#2. A Tomato Grower's Tip
Tomatoes are probably one of the most versatile of all vegetables. They are used in a variety of ways to add flavor to culinary dishes. Growing your own tomatoes from seed is a great idea and knowing how to grow them only requires a bit of time and effort.
However, with just a little bit of extra attention paid to learning how to grow tomatoes properly, you can significantly increase your yields. Tomatoes are easy to grow from seed and do well enough in any sized garden. Choosing a variety that will suit the space you have is an essential consideration to get great tomatoes.
To grow tomatoes from seed you will require: fresh seeds, seed starting trays – get plastic ones or use Styrofoam egg trays, seed starting mix, potting mix or all purpose fertilizer, disposable cups – 16 ounce plastic ones, light source like a fluorescent shop light.
Buying the seeds: you can choose to buy either online or from your local garden store. If you go the online route, order at least two to three months before your planting date – no harm having them handy in advance!
When to plant: you can't scatter seeds on garden soil when the weather is warm and hope they will grow. You have to plant your seeds eight weeks before the last frost. You will have to look up the dates for the last frost as relevant to your area. Talk to the people at the local garden store, they are usually a big help.
Start out with a good quality potting compost; this is one investment you don't want to skimp on. The main growing soil is usually a mix of quality soil or compost and rich organic waste like peat moss or rotted manure.
The soil should have good drainage ability or you will end up with a lot of dead plants. Vegetable plants need to stay moist not wet. You can add lime to the main soil. If you can get them, a couple of handfuls of crushed oyster shells should do the trick. Adding lime, which is calcium prevents dry-end rot.
Trim off the lower branches from each plant and make sure to plant deeply. The stem should be part buried. Water the freshly planted seeds very gently as splashing is quite likely to dislodge them.
Bigger pots equate to bigger tomatoes because the plants have more freedom to grow in big pots. Don't make the mistake of tying the plants to support them when they start growing. Opt instead for a tomato cage or spiral.