Are you tired of the high cost of tomatoes in your area? Or maybe tired of cooking with not so fresh tomatoes? Or....?Well, which ever way you feel I will teach you how you can actually grow tomatoes at...
Are you tired of the high cost of tomatoes in your area? Or maybe tired of cooking with not so fresh tomatoes? Or....?
Well, which ever way you feel I will teach you how you can actually grow tomatoes at home or in your backyard garden, so relax and read to the end.
First of, you have to know that tomatoes are propagated (grown) by seeds as explained below before transplanting them to their permanent location where they develop till fruiting and eventually die off.
How to grow tomatoes by seeds at home
Firstly, ensure that you purchase viable and high quality seeds from reliable producers or you can use seeds extracted from the fresh tomatoes you bought from the marked (note: they may not be as highly prolific as those from known producers).Now get a plastic bow and fill it with soil mixed with a moderate amount of fertilizers (preferably organic fertilizers)Thereafter, apply water on the soil to keep it wet but not water logged (full of water).Furthermore, take the seeds and broadcast (sprinkle) them evenly on the soil. And try to cover them with a very thin layer of soil.Lastly, leave them to germinate. Germination usually takes about 5 - to - 10 days.
When and how to transplant tomatoes to the field
Transplanting should be done when the plants have grown to have 3 - to - 4 leaves (about 4weeks after planting).
Bonus: the place where you first raise your seeds before transplanting them is known as a nursery.
Before transplanting, choose a position in your garden where the plants can receive enough sunlight, add manure (preferably organic manure) to the soil and till it using a small hoe or you can add soil that is properly mixed with manure to a bow and place it on a place where it will be in direct contact with sunlight. This is because tomato is a sun loving plant and it requires about 9 hours of sunlight per day.Now ensure that the soil is moist (i.e it contains enough water) before carrying out transplanting.You can transplant your tomatoes from the nursery to the field using a hand trowel or maybe pull out the plants from the nursery using your hands and try to ensure that you always transplant with a ball of earth (that is, a heap of sand attached to the roots of the plant).While transplanting the tomato plants in your garden, ensure that the plant goes deep into the soil leaving a small space between the lower leaves of the plant and the soil. By so doing the hair-like particles on the tomato stem will develop to form adventitious roots which further strengthen the plant.
You may also want to read how to prevent bacterial wilt in your tomatoes farm
Now water the plants regularly but avoid over or under watering which may result to
blossom end rot. Never try to make up for the watering that you didn't carryout on the previous day by adding excess water to plant.Try to pinch out some of the lower leaves to avoid diseases outbreak and try as much as possible to keep the plant to a single stem for high yield.Also Carryout staking as shown on the image below.
A staked tomato plant.
Source: shutterstock
How to harvest tomatoes in your garden or at home
After carrying out all the above processes then harvesting definitely shouldn't be a problem for you. In fact harvesting should be as ease as eating. You just have to gentle pluck out the fruits from the stock using your hand.
Always harvest when the fruits have not fully ripe especially when you have enough for sales.
You may also want to leave the fruits to properly ripe before harvesting them to cook your stew or any other thing of your choice.
Was this article helpful? Give us your feedback on the comment section below.
Share with friends to also learn
You can follow us on Facebook at UgNaija for more of this type of article or get our newsletter by subscribing below for free
Get the next article in your inbox
Delivered by FeedBurner
View Entire Post
