Tomato Plants from Seedshow to grow tomato plants from seeds

Being the proud father of two young children (4 and 1), the garden and gardening seemed to be the perfect location to introduce my kids to part of the cycle of life: Growing from a tiny seed, being nourished, flowering, producing and finally dying and the growth of the next generation.

It also seemed to be the perfect location to make sure my daughter didn’t grow up to be a woman who screamed and ran at the sight of bugs!

So, with these in mind, I set out with two projects: Showing my daughter that bugs aren’t scary, and showing her how to grow and look after some plants of her very own – Tomatoes!

Well, she delighted in purchasing the little tomato plants from the store, and very carefully dug a hole for each little sprout, dropped them in and covered the top with soil.

When we found an earthworm or pill-bug, the first question was, “Can I touch it?”

It was great! We even found a couple of caterpillars to put in a little plastic insect house for her to watch.

Sadly though, heart break was to come.

First, one of the caterpillars died.

Her first exposure to death was very sad and made her cry when I told her the caterpillar would become alive again. It is a difficult, but useful lesson and we buried said caterpillar next to the tomatoes.

Then the joy of summer and the picking of delicious red, juicy tomatoes came. Not that mommy or daddy got to see any, since they were dutifully plucked and eaten before ever reaching the dinner table.

No, the last heart break was in late fall. The tomato plants turning brown and wilting. Again, explaining to my daughter that these plants only last for one year and then they died was as sad as any caterpillar passing could have been.

She was finally mollified by the fact that there were plenty of tomato plant babies to grow for next year.

She now waits patiently for me to buy the next generation, so she can see life happen in front of her all over again.

Beautiful, gigantic, and perfect tomatoes do not grow by themselves! While tomatoes originated in the wild, centuries of cultivation have produced countless varieties, each needing their own special care. Some varieties of tomatoes grow in compact bushy forms, while others grow and grow, like vines, continually setting fruit. Depending on the type of tomato and desired yield, pruning and staking tomato plants will ensure a healthier, more robust harvest.

What is Pruning?

When most people think of pruning, they think of trees and shrubs. We prune trees to change the shape, increase air-flow through the canopy, reduce the size, and remove dead or diseased wood. Tomato pruning works in much the same way.

Pruning for Plant Health

Tomatoes benefit from good air circulation, as they are prone to diseases if their leaves stay wet or are encased in constant humidity. Pruning helps thin the tomato plant so that air moves freely. Tomatoes, when attacked by disease or pests, can recover; however, the injured part of the plant must be removed so that the injury does not spread to the rest of the plant.

Pruning for Increased Harvest

Every time a plant flowers, once the flower is pollinated, it will produce a fruit. Juicy tomatoes we love to eat are actually the fruits of the tomato plant. Vigorous, vine types of tomatoes will grow forever if not stopped! A plant can only produce a certain amount of sugar to “feed” the fruit; consequently, tomato plants with more fruits will produce smaller fruits. Pruning side-shoots helps lessen the amount of fruit on the plant, and allows the plant to send all of its energy to a few, select fruits.

What is Staking?

Staking is the process of providing support for a plant. Staking helps promote air flow throughout the plant, ensuring less buildup of moisture, and fewer diseases. Staking also helps support tomato plants as they grow and produce heavy fruit. Tomato stems are brittle, and will break under too much strain. Many types of staking mechanisms exist including cages, trellises, and single stakes. Consult a tomato growing reference like How To Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes for a comparison of 11 staking techniques.

The proper staking technique will depend the tomato variety and individual gardener’s harvesting goals.

Pruning and Staking are keys to successful tomato growing, as they promote overall plant health and higher fruit yield.

If you want more detailed tomato garden advice and tips from a world horticultural expert, visit www.bestjuicytomatoes.com

Tomato Growing: Pruning and Staking for More Fruit

Beautiful, gigantic, and perfect tomatoes do not grow by themselves! While tomatoes originated in the wild, centuries of cultivation have produced countless varieties, each needing their own special care. Some varieties of tomatoes grow in compact bushy forms, while others grow and grow, like vines, continually setting fruit. Depending on the type of tomato and desired yield, pruning and staking tomato plants will ensure a healthier, more robust harvest.

What is Pruning?

