Healthy home grown tomatoes

Tomatoes are the most popular plant in the vegetable garden. Everyone likes to grow them. They can be a difficult crop, because they suffer from a number of diseases and the wildlife love them, but if you can get it right, it's worth it. I wrote this post a year ago on growing tomatoes from seed but I want to add a few hints that might make it easier for you.

Select your seeds and plant the seed in a propagation tray full of seed raising mix. This is not potting mix, it's a special sandy open soil that will give your tomato seeds the best chance of germinating. You can make your own seed raising mix, or buy a bag. I'll do a post on potting mix and seed raising mix soon. Plant one see per cell, at the depth recommended on the packet, and label them with the type of tomato and the date. Then water them in with a plastic bottle sprayer. If you use the hose you risk moving the seeds around.

Place the tray in a sheltered area that gets sunlight for most of the day. If the area is too protected and the seedlings get too little sunlight, they'll grow tall and leggy and develop into weak plants that you'll have trouble growing.

Depending on your climate, about seven days later, the seed will germinate and start to grow. It will get to the stage where you have two smooth leaves on each side of the stem. Then, true leaves will form that will be crinkly, like tomatoes leaves. Never let your seedlings dry out, but don't over water them and make sure they have good drainage. If the tray is kept wet it may encourage fungal disease. One watering a day should be enough but if you're in a hot climate, you should check them in the afternoon as well and give them a little drink if the soil is dry.

When the tomatoes look like this, it's time to pot them on. You'll need small pots, those long tubes are ideal. Carefully transplant the seedling to it's own pot and bury the stem a little deeper than you normally would for other plants. Tomatoes can grow more roots from the stem and if you allow them to do this, you get a stronger pant with a bigger yield of tomatoes. The tomatoes below are the same as those above just two weeks later.

The tomato seedlings above are potato leaf potatoes - most potato leaf tomatoes are heirlooms. These are Brandywines.

These are regular leaf tomatoes - cherry tomatoes. These seedlings came up in a pot that I'd put some of our homemade compost in. The seeds germinated in the pot, so I transplanted them into their own pots and soon they'll be planted out in the garden. When the tomatoes are the size of the cherry tomatoes, or when they start glowing flowers, it's time to plant them in the garden.

Make sure your stakes are already in - putting them in later will damage the tomato roots. Plant the seedling deep into the soil, an inch or two lower than you normally would. Clip off the lower leaves to allow you to do this. Tomatoes like a rich soil but not much fertilising once they're in the ground. Giving them too much nitrogen will give you huge green lush bushes but you'll get few tomatoes. Put a tablespoon of sulphate of potash (it's organic) in the planting hole and water the plants in with a seaweed tea. Then stand back!

Tomatoes require a bit of housekeeping to keep them growing well. Gently tie the main stem to the stake and continue doing this as the bush grows bigger. Clip off the lower leaves, clip off all diseased leaves. Don't put the diseased leaves in the compost. Keep them well mulched. We use straw or hay as a mulch and we push it close to the stem. Sprinkle a little blood and bone into the mulch to encourage new roots to grow into the mulch. The tomato will send out new roots wherever the mulch is touching the stem.

Water the plants, depending on your climate, maybe two or three times a week. Top up with a tonic of seaweed or worm tea every two or three weeks.

You can pick tomatoes green without it affecting their taste. Tomatoes ripen due to the warm air, not sunlight, so harvesting your crop green and ripening in the warm air on the veranda or on the kitchen window sill will give you excellent tomatoes. We also harvest our tomatoes green because in our main growing season there are a lot of bugs and birds just waiting for a nice ripe tomato to feast on.

You won't get great crops in your first season or two, but if you stick with it, you'll perfect your technique for your climate. It's different for all of us, just learn as you go and don't give up. Overall, tomatoes will give you a lot of satisfaction when you harvest a good crop. They can be used in so many ways - both ripe and green - and having a slice of home grown tomato on a piece of your own freshly made bread is a treat only few of us will know. Good luck with your crops and happy gardening.