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Tomato Planting Tips To Help You Produce The Best Tomatoes

By Kaye Dennan

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 17May2010
Word count: 414
Viewed: 247 time(s)

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Before growing tomatoes I never realized the importance of the step of making sure the tomato planting process was done the correct way. Not that it is overly difficult, but tomato plants are different than most when it comes to planting.

Composting tomato plants.

The first thing you want to do is add at least 2 inches of compost to the soil and mix it in well. Compost has about every nutrient in it that the tomato plants will need. Add some lime and fertilizer and mix well. Check that the pH level is 6.0 to 6.8. Compost again 2 or 3 times throughout the growing season. The one good thing about compost is that you can't go wrong with it if it is just a basic compost with no added fertilizers. Plants thrive with regular composting.

Tomato planting tips.

When planting the seedling into the ground, plant it very deep, right up to within an inch of the top four to six leaves. If there are more leaves at the top, remove them. Tomatoes develop roots along the stem and this makes for healthier plant, but also one that is strong and can support the growth of heavier crops.

Tomato plants are quite bushy and an important factor in their growing success is a good air flow, so the requirement is when planting tomato plants is that they are planted well apart. For the smaller varieties they can be 12 to 18 inches apart, but the larger varieties that will require substantial support, and indeed a good air flow between nearby plants, need to be planted about 36 inches apart.

Tomato plants are very breakable at this stage so handle them with care and preferably by the leaves. Take care when putting them in the ground and when back filling that the stem is not broken.

Companion planting.

One easy way to help with pest control is to do what is called 'companion planting' and that is to plant certain plants that will keep the tomato pests under control. Three very good ones are the marigold which can be planted around the tomato plants with a good space in between and basil which is planted between the tomato plants as well. Garlic also repels insects as they really hate the smell of garlic plants.

These tomato planting tips will be of great benefit to you if you did not know them already and hopefully they will have helped you overcome some of the problems you may have faced in the past.

Growing tomatoes can be very annoying but when you have read how to plant them and how to maintain them you can reap wonderful sweet tomatoes for months. Learn how to Grow Tomatoes Successfully by signing up to our 10 part FREE mini-course 'Luscious Tomatoes'.

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