This article on how to grow organic tomatoes will show you how you can have a big crop of delicious and healthy organic tomatoes on your table in the easiest way possible. The tomato is a sensitive plant and there are several traps that lie in wait for your juicy fruit, but with a little care you can expect to have results to be proud of this season.
How To Grow Organic Tomatoes: Planning And Planting
The first point to consider is where you will grow them. If you have a sunny, sheltered, well-drained part of the garden, that is great. Ideally you can train them against a fence or wall, but if that is not possible, it is simple enough to construct a trellis for them. Keep in mind that some varieties grow up to 6 feet tall.
You can also grow tomatoes in containers. This is the ideal solution if you do not have a good site in the garden or if your soil type is not ideal. Tips on how to grow organic tomatoes in containers are pretty much the same, but you have more options. You can move the containers if you wish, even bringing them indoors in cold weather. Your plants also have a greater chance of escaping some of the earth-based pests if they are in containers.
There are many varieties of tomato plant. You will find that you have a little less choice of organic varieties, but most gardeners are not put off by this. There are so many benefits to eating organic, especially for your health.
Having chosen your seeds and planted out your young plants, it is important to keep checking on them. They need frequent watering when the weather is dry, or they will not produce much fruit. The leaves should never be allowed to wilt. You can mulch under the plants to keep the moisture in the soil when the weather is dry, and remember that small, frequent waterings are best.
How To Grow Organic Tomatoes: Dealing With Pests
No article on how to grow organic tomatoes would be complete without a few words on pests. Hornworms are probably the most feared tomato pest in North America. They love plants of the nightshade family, including tomatoes, eggplant, tobacco and potato, and they will eat all parts of the plant that grow above ground.
Hornworms can easily be squished, but you need to check the underside of all leaves frequently if you are going to rely on this method of hornworm control. The best organic alternative is to invest in some braconid wasps which will prey on the hornworms while being harmless to humans.
Eelworms or nematodes are a worldwide tomato pest. They live in the soil and you may not know that you have them until you first try to grow tomatoes. You can spray with an organic fungicide to prevent them attacking future crops. Rotating the location of your plants and having marigolds growing nearby will also help to discourage eelworms from establishing themselves in your garden.
Organic anti fungal sprays can also be used against tomato blight. If you find blight among your plants, it is very important to remove affected plants as fast as possible to stop it spreading. You can often prevent blight by making sure that your plants are not too crowded, but you may still be caught out in a wet summer.
If you are still having difficulty growing organic tomatoes, you could have somebody else show and tell how they do it. Ask your neighbors and friends and find somebody who is really successful with it. They may be doing something different that you never thought about, or they may simply have some tips for you. It could make all the difference to your own success to have somebody else show you how to grow organic tomatoes their way.
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