Learn how to plant tomatoes from one of the best homesteaders around! Follow thee steps and your vine will be ripe with juicy tomatoes in no time.

How To Plant Tomatoes

Tomatoes are the quintessential summer fruit, perfect for sandwiches, salads, cooking, and canning. The smell and taste of a real, home-grown tomato is something that a store bought fruit simply cannot compare to one from your own garden.

While tomatoes score pretty well on the EWGs list of the most pesticide-ridden produce, it’s nice to know exactly what went into the production of your food, and you can’t much more in control of it than picking it from your own yard! Learn how to plant tomatoes today.

How To Plant Tomatoes | Supplies

• Tomato plants, either purchased from the store, or grown at home from seed A spade or hand trowel
• Some hog wire or any left-over fencing wire, at least 4′ tall
• Needle nose pliers
• Wire cutters

How To Plant Tomatoes | Steps

Step 1

Buy yourself some plants from your store, or grow them yourself in the greenhouse from seed. If you want to start seeds yourself, you need to sow them approximately six weeks before the last frost date in your area, and then tend to them to make sure they have adequate heat, water and light to germinate. When the last frost date has passed, you can plant them outside.

Step 2

Gather together your plants and hand trowel, and decide where you want to plant them. It’s a good idea to leave at least 2-3 feet between plants to allow for ample sun and rain to get to the plants, and to leave room for you to move between them to weed and harvest the fruits.

Step 3

Dig a hole large enough to contain the entire root ball of the plant.

Step 4

Ensure that the hole is deep enough to bury 2/3 of the plant; this helps the plant develop good roots and self-support without relying 100% on the cage.

Step 5

Pack soil carefully down into the hole, taking care not to damage or crush the roots.

Step 6

Level off the soil to the surrounding area.

Step 7

Press down the soil to secure the roots and support the plant stem.

Step 8

Don’t forget to mark which varieties are which! If you are planting several heirloom varieties, plant different varieties as far apart from each other as possible so that they don’t cross-pollinate.

Step 9

Heap up the soil in a circular ‘wall’ around the plant to contain the water when you water it in for the first time. This way, the roots will get plenty of water before it all runs away; this is especially important if your soil is clay-like or not terribly absorbent. The ‘reverse moat’ holds the water around the plant and gives it time to soak in.

Step 10

Next build your cage: get some wire and cut to the correct length to surround the plant with space to spare for growing.

Step 11

Secure it into a cylinder and put around the plant. This will help to support the plant when the fruit makes the branches heavy, and keep the fruit off the ground.

Step 12

Enjoy the fruits of your labor knowing that they’re natural and free of chemicals! Yum!

Next Up: Save Space By Going Vertical With Your Vegetables

Love Tomatoes? Learn more here!

Originally posted on February 29, 2016 @ 2:00 AM

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