Grow Tomatoes at Home – Learning how to grow tomatoes at home will offer you many benefits. Besides the thrill of watching your seedlings grow into fully flourished tomato plants, you will also gain numerous health benefits of growing your own naturally grown organic produce. Not to mention, the money-savings in a market with soaring vegetable prices. In this article, we will take you step by step through the process of growing your own tomatoes in your home, terrace or balcony.
Creating the right environment
It is important that you provide a nourishing environment to your tomato plant so that it can produce enough good quality tomatoes. Following are the preparations you should make before planting your seedlings.
Provide enough sunlight and air
Begin by selecting the right spot for your plant. Tomato plants thrive in ample sunlight and air. You should make sure that it gets around 8-10 hours of exposure to the sunshine. Also, make sure that there is enough breathing space around each plant.
Preparing the pot and soil
Select a pot that is big enough for the roots to spread comfortably. Also, make sure that the pot is placed on a sturdy base. Providing the right soil is important too. You can enrich the soil available by adding vermicompost to it.
Preparing the saplings
Take some good-quality tomato seeds (you may purchase them from a nursery), and saw them in small paper cups or plastic bags with soil about an inch thick. Cover it with some dry soil and keep sprinkling water on it until the seeds sprout.
Replanting the saplings
When the sapling becomes about an inch tall, gently remove the cup or bag, without damaging the delicate roots. Replant these plants, along with the soil, in the pots you prepared previously. Don’t plant more than one seedling in one pot to ensure proper growth of the plant and an ample produce.
Providing the right nutrition
You should make sure that you provide enough nutrition for your tomato plants to grow healthy and strong. Adding a mulch of dry leaves, twigs, grass, etc. to the soil will help keep it moist. Using non-chemical, organic manure or vermicompost is best for your plants. You can also keep adding kitchen wastes, egg-shells, etc. to replenish the soil.
Watering adequately
It is important to water the plants regularly. Watering once a day during winter is enough. Water the plants twice a day during the summer season as the evaporation is more and soil becomes dry quickly.
Nurturing the plant
Make sure that the roots are always covered with soil so that they are not exposed to direct sunlight. Offer adequate support to the plants with wooden sticks so that the growing plant does not stop due to the weight of tomatoes. Keep pruning dry leaves and unwanted branches. Remove weeds, twigs, and suckers so that the plant gets proper nutrition and offers an excellent harvest of good quality tomatoes.
Follow these tips on how to grow tomatoes at home and in no time you will be able to meet your daily household need of organically grown tomatoes.
