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Page 2
Tomato Basics
Tomatoes are one of the easiest plants to grow, but that doesn't mean you can stick them in the ground anywhere and forget about them until harvest time. For one thing, tomatoes are warm-weather lovers; you need to be careful not to set them out too early. (Even in Zone 7, where I live, I wait until May to harden off my seedlings and put them out.) For another, tomatoes are heavy feeders and drinkers who need full sun to do well, so it's important to prepare the tomato site well (working in lots of organic matter beforehand). Always start with healthy, bushy seedlings, whether you grow them yourself or buy them. A stocky transplant about 6 to 10 inches tall is best, but if the plant is taller, don't worry; you can bury a portion of the stem horizontally and it will form roots. This ahref="http://www.gardenguides.com/Vegetables/t...">trench planting will transform a leggy plant into a strong, bushy one. Set tomato transplants into the ground covering the stems so that only two or three sets of true leaves are exposed and water in well. If you want your tomatoes to get off to a good start, don't just use water; water in with a commercially prepared starter solution or make your own starter solution by dissolving 1 cup of 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 fertilizer in 4 gallons of water. Stake or cage your tomato plants right away. It's true that the tomatoes don't particularly care; they'll happily sprawl on the ground and still produce a good crop, but your life will be a lot more difficult when you're trying to care for them. Diane Relf gives an excellent explanation of staking and caging in her article "Tomatoes"; she recommends using wooden stakes 6 feet long and 1 1 /2 or 2 inches wide, and driving them 1 foot into the soil about 4 to 6 inches from the plant. As the plants grow, pull them toward the stake and attach them with heavy twine or strips of cloth every 10 inches. You might want to cage your tomatoes instead of staking them. The advantages of caging are that you don't need to prune your plants, sunscald on fruits is reduced, and caged plants are less prone to the spread of disease through plant handling. If you choose this method, make sure you select wire for the cages that has at least 6 inches in between the wires, so you can easily get your hand inside the cage to harvest the tomatoes!
The copyright of the article Tomato Frenzy; Caring for Your Crop - Page 2 in Gardening in B.C. is owned by . Permission to republish Tomato Frenzy; Caring for Your Crop - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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