Ways to Go Green - 10 Tomato Growing Tips

I can't wait until summer is here to have ice cold tomatoes on my sandwiches or cut tomatoes with a little salt. Doesn't that just sound delicious? My mouth is watering just thinking about this. I have been reading a lot about gardening and improving my skills. Tomatoes seem to be the most popular plant every gardener wants learn how to grow and grow with abundance. I have listed here 10 tomato growing tips to help you have the juiciest, most delicious tomatoes this year. I am trying all of them, since I would like to actually eat something out of my garden this year. 

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Ways to go Green In the Garden

10 Tomato Growing Tips

1. Choose a spot with lots of sunshine. Tomatoes require at least 6-8 hours of sunlight in order to ripen to a nice red color. Make sure the spot you want to plant is filled with sunshine.
2. Bury the stems. When transplanting your tomatoes bury stems up to the first leaf. This will give your tomatoes a healthy start. These will turn into more roots and help produce more tomatoes.
3. Water deeply but not often. It is a good idea to water your tomato plants once or twice a week for a long period of time rather than frequently for a few minutes each day. This will produce a hearty root system and great juicy tomatoes.
4. Pinch off the suckers. The suckers grow at the base of the leaf and try to grow another tomato branch. While this may seem like a good idea, these suck nutrients from the stems that actually are producing plant. Whenever you see the first leaves appearing just snap them off at the base to prevent these suckers from reducing your harvest.
5. Use stakes or tomato cages. I use tomato cages purchased at the store. While this may be a little of an investment at first, these will last you many many years. As the tomato plant grows allow the branches to drape over the edges. The last thing you want is your tomatoes on the ground. They will rot before you can harvest them.
6. Add compost Halfway through the season add more compost around the base of the tomato plant. Or make a compost tea and water your plants. This will provide more nutrients to the roots and a longer growing season.
7. Pick ripe. I find that ripe is when the tomato is starting to turn red. When you start to see the first stages of the tomato turning a little pink it is time to harvest. Simply give the tomato a little twist and it should pop right off the vine. Allow it to ripen in a dark warm area for a couple of days. These will be ready to eat or can.
8. Seedlings spaced 2 feet apart. When planting, place at least two feet apart to allow the plant to grow and not over take the next plant. If you go with the round cages, each cage should be at least 1 foot apart.
9. How many plants do I need? A good rule of thumb to follow is to grow at least three to five plants per person in your home.  
10. Bug prevention. Lastly you want to protect your plant. See my post from yesterday for a few gardening ways to go green insecticides you can use on your plants.

Here are a few ways to go green for growing awesome tomatoes. If you do all these steps, you should have a bountiful tomato harvest this year. 

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I check my garden everyday to make sure it is doing well or if it needs water or are there any bugs eating my hard work. I want to eat this food, not let the bugs have it. Last year I had a caterpillar nearly eat an entire tomato plant in a couple of days. I found him an moved him to the front yard. He was very fat and happy by the time I found him, so this made him easy to find. I hope the egg shells will discourage them from intruding this year. I should be able to conquer these little pests!

Do you have any great tomato tips you would like to share? Are you growing a garden? If you have a garden post, leave a comment below. I would love to read what you have written.

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