Get tips for growing organic peppers, tomatoes and garlic in your vegetable garden in this free gardening video lesson for beginners. Expert: Gale Gassiot Bio: Gale Gassiot makes her own organic compost or “gardener’s black gold.”
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How to Raise Organic Vegetables : Organic Gardening Tips
2010
09.07
09.07
5 Tomato Plant Pruning Tips
2010
09.05
09.05
Pruning can be an important part of your tomato growing experience and is something that you should certainly learn to do correctly. You won’t always need to prune. Most determinate varieties can do without it. However if you grow tomatoes for any length of time you will almost certainly find yourself in a situation where pruning becomes important.
So here are 5 tips that will get you started in pruning your tomatoes correctly.
1) Why we prune: This is the most important tip. We only prune to; increase the survival of the plant, focus the energy of the plant or top the plant at the end of the season.
Let’s look at these reasons more closely.
2) Increasing Survival: This comes down to two tasks; keeping the plant away from the soil which is done by removing side stems and also staking the plant so that it has something to cling to and increasing the air flow around the leaves by thinning out the foliage so that there is distinct space around each branch.
The reason that this is done is to minimise the risk of soil borne diseases coming into contact with the plant and to assist the leaves to dry out after rains which again will help reduce the incidence of disease.
3) Focussing Energy: Removing side stems that start to grow as suckers in the crotch between the main stem and the first branches and thinning dense foliage or non-producing leaves (hidden beneath other leaves and therefore using more sugar than they are producing) are the two most important pruning acts to enhance the fruit production from your plant.
4) Topping the plant: Towards the end of the season, about a month before first frost, you need to prune all the growing tips from the plant. This is called “topping”. The reason for this is simple, by topping the plant you are maximising the potential for the fruits that are set to achieve full maturity before the frost sets in. Better to do this than end up with a plant full of unripe, tough green fruit.
5) How to Prune: Pruning itself comes down to either pinching or snipping. To pinch, use your thumb and index finger and break off the suckers when they are young. To snip use a good clean sharp pair of secateurs and cut off the leaf that you are removing flush against the stem of the plant without damaging the stem. To top plants simply snip off the growing tips.
Understanding the purpose of pruning is one of the more important things that a gardener can know. Poor pruning and over-pruning are a good way to ruin a plant. So follow the tips in this article and help your plant produce to its fullest capacity. Good growing…
Want to learn more about pruning tomato plants? Visit my website at http://www.growingbettertomatoes.com for helpful tips and information on planting and caring for a thriving tomato garden.
Planting Tomato Gardening Tips Following Usda Hardiness Planting Zones Answers, “When Should I Plant Tomatoes?”
2010
09.02
09.02
Reading about tomato gardening tips can be tricky because some of the advice depends on which part of the country you live in. Advice on basic care is pretty universal, but when it comes to the question, “When should I plant tomatoes?” so much depends on your climate. This article aims to compare the needs of different USDA hardiness zones in regards when you should plant your tomatoes.
You must be informed of your hardiness planting zone or you will be in trouble. These zones are based on average winter temperatures. Each zone has an average winter temperature that are 10 degrees higher(or lower) than their nearby zones. They use winter temperatures because trees and shrubs need to endure winters and annual flowers and vegetables must not be planted until all likelihood of frost is past.
The most crucial hardiness zone information concerning tomatoes is when that magical date for the last frost is. For instance in the Mid Atlantic states it is early May, but in Upstate New York it will be closer to June. Tomatoes require warm soil to develop. The tomatoes themselves will not really develop until the overnight temperature is in the 60’s, There are some great tomato gardening tips for beating the system and plant a week or two sooner, but you should not push it much earlier than that.
If you live in a place that either gets no frost or the temperature only goes below freezing in January or early February, you will be able to plant tomatoes from seeds or transplant greenhouse plants whenever you want to! The local gardening store, or nursery will have all sorts of tomato gardening tips for you that are geared for your particular no-frost climate.
Anyone living in hardiness zones where it isn’t until late April, May or early June can benefit from growing tomatoes from seeds only if you start them indoors and plant outdoors when that magic no-frost date comes. If not, you will transplant your tomato plants grown in a greenhouse when that date arrives. To find out your hardiness zone, search online or go to the United States National Arboretum Website.
People do not always think about the consequence that the sun has on a newly transplanted tomato plant. It is another aspect of when I should plant tomatoes to think about. The hot sun can make a new seedling shrivel up in front of your very eyes if you are not careful. Hazy days work the best, or coming up with some kind of temporary shade for a day or two. If you use good tomato watering practices you can prevent them from drooping away, but the sun will still exhaust energy needed to send energy to nurturing the developing plant.
