How to Plant Tomatoes in the Garden. Steps and Tips for a Fine Harvest
Eaten fresh all summer long or made delisious sauce in a lot of dishes, tomatoes are among some of the most spread cultures, practically present in every garden. They’re easy to grow, but there are still some rules you should observe in order to enjoy a rich harvest. This is how to plant tomatoes in the garden step by step.
You can plant tomatoes where you had cultures such as beans, peas, cucurbits, root crops or alfalfa in the last years. You can only plant vegetables from the same family on the same plot after 3 – 4 years. The tomatoes are in the same family (Solanaceae) with potatoes, peppers and egg plants.
How to plant tomatoes in the garden. Preparing the soil
You start in the fall by digging and leveling the soil. Then you apply fertilizer at 10 – 12 inches depth.
In springtime, after defrost and drying, you maintain the soil minced and fertilized.
To keep weeds away without using chemicals, you can use a piece of agrotextile you lay on the ground and bind it well. You have to cut it where each plant goes. This material easily absorbs sunlight, keeps the soil moisture and chokes the weeds.
How to plant tomatoes in the garden. The seedlings
The seedlings are planted when you have a warm enough, stable weather, with day temperatures around 50 degrees. That’s from mid April to the first third of May.
A healthy seedling should:
- be 55 – 70 days old;
- have its first flower buds formed, but not bloomed;
- be as high as 8 – 12 inches;
- have a vigorous stem and well developed roots.
Seedlings are planted keeping a spacing of 27 in between the lines and 12 – 15 in between the plants. The root and stem should be in the ground up to the first set of leaves.
Each seedling should get 33 – 66 fl. oz of water after planting. Irrigation should be done thoroughly afterwards, ensuring each plant gets around 170 fl. oz. per week.
Read HERE all about an interesting trick to grow healthy pesticides-free tomatoes.
Credits: cartiagricole.ro, paradisverde.ro, marcoser.ro
Photo credits: cartiagricole.ro
