How to Grow a Tomato Plant

Are you yearning to grow your own sweet, juicy tomatoes? Luckily for you, tomato plants can grow almost anywhere. But as with most vegetation that produce a fruit, a little "tender, loving care" or TLC goes a long way. With adequate sunlight, water, and patience, you'll be greatly rewarded.

Steps

#1 Buy a tomato plant from a nursery and transplant it to your garden for the first-time grower. More experienced growers will find it easy to start their own tomatoes from seed, beginning, as appropriate, in a greenhouse or sunny window indoors.

    * In most cases, there's no reason to pay extra to buy larger plants.
    * Good first-time growers’ varieties include Better Boy, Creole, Big Boy, Early Girl, Brandywine, Celebrity, Lemon Boy, or just about any cherry or grape tomato variety.
    * Plant several varieties rather than all of one type-- this ensures a steady harvest. As a rule of thumb, it's good to have two plants for each member of the family who will eat tomatoes. If you plan on canning or making salsa, use up to four plants per person.
    * Plants usually cost US $4 or less.

#2 Choose a sunny spot to place the plants. Place tomato plants in a site receiving full sun (7 hours or more daily) Tomatoes need lots of warm sunshine for optimum taste.

#3 Prepare the garden bed by adding lots of compost (5 to 8 pounds per square foot/25 to 40 kilograms per square meter) to the soil. Turn compost into the top 3 inches (6 to 8 cm). Tomatoes demand a growing medium rich in organic matter. If you don't make your own compost, use store-bought compost or composted manure available in the 40-pound bags. Compost or Manure is usually less than US $5 per 40-pound bag.

# 4Transplant the tomato deeply. Bury about 75% of the plant. It’s okay to bury some of its leaves. New roots will emerge along the buried stem, giving the plant a development boost; a new transplant needs to focus on root production.

#5Give each plant about 1 gallon (about 4 liters) of warm water (about 80 degrees F/ 27 degrees C) within ten minutes of transplanting to avoid transplant shock.

#6 Space tomato plants 18 to 36 inches (45 to 90 cm) apart; space them half the suggested distance in warmer climates, especially if using tomato cages. The normal distance recommended is for plants allowed to bush out hugely on the ground, while planting closer together in cages allows the plants to shade each other's fruit, helping prevent burn and allowing a sweeter flavor.

    * Don't forget to leave yourself enough space to get in between the plants to water, weed, and harvest. Those cute, little seedlings may not remain that way for long.

#7 Continue to water about 16 ounces (about 500 ml) of warm water per plant every day for the first 7 to 10 days after transplanting.

#8 Wait a week or two after transplanting,and then place a mulch of straw, dried grass, or pine needles to control weeds and keep the soil moist during dry weather. The mulch should be about an inch (2.5 cm) thick and surround at least a circle 12 inches (about 30 cm) in diameter around the stem. Pine needles are especially good for helping raise the acidity of the soil.

#9 Ensure that plants are receiving 1 to 3 inches (2.5 cm to 7.6 cm) of rain weekly. If not, give each plant about 2 gallons (about 7.5 liters) per plant per week, beginning 14 days after transplanting.

    * The tomato plant should be watered 2 to 3 times weekly (so, water each plant with about .75 to 1 gallon each time (about 3 to 4 liters).
    * It's okay in hot or dry weather to water even more frequently with larger volumes.

#10. Consider using a tomato cage or a stake to support the tomato vine about 14 days after transplanting.
          * A stake should be at least 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) thick and 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) long. Pound stakes about 12 to 24 inches (30 cm to 60 cm) deep, at least 2 inches (5 cm) away from the plant. Secure the plant to the stake using loose knotted double-loops that won't strangle the plant. Stakes can be made of bamboo, scrap wood, electrical conduit, or iron bar.
          * While it is less common, they can also be vined on a trellis or fence, like grapes, beans, squash, and other vining plants. This can produce especially large yields, but is less popular because tomato plants grow so large and bulky.
          * A cage should be at least 48 inches (1.2 m) tall, even taller if you grow the plant well. Some tomato plants can be more than six feet (1.8 m) tall in cages. Cages have a tendency to bend if the plants get heavy, and sometimes collapse in summer storms. Carefully pull leaves and secondary stems inside the cage as the plant grows. Cages cost less than USD $4 each.

