Growing great tomatoes is not an easy form of gardening and proper care, knowledge and growing conditions are required. Tips for tomato gardening include making sure that the plants have plenty of light, keeping the plants spaced out and heating the soil in the garden before planting. It’s also important to ensure that the plants are cared for correctly once they begin to grow by trimming the leaves that cause the most problems.
The more sunlight &mdahs; either artificial or natural — the tomatoes are exposed to the better the potential of the end product. In order to provide enough light for young tomato plants to grow, it is often a good idea to put them under grow lights. When brought outside, the plants should then be placed in the area of the garden that receives the most sunlight.
Tomato plants grow best in warm conditions. Before the tomato plants are planted, it can help to cover and heat an area of the garden. Usually this takes several weeks and hence needs to be planned in advance. Although this won’t necessarily provide better tomatoes, the extra warmth will help to speed up the process of growth.
A common mistake when trying to plant a garden is crowding the seedlings in order to try to increase the number of tomatoes. Tomato gardening usually works best if the gardener provides room for the seedlings to grow and expand. As the plants continue to grow, they should be moved to larger pots in order to allow for continued growth. If the seedlings are too cramped, then they will not be able to reach full size.
Another tip for tomato gardening is to fan the seedlings. Although it isn’t clear why, it seems that tomato plants grow best when they are are placed in areas that have a consistent light breeze. This may be because it forces the plants to grow stronger stems. The fan doesn’t need to be on all day — just for around half an hour in total.
Other tips include removing the lowest leaves from the stem as the plant grows, pruning split branches and watering regularly. The idea is to make sure that as much energy as possible goes to the tomatoes rather than growing split branches. It’s also a good idea to ensure that the plants are watered in a consistent manner when tomato gardening.