When most people think of pruning, they think of trees and shrubs. We prune trees to change the shape, increase air-flow through the canopy, reduce the size, and remove dead or diseased wood. Tomato pruning works in much the same way.

Pruning for Plant Health

Tomatoes benefit from good air circulation, as they are prone to diseases if their leaves stay wet or are encased in constant humidity. Pruning helps thin the tomato plant so that air moves freely. Tomatoes, when attacked by disease or pests, can recover; however, the injured part of the plant must be removed so that the injury does not spread to the rest of the plant.

Pruning for Increased Harvest

Every time a plant flowers, once the flower is pollinated, it will produce a fruit. Juicy tomatoes we love to eat are actually the fruits of the tomato plant. Vigorous, vine types of tomatoes will grow forever if not stopped! A plant can only produce a certain amount of sugar to “feed” the fruit; consequently, tomato plants with more fruits will produce smaller fruits. Pruning side-shoots helps lessen the amount of fruit on the plant, and allows the plant to send all of its energy to a few, select fruits.

What is Staking?

Staking is the process of providing support for a plant. Staking helps promote air flow throughout the plant, ensuring less buildup of moisture, and fewer diseases. Staking also helps support tomato plants as they grow and produce heavy fruit. Tomato stems are brittle, and will break under too much strain. Many types of staking mechanisms exist including cages, trellises, and single stakes. Consult a tomato growing reference like “How To Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes” for a comparison of 11 staking techniques.

The proper staking technique will depend the tomato variety and individual gardener’s harvesting goals. Pruning and Staking are keys to successful tomato growing, as they promote overall plant health and higher fruit yield.

Beautiful, gigantic, and perfect tomatoes do not grow by themselves! While tomatoes originated in the wild, centuries of cultivation have produced countless varieties, each needing their own special care. Some varieties of tomatoes grow in compact bushy forms, while others grow and grow, like vines, continually setting fruit. For healthy tomato plants, careful attention must be paid to the individual needs of the variety. Some varieties are robust and disease resistant, while others need more care. Depending on the type of tomato and desired yield, pruning and staking tomato plants will ensure a healthier, more robust harvest.

What is Pruning?

When most people think of pruning, they think of trees and shrubs. We prune trees to change the shape, increase air-flow through the canopy, reduce the size, and remove dead or diseased wood. Tomato pruning works in much the same way. When you prune a plant, you stimulate new growth. Proper tomatoe pruning techniques ensure that pruning stimulates fruit growth and plant health, rather than more growth overall.

Pruning for Plant Health

Tomatoes benefit from good air circulation, as they are prone to diseases if their leaves stay wet or are encased in constant humidity. Pruning helps thin the tomato plant so that air moves freely. Tomatoes, when attacked by disease or pests, can recover; however, the injured part of the plant must be removed so that the injury does not spread to the rest of the plant.

Pruning for Increased Harvest

Every time a plant flowers, once the flower is pollinated, it will produce a fruit. Juicy tomatoes we love to eat are actually the fruits of the tomato plant. Vigorous, vine types of tomatoes will grow forever if not stopped! A plant can only produce a certain amount of sugar to “feed” the fruit; consequently, tomato plants with more fruits will produce smaller fruits. Pruning side-shoots helps lessen the amount of fruit on the plant, and allows the plant to send all of its energy to a few, select fruits. Removing side-shoots altogether ensures that the tomato plant “concentrates” its nutrients and energy into the tomatoes on the plant.

What is Staking?

Staking is the process of providing support for a plant. Staking helps promote air flow throughout the plant, ensuring less buildup of moisture, and fewer diseases. Staking also helps support tomato plants as they grow and produce heavy fruit. Tomato stems are brittle, and will break under too much strain. Many types of staking mechanisms exist including cages, trellises, and single stakes. For overall support, cages are easy solutions. Tomato cages can restrict air flow, so trellises and frames are a better option for overall plant health. Consult a tomato growing reference like How To Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes for a comparison of 11 staking techniques.

The proper staking technique will depend the tomato variety and individual gardener’s harvesting goals.

Pruning and Staking are keys to successful tomato growing, as they promote overall plant health and higher fruit yield.

