Organic vegetables have many health benefits. Discover 10 tips and tricks for growing the best tomatoes . Used to compose a salad, to prepare a ratatouille, a homemade pizza as well as various sauces, the tomato is a fruit that fits wonderfully in our recipes. Due to its wealth of antioxidants and vitamins E and C, it offers considerable benefits to the body. But gardening enthusiasts know that nothing beats the pleasure of tasting fresh tomatoes grown at home.
If you want to indulge in this enjoyable activity and grow the best tomatoes at home, follow these 10 tips for successful cultivation. Easy to grow and delicious, the tomato is a fruit-vegetable that decorates the house with its flamboyant red color. In addition, it can be planted in a pot or within the vegetable patch. Lovers of organic tomatoes, discover the steps to follow to optimize your harvest.
Choosing between sowing seeds or buying tomato plants
Before you start planting tomatoes, you must prepare the sowing. Those with a heated greenhouse can start their seedlings from January, then transplant two months later to be able to harvest their fruits around May-June. For those who do not have it, their sowing should be done in March, in order to consider a harvest from July to October. If the tomatoes are bought in a garden center, it is preferable to get seedlings in pots, fifteen centimeters high.
When to plant tomatoes?
If you prepared your seedlings at home, you had to take out the seedlings in pots to prepare for planting. Generally, it is advisable to plant tomatoes two months after sowing. It is also necessary to verify that this date announces the end of the frosts. Depending on where you live (south or north), the ideal time to plant will vary. In the north, most gardeners begin to plant their tomato plants in late May. In the south, it is possible to start planting at the end of April.
Where to grow tomatoes?
It is advisable not to plant tomatoes in the same place as the year before or next to other plants of the same family. In addition, tomatoes need to be planted in a sunny location, sheltered from wind and rain, in order to grow optimally. So if you're growing your tomatoes in a pot, put it on a window sill that gets the most sunlight during the day.
From planting to harvest
To successfully harvest tomatoes, there are 11 steps to follow carefully:
1. Start by getting young tomato plants.
2.Plant them in a sunny place to ensure that they are exposed to daylight for at least 6 hours daily.
3.If you have cold soil, you can warm it up by placing mulch or a landscaping ground cover.
4.To have fertile soil and boost the growth of your plantations, you can add organic matter, eggshells to balance the pH of your compost or even calcium.
5.Plant the tomato seedlings deeply and cover them with soil.
6.Apply mulch to avoid weeds and keep your fruit healthy.
7.Install a tomato stake to preserve your plantation.
8.Add plants that accompany the tomato to boost its development: cabbage, cucumber, basil and carrot.
9.Water the tomato regularly, counting one liter of water per tomato daily.
10.While the plant is growing, eliminate the weeds.
11. Harvest the tomatoes when they are very ripe and store them at room temperature.