Growing Tomato Plants in an Organic Garden
How to Grow Natural Tomatoes in Container Gardens or the Soil
May 18, 2009
Homegrown tomatoes are the feature of most organic vegetable gardens in the summer. With minimal care, six tomato plants will yield enough fruits for eating and canning all summer.
Planting Tomato Seedlings
Tomato seedlings are ready to go into the ground when they have five to seven leaves. Tomato plants thrive in well-draining soil with a pH of 6.0. If the soil is too alkaline, lower the pH with plenty of fresh organic matter, especially compost.
Top with a 3-inch layer of organic mulch to control soil moisture, which reduces blossom end rot. Some gardeners swear by red mulch to increase yields, but plastic does nothing to enrich the soil. Waiting until nighttime temperatures are at least 60 degrees and placing plants where they receive six to eight hours of full sun is just as important as mulch color.
Staking Tomatoes
Every hardware store and garden center sells tomato cages that consist of two or three metal rings held together by several vertical strands of wire. These must sell like hotcakes to new gardeners, but seasoned gardeners realize a mature vine and a stiff breeze render these supports useless.
Indeterminate tomatoes laden with fruit need a hefty support system. Gardeners can make a worthy tomato cage with 5-foot sections of concrete reinforcing wire secured to rebar. Those who don’t like to make tomato cages should shop for heavy duty systems made from galvanized steel that fold for storage.
Tomatoes in Vegetable Container Gardens
Growing tomatoes in the container garden is a hot gardening trend, and horticulturists are responding to this demand by developing hybrids designed for pot culture. Don’t assume that small fruited varieties are automatically suited to containers, as some cherry tomatoes grow on large indeterminate vines.
Organic gardeners should care for tomatoes in containers as they would for tomatoes in the ground. Container garden tomatoes can succumb to blossom end rot if the containers aren’t kept evenly moist, as this denies calcium from reaching the leaf tips and blossom ends. Discourage blossom end rot with a regular watering routine, and by adding eggshells to the watering can.
Hanging Tomato Plants
Gardeners who like the ease of a container garden but who want to grow large, indeterminate vines may grow upside down tomato plants. By filling an ordinary 5-gallon bucket with a mix of compost and soil, cutting a hole in the bottom for the plant to grow from, and suspending the bucket from chains on a sturdy support, gardeners can bypass all weeds and many pests.
Tomato Fertilizer
Tomato plants are heavy feeders with specific nutrient needs. An organic 5-6-5 tomato fertilizer with ample phosphorus encourages the development of large fruits, rather than excessive leaves from too much nitrogen. Applying liquid seaweed twice a month when flowers appear will keep plants stocky and productive throughout the growing season.
Source:
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
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