Growing Tomatoes

It’s odd to find someone who doesn’t eat tomatoes at least a few times a week. It might be in the form of a rich tomato sauce or perhaps a crunchy BLT sandwich. Regardless of how they are prepared, tomatoes are one of the most nutritious and economical foods you can eat. Many people are jumping on the organic bandwagon out of health concerns and have taken to growing tomatoes on their own. It’s actually not a difficult endeavor and there’s really nothing like a fresh, ripe tomato from your own garden.

If you’ve never tried out your green thumb you may wonder if you’ll be able to handle the care and nurturing involved. Growing tomatoes is a pretty easy task and as long as you know the basic rules to follow you can’t mess it up too much.

First you need to decide where you’ll place these hearty plants. Although avid growers often use seeds, this isn’t something the typical backyard gardener is going to want to attempt. It takes months if you take this approach, whereas if you purchase tomato plants in April or May, you are already well on the road to having fresh tomatoes. Once you have the plants home it’s time to decide whether to place them in the ground or in pots. In most cases, pots are the best idea as they can be moved into the direct sunlight and can also be taken into a garage or garden shed if a tornado or severe thunderstorm hits.

The type of pot is actually more important than you might think. You want to use a planter that is going to be able to aid you in growing tomatoes, not hinder you. Clay pots look wonderful but in actuality they may draw water away from the tomatoes. Instead, stick with a standard plastic pot that has a few small drainage holes. Also, choose pots that will accommodate the size of your tomato plants. You want to ensure that there’s ample room for the roots to spread out.

Keep them in direct sunlight for much of the day and of course, they need and love water. If you do notice that they’ve attracted some bugs, consult with a gardening center to find out which pesticide is safe to use on the tomatoes. Also, when you are growing tomatoes, a fertilizer is a must. Again, someone skilled in gardening can suggest which fertilizer will help you yield the juiciest crop of tomatoes.

Once the season is over and you’ve picked the last of these juicy red fruits, you may find yourself with more tomatoes than you know what to do with. If you can’t eat them all up in salads or sandwiches, consider making your own tomato sauce for use throughout the winter. You can also make stewed tomatoes which are great when added to soup or casseroles. Just make certain you don’t waste any. You don’t want all the hard work you put into growing tomatoes, to be lost.