Thursday, October 30, 2008

Helpful Tips For Growing Tomatoes

By Dave Truman

Tomatoes are one of the best fruit vegetables. Tiny cherry tomatoes with their sweet, tangy taste, can be eaten whole. Tomatoes will add a zip of color to a boring salad. Tomato sauce makes pizza or pasta even more appetizing when added. These are just some of the benefits you will get from growing your own tomatoes.

Tomatoes come in various shapes, sizes and colors but there are really just two kinds. One type is called the Determinates and the other the Indeterminates. Determinate tomatoes are vine growing that stop when they reach a certain point.

These tomatoes have early producing fruit that grow on a small compact vine. They are perfect for growing in containers or small spaces.

Determinates grow best when spaced 1 to 2 feet apart. The rows need 4 feet between them. If you want to plant some other vegetables around the tomato plants, you will need to add a little extra room in the rows.

Indeterminate tomatoes continue growing and therefore will need support from cages or trellises. The cages should be about 3 feet apart. You can train these tomatoes to climb the trellis once they have attached themselves. The weight of the tomato plant could cause it to want to fall over so it may be beneficial to tie the vines to support the weight.

You can start your tomato gardening with seeds or starter plants brought from nurseries. The best new tomato plants are those without any yellow speckling on their leaves. The other thing to check is to make sure that your plant roots are not coming out of the containers bottom. The root's growth can tell if your plant will grow successfully or if it will be stressed out and produce a poor harvest.

The best way to tell when to plant your tomatoes is when all of the other trees in your garden have leaves. This means the temperature will be warm enough and your plants will receive about 8 hours of good sunlight. It's important to fully cover the roots of you tomatoes with soil enabling it to get all the nutrients it can.

With tomato gardening you need to keep an eye on the weather. Hot sunny days might be great for you, but they mean that your tomato plants will need regular watering at least once a week. Other than this you can sit back and relax. Once your tomatoes are fully ripe, just pluck them off the vines and enjoy your fresh tomatoes.

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