Growing Tomatoes: Helpful Tips

Let's face it, almost everyone loves the idea of having freshly picked tomatoes especially as part of their summer diet. And this is why growing tomatoes seems to be on everyone's list nowadays. Red or yellow, there are various types of tomatoes to choose from: from cherry to beefsteak to grape to plum to round slicing to heirloom varieties. Now, if you are considering growing tomatoes, below are some helpful steps that you can consider.



Typically, tomatoes grow best when the daytime temperature is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. When the temperature reaches above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, tomatoes stop growing. During nighttime temperatures, it is usually above 85 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also important to note that the fruits will not turn red without full sun and warm soil.



Now, you can begin growing tomatoes either from a transplant set in the garden a week after the date of the last frost or through a seed planted in the garden. When you decide to use transplants, consider buying them from a credible nursery or garden center, and from there, you can now begin growing your own tomatoes indoors six to eight weeks before the actual planting date.



More so, place transplants out on a cloudy day or in the late afternoon. Now, in the event that it gets very hot, you can still protect the plants with a temporary shade of newspapers. Also, don't forget that you must not disturb the roots of transplants as this will hinder their growth. Try to touch them as little as possible.



When it comes to harvesting tomatoes, it normally requires 50 to 180 days for transplants, but that depends on the variety. Now, keep in mind that the color of the tomato when ripe always depends on the variety. You can say that tomatoes are ripe already if it feels firm, not squashy and not too hard.



Meanwhile, below are some tomato growing tips which can surely help you grow sweet, delicious tomatoes.



First and foremost, prune tomato plants to direct maximum energy into tomato production. So, make sure to select your pruning plan based on what you want from your tomatoes. If you are looking for larger and earlier tomatoes to harvest, eliminate any shoots that appear on or beside the main stem, and don't forget to tie the stem to a stake. Now, for more tomatoes, allow plants to bush out and support them in tomato cages.



Second, select between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes based on the way you choose to harvest. For determinate tomatoes, it usually tends to stay compact and produce most of their tomatoes at about the same time. Usually, this is useful and suitable for canning, freezing and sauce making. While for indeterminate tomatoes, it continues to grow and develop new tomatoes as they go and at the same time, indeterminate tomatoes develop a better yield but stretch over a longer harvest period.



Third, dozens of various cultivars are in each class and there is an abundance to select from. And, of course, you might have to examine seed catalogs to know whether a specific tomato is determinate or not.



And finally, why not stake your tomato cages so a bumper crop won't pull them over? Why not work a tall stake through the wire mesh near the perimeter of the cage, and stab or pound it to 8 inches deep in the ground? Normally, this will anchor the cage firmly (and the plant inside) in spite of the pull of strong winds.