          * If your plants routinely outgrow purchased tomato cages, get some hardware cloth (wire mesh) with a broad grid and cut it and roll it into wide cylinders to make your own, larger cages. Bend the wire ends around the wires on the opposite end, making a circle. This type of cage may need a strong stake for support.

#11. Choose whether to use use chemical fertilizers. Tomatoes can grow very well organically, provided the soil is well enriched with organic matter. If you do use chemical fertilizers, try using half the recommended concentration per gallon (using package directions), but fertilize twice as often, in order to avoid the stress caused by the feast-famine of the longer fertilization gaps.
          * Over-fertilization can cause plants to grow too quickly, leaving them more susceptible to disease and insects.
          * Remember that your goal in growing tomatoes is fruit, not leaves. Fertilizers, especially when used in excess, may cause the plant to produce more leaves and foliage.

#12. Shake your plants gently once or twice each week for about 5 seconds once flowering begins. According to the National Gardening Association, shaking the tomato plant increases fruit production by more evenly distributing pollen.

#13. Watch for fruit to appear 45 to 90 days after transplanting. Tomato plants usually have small, green fruit to start. Wait until the fruit is of good size with a bright, deep coloring. This means that the fruit is ripe and ready to pick. The texture of the fruit can also determine if it is ready to pick. Ripeness is usually determined by a slight softness. Be careful not to squeeze too hard and bruise the fruit. Also, be careful of allowing it to become overly ripe, which results in a very soft tomato.

Tips

    * For those who live with little ground space, or only a porch: plant tomatoes using only a pot! Take a pot about 18-24 inches high, about 15-20 inches wide. Fill with soil, fertilizer, etc. Plant tomato and cover soil with plastic black cloth that lets water through small holes. Cut around the edge in a circle and tuck the edge into the soil. This keeps weeds and bugs out. Buy long plastic stakes and put 3-4 into pot around plant and use plant tape to hold it.
          o Ripe tomatoes can be protected from predators by carefully placing a "Ziploc" type bag over the fruit from the bottom to the stem. Close the bag from both ends at the top to the stem-leaving a 1/4" on each side for air flow. Cut the lower corner for drainage and air flow. Don't be disappointed; spend the time bagging it!


  

Warnings

    * Tomatoes are prone to a number of diseases, but you can avoid most of them very easily. First by planting disease resistant varieties,listed on the tomato package.
    * To prevent mold or fungal diseases, water plants in the morning, preferably by using drip irrigation or water furrows. If you spray the entire plant(s) from above, you will increase the chances of mold/fungal spores infecting it/them. Exception; There is a method of fertilizing plants called Foliar Feeding, where you spray the plant's leaves with fertilizer containing trace elements, which will be directly absorbed. This is good for the plant, though it should be done in the evening or morning, when its pores are open.
    * Only eat the fruit of a tomato plant, never anything else, as tomato vines are in the highly poisonous Nightshade family.
    * Tomatoes need good weather and soil conditions to produce good fruit.
    * When transplanting, be careful not to disturb the roots. If too many roots are cut or damaged, the plant may die. See "tips" above for how to fix root or stem damage.
    * As your plants flourish and grow, string, or cord tend to cut into the branches. Instead, try using torn strips of cloth for your garden tying needs, and especially when cinching up tomatoes. Cut-up strips of old hose or stockings work great for tomato ties; they are stretchy and gentle enough to tie vines well. One pair of 99-cent pantyhose in 1/2-inch strips will hold up rows of plants.
    * Never sucker (prune the new growths at the base of each fruiting branch) determinate tomato plants. This kind of plant sets its fruit all at once, and all you will accomplish is making your crop much smaller.
    * Seeds of tomato are pretty small and their planting depth should not be too deep. A deep sowing results in less or no emergence and as a result loss of seeds may be attained.It is therefore wise to cautiously follow the planting depth of seeds and this has to be a 0.5-1.5cm.

They say tomatoes are good for the prostate...My Dad eats a lot of that...

They say tomatoes are good for the prostate...My Dad eats a lot of that...

oh really tnx for sharing...

magtanim nga ko nyan

magtanim nga ko nyan

bakit may prostate ka na...

bakit may prostate ka na...

hehehe...Every man has a prostate...but you wanna avoid prostate cancer...

hehehe...Every man has a prostate...but you wanna avoid prostate cancer...

tama si jane,ala yatang prostate si kent?hahahaha