Our Easy Guide to Growing Tomatoes
Did you know that tomatoes are actually a fruit? This fruit is truly tasty and is an amazing ingredient to add to so many recipes. Plus, with some simple tips, you can grow your own healthy and delicious tomato plants all summer long.
Why waste money at the grocery store? You grow tomato plants of your own in your garden on your balcony.
From early summer to the year-end harvest, these plants will provide you with great ingredients for your meals all summer long.
If you buy a potted tomato plant at a garden center you can be assured that they are compact and healthy. The plants you choose should have more than five to six leafy stems.
You can start sowing tomato seeds as soon as February. Early sowing can begin to reap the benefits by the end of July.
After about a week, you can see the seed. Keep these baby plants in a very well lit place and water them regularly. You can get rid of plants that are too weak or too small compared to others. You can space the start of the plants to have tomatoes until late in the season.
Before transplanting a tomato plant to the soil, cut the first branch. Then, plant it so that the next leaf touches the earth.
Now, tomatoes require more than 6 hours of full sunlight per day. Don’t plant your tomatoes until there are no risks of frost in your area.
In a garden, tomato plants should be spaced 50 cm apart, in rows 70-80 cm apart.
It's a good idea to apply a mulch on the feet to keep the moisture.
For each tomato plant, provide a solid stake of about 1.5 m. You can stretch ropes between the stakes, which will allow the stems to hang on and support the fruit well.
No garden? Don’t worry! Potted tomato plants can easily be grown on a balcony or terrace. Simply follow the same guidelines of sunlight and watering.
Get 12" pots and put a layer of gravel in the first 1/3 to avoid stagnation of water (which rot the young roots), then add potting soil to the edge. Place a plant in the middle of the pot and water well, keep at a temperature of around 20 ° C.
Water at the foot of the plants regularly in the evening. It must always remain moist, hence the advantage of putting mulch. Avoid wetting foliage as much as possible.
Your best bet is to use a fertilizer designed specifically for tomatoes.
Trim all the small branches that grow on the stems, which will get more fruit.
At the end of the summer, partially remove the leaves to allow the sun to pass and to ripen the last fruits.
Tomatoes flourish in the company of basil, mint, peppers, onions, leeks, beans and cabbages. It is also a good idea to plant nearby flowers (nasturtiums, carnations, pinks) that attract aphids and other insects, which prevents them from attacking tomato plants.
On the other hand, keep tomatoes away from beets, eggplants, potatoes, and peas.
Happy gardening!
Source: Canal Vie
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