Introduction

Congratulations you have decided to take on the exciting challenge and pleasure of growing your own tomatoes. With the right information this can be an easy and rewarding experience in your garden. Tomatoes are one of the most popular crops for home gardeners because they grow easily, produce abundantly, and are very versatile in their use. This article will help you go from complete novice to “know it all” on how to grow tomatoes in your garden!

Let us start with the basics.

Tomato: A fruit that is red or orange in color, and has a sweet flavour. It belongs to the nightshade family of plants, which include potatoes and peppers. The tomato originated in South America and was first cultivated by the Aztecs as far back as 700 AD.

The tomato plant can grow up to three feet (1 metre) high and produces small white flowers with five petals at its centre before producing fruits that range from cherry tomatoes to plum-sized beefsteaks.

Tomato varieties are broken down into categories based on their size, shape, skin colouring, taste levels and growing season requirements – so there’s something for everyone here!

The soil

Soil:

The soil should be well drained. This means that when you squeeze a clump of soil in your hand, it should form a ball that does not fall apart easily. If it crumbles and falls apart, this means the soil is too sandy or full of air pockets. A sandy soil will dry out quickly, so watering must be done more often to keep the plants hydrated. Sandy soils also tend to drain quickly so water may run off before being absorbed by the roots of your plants and can lead to root rot and other diseases when they are left without adequate moisture for extended periods of time (more than 48 hours).

A loamy soil has equal amounts of sand and silt with just enough clay mixed in to make it heavy enough not to blow away during windy conditions but light enough that water flows through easily when you apply it with either overhead irrigation or drip irrigation systems if used indoors. Well-drained loam soils are preferred because they allow better access for oxygen which helps plant roots grow stronger due to more efficient nutrient absorption within them!

When to plant?

The best time to plant is no earlier than the first week of May. This gives the plants plenty of time to get established before the heat of summer sets in. If you plant too early, your tomato plants may get scorched by frost or blighted by disease. Planting later than this will result in a poor crop because your tomatoes will be much smaller and less flavorful than they would otherwise be.

The ideal time for planting tomatoes is when the average daily temperature is between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit (18-23 Celsius). If you live north of 40 degrees north latitude (e.g., New York City), it’s best not to plant until June or July when temperatures are consistently above 50 F (10 C) every day.

Where to plant?

You’ve decided that you want to grow tomatoes. Great! You’ll need a few things before you get started, but don’t worry, this is one of the easiest and most rewarding plants to grow.

First, let’s talk about where to plant your tomato plants. Tomatoes thrive in warm weathers but can tolerate cooler temperatures as well. Ideally, you should plant them in full sun but if there are no other available spots for your tomatoes then just make sure there is at least 6 hours of sunlight per day for each plant. They do need some shade during the hottest parts of summer if possible though because direct sunlight will scorch their leaves (they’re like vampires!).

The next thing we need to discuss is how deep you should plant your seeds in order to get an optimal harvest from them later on down the line when they’re fully grown up into full-sized fruits ready for picking!

How to plant?

• Planting depth: Tomatoes are a shallow-rooted crop, so they don’t need to be planted too deeply. You can plant them with the seed or transplant right into the soil at an inch to an inch and a half deep.
• Planting distance: Tomato plants should be spaced about two feet apart for best growth. If you plan on trellising your tomatoes, space them about three feet apart so that you have room to string up your supports between them.
• Planting method: There are two basic ways to grow tomatoes—in containers and in beds or rows in your garden plot (you could also build some sort of raised bed if you want). Either way works well as long as you follow these steps carefully!

If growing tomatoes indoors (or outdoors), start seeds indoors eight weeks before frost date (or when nighttime temperatures consistently stay above 55°F) and plant out six weeks before normal last frost date if growing outside.*

Watering your tomatoes.

Your tomatoes need regular watering. Watering is one of the most important steps in growing a healthy tomato plant, so don’t skimp on this! You should never let your plants go completely dry, but be careful not to over-water them either. In general, you want to water the soil around their roots (not on top of them) only when the top inch or two feels dry — usually once per week unless it’s very hot and dry outside.

And while they get thirsty often during hot weather, they also absorb plenty of nutrients through their leaves as well — so don’t forget to fertilize regularly too!

The pests and diseases and how to tackle them.

Pests and diseases are the main reason why tomatoes fail to grow. They will kill your plants, destroy your harvest and even ruin your soil so you need to know how to identify them, prevent them and treat them.

Tomato pests include: aphids, spider mites, whitefly and caterpillars. Tomato diseases include: bacterial wilt, verticillium wilt fungus and late blight (a fungal disease). To treat these pests and diseases you can try spraying with water or insecticidal soap if there are only a few plants affected but for larger infestations you will need to spray with an appropriate chemical control product available from most garden centers or nurseries.

To prevent these problems make sure that everything is planted correctly according the instructions in this blog post on where & how much sun they need as well as having good drainage around each plant or pot so that water doesn’t puddle around it when it rains (this could cause root rot).

Congratulations you now have enough knowledge to grow your own tomatoes!

Congratulations, you now have enough knowledge to grow your own tomatoes! You can now share your knowledge with others, and grow a variety of different types of tomatoes. You can also grow your own tomatoes from seed or from seedlings.

Conclusion

Congratulations. You now have enough knowledge to start growing tomatoes. Don’t be intimidated by all the different things you have to know and do, just take it step by step. I hope this blog will help you on your journey in becoming a tomato grower. Remember, gardening is meant to be fun!