There are quite a few tomato gardening tips that help you be sure to plant your tomatoes the right way. One of the most important is knowing which of the USDA hardiness zones you live in. this will make sure you questions on, “When should I plant tomatoes?” are answered. When growing tomatoes from seed or when transplanting hearty tomato plants from your local nursery, you will be sure you are getting them planted at the right time.
From the day you plant through harvesting, everyone can use some extra help and advice with some expert tomato gardening tips and advice.
Click to Find out Secrets to Growing Incredible Tomatoes
Look for some free guides and other valuable information to help you grow some nice, juicy, tasty tomatoes! http://www.tomatofun.info
Tips on Growing Healthy Tomato Plants
2010
08.26
08.26
Tomato plants, which have been harvested since the 8th century, are fairly easy to grow in your yard or even in a container and tomatoes are one of the healthiest foods around. They do need plenty of moisture and adequate sunlight; and for tomato plants to thrive, you should also avoid extreme heat or cold.
You can grow healthy tomato plants either from a small plant or seed; seeds should be grown indoors at first, in a cool spot with plenty of light. Only when there is no danger of a frost should you move them outside; ideally, the outdoor temperature at night should be at least 55 degrees.
If you are growing tomato plants outdoors, choose a spot that will provide plenty of sunlight, ideally at least seven hours a day. You can also cover the planting area with a dark colored plastic sheet a few weeks before you start planting; this will heat the soil a few degrees and give you healthier and earlier tomatoes. Add compost to the soil – about six pounds per square foot.
Tomatoes should be planted two to three feet apart; this allows the plants to shade each other, resulting in sweeter tomatoes. You should bury about 75% of the plant in the soil and water well for the next week or so. If you don’t have organically rich soil, use a chemical fertilizer – and don’t forget to shake your plants gently every few days to ensure maximum fruit production.
And the end result? You should have tomatoes appearing about two to three months after planting. The fruit is ready to pick and eat if it is slightly soft, with a bright red color.
Visit for more great Tips on Growing Healthy Tomato Plants
Visit for more great Tips on Growing Healthy Tomato Plants
A Solid Tomato Watering Schedule Is One Of The Best Tomato Gardening Tips Around
2010
08.23
08.23
One of the most important things you can do to take care of your tomatoes is to keep them watered. Honestly, we are not talking rocket science here. You can read all the tomato gardening tips in the world, and without proper tomato watering, you will not end up with the juicy tomatoes you hoped for. Even though the concept is simple, you can run into several problems growing tomatoes simply by messing up your watering.
Universal Tomato Watering Advice
Tomato gardening tips about water are pretty simple and pretty universal. Tomatoes need about one gallon of water each and every day. Their root systems are vast and many are close to the top of the soil. Even though the soil may be moist down deep, the surface area, where lots of the roots are, dries out quickly. The roots need to pull the moisture from the soil and up to the growing tomatoes so they can get nice and juicy.
You can do your tomato watering a couple of different ways. The best way is mother nature’s watering! If it rains a good soaking rain, you will be good for a couple of days, as you also do not want over watered tomato plants! With a sprinkler you can make a pretend rain, and let it run for several ours, or even overnight to make the soil think it rained. Otherwise you just have to water each day with your handy dandy hose and nozzle. Some nozzles have a setting called “soaker,”,this works best. One way to judge how much water a gallon is to time how long it takes to fill a bucket up to the gallon level and spend that amount of time watering around each plant.
Timing Is Everything With Tomato Watering
You will find that there are two common problems growing tomatoes that are a direct result of poor choice of watering times. One problem has to do with middle of the afternoon. A hot sun is counterproductive when it comes to watering. The water simply evaporates before it has a chance to do any good. You put it on the ground and in ten minutes it is gone. The sune also can cause the leaves to burn. Another problem is when you water after dark all the time. When the water you spray on the plants does not have a chance to dry, you will give fungus a chance to rear its ugly head.
According to most tomato gardening tips you read, the optimum time to water is early in the morning, giving the water time to soak in before the hot sun of the day. The second best time is in that short window of time just as the sun sets, that should give enough time for the leaves to dry before it gets dark. This plan works best with a hose, and you only water the soil and not the whole plant. Cloudy days give reprieve and more options.
The bottom line is that you should have few problems growing tomatoes if you follow a common sense tomato watering schedule. Water first thing in the morning, water every day and keep the soil moist. Mulch is a big help with this but never should replace the need for frequent watering. With all the tomato gardening tips you can find, and a good watering plan, you should have lots of juicy tomatoes to use throughout the summer.
Even with the right watering schedule, everyone can use some extra help and advice with some expert tomato gardening tips and ideas.
Click to Find out Secrets to Growing Incredible Tomatoes Look for some free guides and other valuable information to help you grow some nice, juicy, tasty tomatoes! http://www.tomatofun.info