How to Grow Tomatoes Growing Tomatoes With Simple Tips Tomato Growing Tips

Tomatoes are one of my favourite vegetable. It is very easy to grow as well as enjoyable to eat. Though technically tomato is a fruit of the plant but we all prefer to call this a vegetable. If you take proper care of your tomato plants, the yield can be overwhelming.

Scientific name : Lycopersicon sp

The tastes of tomatoes are very sensitive to the surroundings. So rather than focusing on only one variety, it is always sensible to try 3 to 4 varieties. It will help you find out which is the best variety suitable to your locality.

Tomato Plants and Sunlight:

Keep your tomato plant to a place where the plant will get plenty of sunlight. The fruit formation of a tomato plant requires at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. You can read more about the effect of sunlight on different plants in our earlier article here.

Tomato Cage for Supporting A Tomato Plant:

A Tomato plant needs support for its growth. You need to build cage or stakes at the time of planting. Staking keeps fruits off the ground whereas a tomato cage help the plant to hold its upright position.

Tomatoes require plenty of water, specially during the summers. But while watering a tomato plant do not wet the leaves or the stem of the plant. Always put water directly into the soil near the roots(see watering guide for details).

Pruning Tomato Plants:

Take out any shoot that grows between the stem and main branches, these shoots always hinder the fruit growth. In gardening this process is called pruning of plants. With the same logic cut off the tip of the plant. It will help the plant to become more bushy with much more fruits.

How To Plant Tomatoes:

You can start either from seed or through seedlings purchased from nurseries. If you are starting from seeds, it is recommended to use seedling trays.fill these trays with potting soil and sow the seeds there. It is important to keep the trays indoor until the seeds germinate. Once they have grown up to 15- 20 cm you can transplant them outdoor. See transplantation techniques for detail.

Before planting the seedlings make the soil ready by tilling and mixing compost or manure with the soil. It is recommended to plant the seedlings 2ft apart.

It is necessary to keep the soil fertile. Add fertilizers two week prior to picking and two weeks after the picking.

Tomato Pests and Diseases:

Tomatoes are particularly susceptible to many pests and diseases. Horn-worms, Aphids, white-flies are few of the tomato pests which can reduce the production of the plant. Late blight (specially during monsoon) and distorted leaves are the common diseases to the plant. It is always wise to plant basil along with your tomato plant. Basil is a fantastic companion plant for tomatoes. It will help in distracting little pests from your tomato plant. This type of planting is called companion planting.

Harvesting Tomatoes:

Never pick tomatoes in green condition they will rot before get ripe. Leave them on the vine as long as possible. Never try to refrigerate ripe tomatoes. It will spoil the texture and taste of the perfectly ripe home grown tomato which is best eaten sun warm from the kitchen garden.

I hope these simple tomato growing tips helped you in growing tomatoes. Do these simple steps and you can enjoy your home grown favourite vegetable and also find the distinctive flavor and taste which are definitely missing when you buy those from the stores.

Thanks for reading. Keep your comments coming.

Read more about tomatoes: 
FAQs About Tomato Growing
Top 8 pests of Tomatoes
Simple steps to save tomato seeds 

Top Five Companion Plants For Tomatoes

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Top 8 pests of Tomatoes

I have discussed about tomato growing in one of my earlier article. This article is more about various problems which we face while growing tomatoes. So here are the top 8 pests which may prevent you from getting your desired results though not in the same order.

1. 

   Aphids: These are very small insects which are found on the leaves or the stems of the plant. Though one or two of them may not cause any major harm to the plant, once the numbers grow they create problems like curly leaves or yellowing of the plant or leave some sticky residue on the plant.
2. Cutworms: They are very tiny caterpillars and suck the juice out of the plant. Severe attack results in chewed stem which can easily seen on an infected plant.
3. Horn-worms: These are cylindrical in shape and greenish in color. You would find them underside of leaves. They have a voracious appetite and can eat up most of the plant in couple of days.
4. Beetles: These are also called Flea-beetles as they resembles a flea. Though I have mentioned it as Tomato pest, it can also cause damage to cabbage, potatoes, eggplants etc. If your plant is being affected by beetles you will find numerous small holes in the leaves.
5. Psyllid: These results purplish veins in the leaves of the plant.
6. Spider mites: They form webs on underside of the plant.
7. Nematodes: It is one of most problematic areas of tomato growing. These are tiny little (often microscopic), worms which infest the soil. I have written a separate article on nematodes and their control. You can find the article here.
8. White-flies: They feed on plant juices and leave behind a sticky residue.

There are several ways to fight those problems. It is very easy to get tempted to opt for chemical pesticides but the bad news is that many of the pests have developed resistance to the chemicals. So to solve the problem we must give organic methods a chance.

You can try spraying water or organic mixtures such as Neem oil, garlic extracts. Some of the pests can be easily removed by just picking them with hands for some you can try crop rotation or companion planting. They are so many ways by which the pests can be prevented by using organic means. You will find many techniques if you explore the site.

Please do post your comments and your experiences in handling tomato pests.

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Top Five Companion Plants For Tomatoes

Here in this article we will give you some of the best choices for companion plants of tomatoes. As a companion plant they provide one or more than one of the benefits to the tomato plants like:

1.    Reduce pests
2.    Improve health and flavor
3.    Reduce diseases
4.    Help in pollination

We have discussed about the basic of companion planting in our earlier article. So if you have missed that by any chance you can find it by clicking here. There are so many plants which can act as a companion to the tomato plants but here in this article we have chosen our top five.

Marigold:

These brightly colored flowered plants are known to everybody for their pungent smell. And surely you can use them to deter pests. It is a best controller for the nematodes (More on nematodes in this article).
They produce a substance called alpha-terthienyl

which reduces the root knot nematodes in the soil. The best way to do it is to first grow the plant and at the end of the season chop and till them into the soil. Apart from nematodes, slugs, worms and other garden pests can be reduced by planting Marigold plants along with
Tomatoes.

Spinach/Lettuce:
Planting Basil, Spinach or Lettuce along with tomatoes can greatly increase the taste of tomatoes. You can also save a lot of space by planting them in union. It increases the rate of pollination for both the plants. As a “cherry on the top of the cake”, it also saves your tomato plants from whiteflies, mosquitoes, aphids etc. Being larger in size tomato plants also provide shades for these leafy vegetables.

Carrots:
As they say: “Carrots love Tomatoes”. Carrots share the space well with tomatoes. The roots of the carrot break up the soil very well. So if you have planted it along with tomatoes, the tomato plant can take nutrients, water etc very easily. It is also helpful in harvesting. Plant the carrots when the tomatoes are very tiny and they will be ready to be harvested by the time tomato plants require more space to proliferate.

Onions/Garlic:
Onions and garlic are natural deterrent of pests. This is due to their pungent odor. Planting them along with tomatoes will definitely reduce your pest management cost. They are a good option if your tomatoes are infested with spider mites. Planting garlic cloves around tomato plants is like providing a natural insecticide to the plant. 

Borage:
Borage protects tomatoes from the hornworms. Growing borage along with tomatoes can help deterring the worms and keep your tomatoes healthy. Borage also has a fresh flavor to it so you can use the smaller leaves to salads or refreshing drinks. Besides tomatoes you can also use borage as a companion plant with Cabbage to deter cabbage worms.

For more ideas about companion plants of tomatoes see the video below.


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