by Alex Romanowski

Created on: March 13, 2011

Growing tomatoes well requires persistence and careful attention more then anything else. As with all plants keeping the plant healthy will go along way toward repelling diseases and insects. Here I will cover certain common misunderstandings about proper tomato care including proper planting, staking, watering, and fertilizing.I will try to be as comprehensive as possible in these areas but where there is overlap with disease and pest management I will defer to another article. Before we get into the details however I will start out by saying that sun, consistent watering, and proper fertilizing are the three basic things you need before you can even consider growing tomatoes.

To start with, tomato seedlings should be purchased from reliable proven growers only. If you are interested in starting seedlings indoors this should be done roughly 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date in your area. Growing tomatoes from seed is an area that requires substantial explanation so I will do so in another article. For casual gardeners the best idea is to purchase seedlings from a reliable grower (i.e not a roadside stand or a mom and pop nursery where everything looks the same.) A reliable grower is one where someone has either grown the product on the premises or can identify the type of tomato and tell you where the seedling was grown. The main reason for this is that tomatoes are prone to a mosaic virus which can be acquired in greenhouse production. I will talk more about this in an article about tomato diseases.

To plant a seedling in the ground carefully check to make sure the seedling is well established. Most seedlings will be in four to six inch plastic pots. A good way to check is to tip the plant over holding the dirt in with your hand and allowing the plant to go through your fingers. The plant should have a decent root structure (roots reaching substantially deep into the container) and ideally most of the dirt will be held in place. This is a sign of a healthy plant, healthy root system equals healthy plant. If the plant falls out and the dirt spills out then the seedling is not well established and should be left in the container until it is. On the reverse side if the roots are growing out from the container and have formed an thick maze it is perhaps a sign that optimal tomato planting time has passed for you. Once you have established that the seedlings are well established it is time to plant. Since tomatoes are vines it is important to factor in space

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