We all love fresh homegrown tomatoes but, how can you grow a healthier plant and in turn, have a better abundance of tomatoes? There are a few tips that avid tomato grows use on a constant basis to achieve such goals. Follow these extremely easy tips for growing tomato plants and you can see the same kind of results in your next harvest.
Because tomatoes love heat, you can preheat the soil in your garden before you plant your tomato plants. Just cover the area with black or red plastic for a couple of weeks before you intend to plant. With the extra degrees of warmth that the plastic creates, you will receive earlier tomatoes. Another tip to growing a healthier tomato plant is to plant the tomato plant deep into the soil. Seedlings are typically planted after they have developed about six leaves. Plant the seedlings into the soil deep enough so that only the top four leaves are showing. Tomatoes are able to develop roots all along the stems of the plant. This will create a stronger root system for the plant. You can also plant the tomato plant sideways in the ground within a shallow trench. The plant will straighten up and grow towards the sun but extra care needs to be taken when you are inserting the cage or pole so that it does not pierce the root system.
There are several tips to maintaining the plant itself throughout the growing season that some tomato growers do not know. One tip is to keep up on the pruning of the plant particularly the suckers. Tomato growers can remove the suckers that develop in the joint of two branches of the plant. They do not bear fruit and they take energy away from the rest of the plant. You can also prune some of the leaves to allow the sun to reach the ripening fruit. But, a lot of care must be taken to ensure that you are not removing too many leaves. It is the leaves that are photosynthesizing and creating the sugars that give flavor to the tomatoes. You should also ensure that you keep up on the watering of the tomato plants. They should be watered deeply and regularly while the plants are developing; missing a few days of watering and trying to make up for it later on leads to blossom end rot and cracking. Another tip on watering tomato plants is to lessen the watering once the fruit begins to ripen. With the less amount of water, the plant will be coaxed into concentrating its sugars. But, be careful not to withhold too much water because the plant will wilt and become stressed. This will lead to the plant dropping its blossoms and possibly its fruit.
These tips are easy to do and will support the health of the tomato plant. Many tomato plant growers have incorporated these simple tips into their tomato gardening routine and have enjoyed the increase in their crop and flavor of their tomatoes.