Just about everyone I know loves a juicy, ripe tomato, fresh from the garden and tasting of the sun. I’m sharing here some of the tips for successfully growing tomatoes with organic methods. Now, get out there and grow something!
Plant deep. Bury tomato plant’s stems and it will sprout a slew of new roots that help the plant grow sturdy and tall quickly. You can bury just about all of stem–pluck off the branches below the top flush of leaves. Early in the season, dig a trench 4 or 5 inches deep in the soil and set the transplant into it, burying the stem up to the top leaves. Later in the season, when the soil has warmed or in dry climates, bury the transplant in a straight, deep hole. Cooler, moister soil below 6 inches deep helps tomatoes survive in hot, dry summers.
Feed the soil. Avoid the mistake of overfeeding your tomatoes. They thrive in soil that’s rich in humus for extensive, well-nourished root systems and potassium (K) for strong stems. Add too much nitrogen (N) and you’ll have a big, lush plant with very little fruit. Save your best compost for your tomatoes and supplement only with seaweed powder, which is a quick-acting source of potassium. You will get incredible fruits. Homemade compost typically supplies all the phosphorus (P) your tomatoes need for good flowering and fruiting.
Red plastic, maybe. Many organic gardeners rely on plastic mulch to warm the soil in spring and prevent weeds from sprouting up. Plastic mulch isn’t part of my ideal organic garden, but studies have found that beds covered in black plastic in spring produce tomatoes earlier and more of them all season long. In addition, researchers find that infra-red transmitting plastic mulch reflects just the kind of light plants need up onto the foliage. Find it in gardening catalogs.
Mulch for sure. While plastic mulch has proved its worth to some, natural mulches also help tomatoes grow well. Surround your plants with a layer of straw, leaves, dried grass clippings or pine needles and it will keep the plants’ roots cool, prevent weeds from sprouting around them and retain moisture in the soil.
Pluck the first flowers. Growing deep, extensive roots and a full leaf canopy will help establish newly transplanted tomatoes. Many experienced tomato growers pull off the first flowers, so the plant does not devote energy to forming fruit before its roots and foliage have filled out. Tomato experts report that you should “pull off all the flowers until the plants reach at least 1 foot tall” as well as pulling off all the suckers (shoots that emerge from the main stem below the first fruiting branch).
Grow them up. Tomato vines left to sprawl on the soil are more susceptible to attacks by pests and diseases. Sprawling vines take up a lot of room in your garden and the fruit they bear is more difficult to harvest. So stake or cage the vines for your healthiest, most productive tomato crop ever.
You can revive damaged plants. If cutworms, mice, slugs, the neighbor’s dog or other hazards hack into your transplants, don’t despair. If you get to the plant before the sun has baked the life out of it, cut an inch or so off the bottom of the stem and place the rest in a container of water out of direct sun for a week or so. It will sprout roots along the stem. Then transplant it back into garden and watch it grow.
Plant deep
Bury tomato plant’s stems and it will sprout a slew of new roots that help the plant grow sturdy and tall quickly. You can bury just about all of stem–pluck off the branches below the top flush of leaves. Early in the season, dig a trench 4 or 5 inches deep in the soil and set the transplant into it, burying the stem up to the top leaves. Later in the season, when the soil has warmed or in dry climates, bury the transplant in a straight, deep hole. Cooler, moister soil below 6 inches deep helps tomatoes survive in hot, dry summers.
Feed the soil
Avoid the mistake of overfeeding your tomatoes. They thrive in soil that’s rich in humus for extensive, well-nourished root systems and potassium (K) for strong stems. Add too much nitrogen (N) and you’ll have a big, lush plant with very little fruit. Save your best compost for your tomatoes and supplement only with seaweed powder, which is a quick-acting source of potassium. You will get incredible fruits. Homemade compost typically supplies all the phosphorus (P) your tomatoes need for good flowering and fruiting.
Pinch the first flowers
Growing deep, extensive roots and a full leaf canopy will help establish newly transplanted tomatoes. Many experienced tomato growers pull off the first flowers, so the plant does not devote energy to forming fruit before its roots and foliage have filled out. Tomato experts report that you should “pull off all the flowers until the plants reach at least 1 foot tall” as well as pulling off all the suckers (shoots that emerge from the main stem below the first fruiting branch).
Red plastic, maybe
Many organic gardeners rely on plastic mulch to warm the soil in spring and prevent weeds from sprouting up. Plastic mulch isn’t part of my ideal organic garden, but studies have found that beds covered in black plastic in spring produce tomatoes earlier and more of them all season long. In addition, researchers find that infra-red transmitting plastic mulch reflects just the kind of light plants need up onto the foliage. Find it in gardening catalogs.
Mulch for sure
While plastic mulch has proved its worth to some, natural mulches also help tomatoes grow well. Surround your plants with a layer of straw, leaves, dried grass clippings or pine needles and it will keep the plants’ roots cool, prevent weeds from sprouting around them and retain moisture in the soil.
Grow them up
Tomato vines left to sprawl on the soil are more susceptible to attacks by pests and diseases. Sprawling vines take up a lot of room in your garden and the fruit they bear is more difficult to harvest. So stake or cage the vines for your healthiest, most productive tomato crop ever.
Revive damaged plants
If cutworms, mice, slugs, the neighbor’s dog or other hazards hack into your transplants, don’t despair. If you get to the plant before the sun has baked the life out of it, cut an inch or so off the bottom of the stem and place the rest in a container of water out of direct sun for a week or so. It will sprout roots along the stem. Then transplant it back into garden and watch it grow.