How to Grow Tomatoes in Your Garden

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There's nothing tastier than a fresh-picked tomato. Enjoy a bumper crop this year with these tips.

To complete this How-To you will need:

A sunny spot
A soil test
Tomato seeds or transplants
A tiller
Garden tools
Fertilizer
Stakes or cages
Recipes
Plastic cups and indoor planters

Step 1: Pick a good spot

Pick a sunny spot. Tomatoes need at least six hours of sun a day.

Step 2: Test the soil

Test your soil to find out what nutrients it needs. Garden centers often sell do-it-yourself kits, or you can arrange a test through the Cooperative Extension System, a national agricultural network. Find a nearby Extension office on the USDA web site.

Step 3: Choose tomato varieties

Choose the type of tomatoes you want to plant. Apart from taste, consider the hardiness of the variety and whether it does well in your climate and soil. Plant types that mature at different times so you'll have a steady supply of tomatoes.

Step 4: Decide between seeds or transplants

Decide whether to start your tomato plants from seeds or buy plants, called transplants or starts. You'll need six to eight weeks to grow plants from seeds. Start the seeds in plastic cups with holes punched in the bottom. Keep them inside, transferring them to larger containers once they begin to sprout leaves.

Tip: If you don't have a sunny spot for your seedlings, set them under fluorescent lights for 12 hours per day.

Step 5: Till the land

Once the possibility of frost has passed in your area, it's time to plant! Break up the land you will be planting with a tiller.

Step 6: Fertilize and plant

Dig a trench about seven inches deep in the area where you're planning to put your tomatoes. Add fertilizer, cover it with two or three inches of soil, and plant the transplants on top, spaced 12 to 18 inches apart. Bury the plant up to the first set of leaves -- the whole stem can produce roots, making for a stronger plant.

Step 7: Water and watch them grow

Water your plants daily for the first week. As they grow, they'll need to be staked, which means tying them to a pole so they grow upright.

Tip: Sturdy oak stakes work best. Using nylon stocking strips, tie each plant to a five-foot stake that's inserted at least one foot into the ground.

Step 8: Spring for cages

Consider growing your tomatoes in cages. Except for a little pruning, caged tomato plants require less labor because you don't have to use stakes or ties. Just put the cage over the plant and push the legs into the ground to anchor it.

Step 9: Prepare for your bounty

Read up on tomato recipes so you're ready to make the most of your summer bounty!

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Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• homefamily
• vegetables
• growing
• gardening
• house
• home
• garden
• tomatoes
• tomatos
• planting
• starting

[loopofpoop]

fruit, but eaten/treated as a vegetable

[lespaul4U]

hahahahahaa the cartoon looks like Borat!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ImThaReeless]

Check out my floral designs using magic beads.

[ImThaReeless]

Check out my floral designs using magig beads.

[racmop1]

@reo1994 ya but its better when its fresh from your garden and cheaper too

[reo1994]

or just go 5 min to your local store and buy it

[AfterTimeTeaBlade]

tomato-pelting ammo

Tomato-1000

Mangoes-50

Watermelons-1000

[pspmastergame]

@HostTwilightfan1010 ok..............what's the problem ....

[HostTwilightfan1010]

im allergic to tomatoes 

[isaisai9192]

my alsa driver is broke its pointless to me

[ode4951]

Tomato is a fruit not a vegetable