Growing tomato plants is the first step toward harvesting ripe, juicy, big tomatoes from your garden.
Tomatoes aren't fussy.
Give them at least eight hours of sunlight per day, regular water and good soil and you should have no problem growing tomato plants.
-Remove all blossoms until the plant is at least 18 inches high so energy is directed toward growing a strong stem and good root system.
-Use a commercial blossom set for the earliest tomatoes.
Or brush each blossom with a soft brush to transfer the pollen yourself.
-Mist flowers with water if humidity is less than 40%.
The pollen won't stick if the humidity is too low.
Mist yourself if you're hot.
-Spread ground eggshells on the soil around plants to keep away snails and slugs.
However this does tend to attract snakes, which is fine as long as they're not poisonous.
-Surround the tomato bed with copper sheeting cut in 4 inch strips and used as an edging to deter snails and slugs.
-Stop cutworms cold by placing a barricade around each new transplant's stem.
Cutworms cut the seedlings off at soil level.
Old aluminum pie pans bent in a circle work well.
-Inspect plants every day for horned tomato worms.
They look like big-fat-green-ugly caterpillars with a horn at one end.
Remove and drown.
Use chopsticks to pick them up.
Or stab them, it's up to you.
-Weed early and often.
Weeds suck water away from the tomato plants and deprive them of food.
-Grow vines up to protect the fruit and take up less space in the garden.
Cage the tomatoes with commercially made wire cages, cages you make yourself from chicken wire or stake the tomatoes.
-Do not pick tomatoes straight off the vine and feed to small children or dogs.
They will learn to pick the tomatoes themselves without your permission.
-Provide companionship for your tomatoes: the plant kind.
Marigolds, borage, garlic and basil protect tomatoes from insects and accelerates the plant's growth.
-Give tomatoes slow deep waterings.
Shallow watering leads to cracked fruit.
The plants will wilt a bit in the hot summer sun.
Don't rely on that as a symptom they need more water.
Check the soil.
-Harvest tomatoes often.
The only goal in a tomato's life is to make baby tomatoes through seed production.
Pick the fruit and the tomato will keep on producing.
-Growing tomato plants that have strong root systems, stems and leaves leads to harvesting more tomatoes more often from your garden.
Tomatoes aren't fussy.
Give them at least eight hours of sunlight per day, regular water and good soil and you should have no problem growing tomato plants.
-Remove all blossoms until the plant is at least 18 inches high so energy is directed toward growing a strong stem and good root system.
-Use a commercial blossom set for the earliest tomatoes.
Or brush each blossom with a soft brush to transfer the pollen yourself.
-Mist flowers with water if humidity is less than 40%.
The pollen won't stick if the humidity is too low.
Mist yourself if you're hot.
-Spread ground eggshells on the soil around plants to keep away snails and slugs.
However this does tend to attract snakes, which is fine as long as they're not poisonous.
-Surround the tomato bed with copper sheeting cut in 4 inch strips and used as an edging to deter snails and slugs.
-Stop cutworms cold by placing a barricade around each new transplant's stem.
Cutworms cut the seedlings off at soil level.
Old aluminum pie pans bent in a circle work well.
-Inspect plants every day for horned tomato worms.
They look like big-fat-green-ugly caterpillars with a horn at one end.
Remove and drown.
Use chopsticks to pick them up.
Or stab them, it's up to you.
-Weed early and often.
Weeds suck water away from the tomato plants and deprive them of food.
-Grow vines up to protect the fruit and take up less space in the garden.
Cage the tomatoes with commercially made wire cages, cages you make yourself from chicken wire or stake the tomatoes.
-Do not pick tomatoes straight off the vine and feed to small children or dogs.
They will learn to pick the tomatoes themselves without your permission.
-Provide companionship for your tomatoes: the plant kind.
Marigolds, borage, garlic and basil protect tomatoes from insects and accelerates the plant's growth.
-Give tomatoes slow deep waterings.
Shallow watering leads to cracked fruit.
The plants will wilt a bit in the hot summer sun.
Don't rely on that as a symptom they need more water.
Check the soil.
-Harvest tomatoes often.
The only goal in a tomato's life is to make baby tomatoes through seed production.
Pick the fruit and the tomato will keep on producing.
-Growing tomato plants that have strong root systems, stems and leaves leads to harvesting more tomatoes more often from your garden.
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