Are you interested in growing tomatoes for beginners but don’t quite know where to start? Or the information seems overwhelming? Let’s make this super simple for you in the steps below!
So, you want to grow tomatoes and don’t know where to start? Cool. You will soon learn that the steps to growing most things are easy as long as you have the tools you need.
Your biggest hurdle is figuring out your plant hardiness zone and what you want to grow. You already know you want to grow tomatoes. If you don’t know your plant hardiness zone, you can find it here. There are several varieties of tomatoes, but there are two main categories: determinates and indeterminates. We’ll get into the details below!
This post is all about growing tomatoes for beginners to get a super simple and easy harvest.
Determinate vs. Indeterminate
So there are a lot of varieties of tomatoes out there. Too many to cover without it being overwhelming. The main decision you need to make is if you want determinate or indeterminate tomatoes.
Determinate tomatoes are conditioned to grow a certain size and produce a certain amount of fruit…and that’s it! If you are looking for a plant that produces one harvest, this is the category of tomato you are looking to purchase. Once this plant is done producing fruit, you can pull it up and discard it.
Indeterminate tomatoes are conditioned to grow and produce fruit throughout the growing season. You can check your plant hardiness zone by clicking the link in the introduction. This will typically tell you a lot about your growing season. Tomatoes thrive in zones 5-8.
Planting Tomatoes
Planting tomatoes can be done in less than an hour unless you are planting several rows of tomatoes. Your tomatoes should be planted in late spring or early summer after the last frost. If you are planting rows of tomatoes, they should be 2-3 feet apart in an area that gets 6-8 hours of full sun per day. If you are planting tomatoes in a pot/bucket, you only need one tomato plant per container.
You want to plant your tomatoes deep. You want to bury 3/4 of the stem of the plant in the ground to establish a good root system. If you’ve seen a tomato plant before, it generally comes in a container with a ball of dirt on the end with maybe 1-2 inches that would go in the ground. You will also notice that the main stem of the plant is a bit hairy. The hairs are potential roots and this is what you want to go inside the ground when you plant it.
Remove the leaves of the plant until 3/4 of the main stem is bare. This technique will leave on a few leaves at the top of the plant.
Dig a hole by hand, shovel, or another utensil that is deep enough to cover the main stem of the plant. Prior to placing your plant in the hole, add rock phosphate to the hole. This will also aid in creating that same strong root system. Please follow the package directions regarding the amount of rock phosphate you need to add to each hole. Place your tomato plant in the hole to include 3/4 of the bare stem. Cover the hole with dirt, and water until soaked.
Caring for Your Tomato Plant
You can add additional soil amendments to the hole when planting like slow-release fertilizers. This will help in continuing to feed the plant through the growing season and may help protect the plant from common diseases like root rot.
{RELATED POST: Pruning Overgrown Tomato Plants for Maximum Growth}
If you want to minimize weeds, place 2-4 inches of mulch around your tomato plant. You will also want to make sure you are giving your plants an inch of water per week. You can always check your plants by feeling the soil with your fingertips. If the top inch is dry, then it is time to water your plants.
Now you have everything you need to get started with your first tomato plants (and harvest)!
This post was all about easy steps growing tomatoes for beginners.
