners would agree that one of the most important vegetable gardening tips for growing tomatoes is to carefully stake your plants. The best way to do this is to purchase the tomato cages sold at nurseries and hardware stores.
When you stake plants you help them stay aerated, insure that the vines dont get wet when you water them and keep your tomatoes from resting on the ground. If you need to tie your tomato vines to the cage, be sure to use a soft material that wont cut into the vine. Cut up strips of old pantyhose work perfectly for this task. |
