Bones Steakhouse Tip - Grow GREAT Tomatoes!
Start indoors: You can get ahead of the tomato
growing season by starting your seedlings indoors in a pot.
Give your tomatoes something to climb: Remember that
tomato plants grow like a vine. They like to grow upwards. So when
planting your tomatoes outdoors, give them some tall stacks or a
fence wall or something to climb up.
Trimming those vines: Keep your tomato vines
pruned. This helps to provide sunshine to the tomatoes and will help
them grow larger. You especially want to trim those vine shoots growing
out the sides.
Don’t handle wet tomatoes: At least not while
they’re still on the vine. This increases the chances of rot setting in,
or of the tomatoes having bad spots.
Watch your watering: This is a tricky one. You don’t want the tomato
plants
to become too saturated or rot could set in. On the other hand, if you
don’t water enough, rot could still settle in. Keep your tomato plants
watered regularly, especially at the root level, but don’t drown them.
Use a fan:This might sound a little wacky, but it
works. Tomato plants need a strong stem to grow better and taller, and
apparently the wind helps the tomato to build a strong stem, kind of
building strong muscles in your arms. When your plants are still in the
seedling phase, use an electric fan on them to help build those stems.
But don’t put the fan on high and keep it blasting away at the poor
seedlings all the time or you’ll end up with flattened seedlings. Adjust
the fan’s power and its distance from the seedlings as you see fit;
usually a little less is better than a little more.
Make sure the seedlings get plenty of light:Tomato
seedlings need at least 14 hours of sunlight a day, and can use as much
as 18 hours’ worth. So, if you’re planting your seedlings outdoors, make
sure they will be in a spot where they get sunshine for most of the
day. If you start with your seedlings indoors, invest in some
fluorescent growing lights.
Don’t overload the manure:
Manure tends to have high levels of nitrogen, and while this is good
for your tomato vines, it’s not so good for the tomatoes themselves. Too
much nitrogen and you won’t get many tomatoes, though you should still
have a
healthy plant. Just make sure you know what’s going in the soil for your tomatoes.
Put down some mulch: Natural mulches help to hold
water in the ground for tomatoes, so provide plenty of natural mulch
around where your tomatoes are growing. But don’t put down the
mulch
until the ground has warmed some, at least 65 or so degrees, or the
mulch won’t be as helpful. Mulch also helps to keep away weeds and some
insects harmful to tomatoes.
Plant your tomatoes deep: You want your tomato
plants to be strong, right? Of course you do. To help achieve this, went
planting the seedlings outdoors, bury the plant deep enough so the soil
just covers the top leaves. This will urge the plant to spread its
roots deeper, which will help to grow a stronger plant.
Reference: http://www.gomestic.com