Though many plants are easier and faster to grow, for the garden, tomatoes are one of the most commonly and popular of garden plants. It isn’t hard to see why. A single productive plant can produce up to a hundred pounds of succulent, juicy tomatoes. The key is in how to grow them productively.

Tomatoes come from and still grow in South America, and the needs of the plant haven’t changed much over time. We can use this to our advantage to ensure that our tomato plants are productive, by using the method used by Native Americans.

You don’t necessarily need to have a garden plot to grow them this way, either. They can even be grown in a large container on the patio by slightly altering the following steps. They also do well in flower beds, as long as they have the room to grow and bush out.

You can start with a seedling plant or grow the tomato from seed, but it is easier to purchase a growing seedling plant that is close to twelve inches tall. The tomato production will usually be larger and earlier.

Choose plants with healthy looking leaves and fairly strong stems. The leaves should be dark green, with very little or no yellowing which would indicate a stressed or sick plant.

Note: If you smoke cigarettes, cigars, or a pipe, be sure that you wash your hands well before handling or planting tomatoes. Tobacco residue can spread illnesses to tomato plants.

The following steps are for a tomato plant that is one foot tall, measured from ground level to the top of the plant. You can vary the steps slightly, depending on the height of the plant.

Dig a hole two and a half feet deep and a foot across. This should be in soil that drains well, but that isn’t too sandy. The soil needs to be able to retain the water, yet the roots of the plant should not stand in water, so drainage is necessary. Good quality commercial potting soil will work well, if you are in an area with poor soil.

In the bottom of the hole, place a layer of several inches of dead fish or fish parts. If you like fishing, you can use the leavings after filleting or cleaning the fish you catch.

If you do not fish, check with your neighborhood supermarket. Often, they will save the portions of the fish that would normally be thrown away and give them to you. Seafood stores are another option for getting fish parts. The type of fish is unimportant. For a 1-foot tomato plant, about three to six inches of fish parts is plenty.

Over the top of the fish, place about six inches

The tastiest tomatoes of all aren’t found in the grocery store. The Brandywine and the Cherokee Purple, the Mortgage Lifter and the Ananas Noir, the Principe Borghese and the Tiffen Mennonite, all the wonderful heirloom varieties and the new hybrids are only found in a few specialty markets and thousands of backyard gardens. Make your summer complete by raising healthy tomato vines loaded with tasty, juicy tomatoes. Whether you want them for fresh eating or grilling, sauces, canning, drying, or freezing, there is a variety – or two or three or ten – just right for you.

Raising tomatoes isn’t difficult, but there are some tricks to getting big, healthy, disease-free vines.

CHOOSE THE VARIETIES

What tomato varieties should you choose? There are hundreds of varieties available, and the choices can be dazzling. You can usually limit your choices quickly if you think about what you want the tomatoes for. Sauces? You’ll want firm-fleshed plum tomatoes, also called sauce or Roma tomatoes, such as Principe Borghese. Competing with your neighbors for the first ripe tomatoes on the block? You’ll want to investigate ultra-early varieties such as the old-fashioned Stupice or the newer Beaverlodge. Biggest tomato at the State Fair? Try the hybrid Big Beef or the heirloom Old German. Tiny tomatoes for salads? Try the classic cherry tomatoes, or newer grape and currant tomatoes. Or check out he heirloom variety, Yellow Pear, which bears pear-shaped yellow fruits no more than 1 1/2 inches long. Slicing or grilling? Slicing or grilling? Most mid-season or heirlooms will fill the bill. Also note whether the variety is determinate or indeterminate. Determinate plants are bushy and suitable for containers and small gardens. Indeterminate plants grow tall and vine-like. They will need strong support and ample room.

START INDOORS

Some specialty nurseries will grow heirloom variety tomato plants, but more often than not, you’ll have to grow your own if you want special varieties. Sow the seeds in sterile seed starting mix in 3 or 4 inch pots. A light sprinkling of cinnamon on the surface of the soil will help prevent damping-off disease. Put the pots in a warm place until the seed germinate, then put under strong grow-lights. If possible, keep the plants on the cool side, between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This helps prevent them from becoming leggy. The time-honored method of growing seedlings in tin cans in a sunny windowsill doesn’t always yield satisfactory seedlings