5 Quick Tips for Planting Tomatoes

Image: Jolly Janner 

Before heading out to plant your tomatoes, pick a spot in the garden that receives full sun, a good 6-8 hours a day, and one that has fertile, well-draining soil. Then, set your seedlings up for success by following these 5 tips for planting tomatoes.

Tip #1: Pinch off Bottom Leaves of Tomatoes

Pinching of the bottom most leaves of tomato plants encourages them to grow bushy and full rather than tall and thin. Pinch off only the bottom leaves, leaving the true leaves intact. True leaves are those that are main branches and have two to three sets of leaves per branch already.

Tip #2: Sprinkle the Ground with Egg Shells

In the weeks leading up to planting time, save your egg shells. Crush them up and sprinkle them in the holes in which you’ll be planting your tomatoes. Egg shells give the soil a boost of calcium, something your tomatoes will be thankful for. Make sure the shells are clean and crush them up before sprinkling them.

Tip #3: Size and Depth of Planting Holes

Holes should be twice as wide as the root ball of tomato seedlings and deep enough to plant tomatoes up to their first set of true leaves. Planting tomatoes at this depth gives them the support they need as they grow tall and wide, helping to keep their roots anchored.

Tip #4: Gently Loosen Root Ball of Tomato Seedlings

Gently loosen the root balls of tomato seedlings to entice the roots to spread out and anchor themselves once they’ve become established. It’s okay if some of the roots break. Loosen the ball about 3/4 of the way up, leaving the top of the ball intact.

Tip #5: Cage Tomatoes from the Start

After planting tomato seedlings, cage them right away. Doing this from the start is much easier than trying to slip a tomato cage over a mid to full-size plant and it’s many branches and leaves. You can also make your own support systems out of garden stakes and twine. 

Do you have any tips to share about planting tomatoes?

Related Articles

How to Harden Off Vegetable Plants

How Many Vegetables to Plant per Person

How many vegetables should I plant per person? Ever ask yourself this question? This question keeps popping up as more and more people turn to vegetable gardening to help sustain their family’s food budget.

I’ve done a bunch of research and have found some helpful websites which I’ll pass along to you. Different vegetables, fruits and herbs require growing a little more or less to sustain a single person for a year.

Figuring out how many vegetables to grow per person in your household can seem a little overwhelming. Let’s begin with the basics to really help narrow things down. Below are 3 questions to help with this process.

1. Which vegetables does your family like to eat?
2. Which vegetables do you eat most often?
3. Are you planning to eat fresh vegetables, preserved or both?

Answering these questions is important because it helps to narrow down which vegetables to grow and how many. You don’t have to grow every vegetable imaginable, only those your family likes and the ones you cook most often.

Here are those links I promised to share

VegetableGardenPlanner.com: Provides actual number of plants per vegetable/herb to plant per person

Gardening.About.com:  Provides a mix of number of plants and feet per vegetable to plant for a family of 4

JonnySeeds.com:  Use this free seed calculator to calculate the number of seeds or transplants you’ll need per row to feed your family. 

The first two websites list averages. You can adjust the numbers according to your family’s needs and likes.

Food for Thought: According to NPR.org, Americans eats an average of 415 lbs. of vegetables per year.

Which veggies will you be growing more of this year?

Related Posts

Planning a Vegetable Garden in Maine

Soil Preparation:Getting Those Gardens Ready

Choosing Vegetable Seeds for the Maine Garden

3 Tips for Figuring Out Where to Plant Vegetables

Choosing Which Vegetables to Grow in Your Garden

Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

3 Tips for Figuring Out Where to Plant Vegetables

When it comes time for planting your garden whether your using seeds, seedlings, or both, do you know where each vegetable is going to go? I prefer to have a rough idea of where my vegetables will be going before I head out to the garden. I’m going to share with you my tips for figuring out where to plant vegetables.

Tip #1: Observe Sunlight

Before doing anything, observe your garden over the course of a sunny day. Does the entire garden receive sunlight, maybe one area more than others? Where does the sun hit the garden first? Trust me, knowing this will come in handy when it comes time to plant.

If I stand facing my garden with my back to my house, the sun hits the left side first and then creeps over the rest of the garden throughout the day. Some areas receive more sun than others and I know which area receives sun last.

Tip #2: Know Plant Heights

Knowing just how tall specific plants grow goes along way towards figuring out where to plant vegetables. Look at the back of your seed packets and use a little common sense to determine which vegetables are going to grow the tallest, like corn.

Plant taller vegetables in the areas of your garden that receive sunlight last. This will prevent them from blocking the sun from your other plants. Keep planting from tallest to shortest or vice versa.

Tip #3: Follow Sun Requirements

Different vegetables have different sun requirements. Some need full sun while others thrive in partial shade. Sun requirements can be found on the back of seed packets and in seed catalogs.

Figuring out where to plant vegetables in the garden can be done with a little preparation before heading outdoors. Remember to rotate your crops each year to avoid depriving your garden of nutrients. Follow the above tips as best as you can, after all, no garden is perfect – mine certainly isn’t.

If you’re planting seedlings and are not sure about their sun and other planting requirements, check out almanac.com for instructions. Click the name of the vegetable in question in the “Growing Vegetables Guide” for full planting instructions.

What methods do you use for figuring out where to plant your vegetables?

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net