2009 “Get It Garden” Challenge – How To Plant A Tomato
Welcome to the 2009 Casual Gardener “Get It Garden” Challenge!! The challenge: create a garden that makes a difference in your life and your community, then share it with The Casual Gardener readers.
Planting a tomato is EASY as 1 – 2 – 3!
1. Prepare soil and dig a trench in the ground about 6 to 10 inches deep. Mix an organic fertilizer in with the soil.
2. Remove bottom leaves from the tomato plant and lay it on it’s side in the trench with it’s top leaves sticking up out of the hole. By laying it on it’s side you are encouraging additional roots to grow to help further stabilize the plant.
3. Cover all the plant except the top leaves in soil. Soak plant well with water.
Done!
That’s it – that is all you have to do to plant a tomato plant. Be sure to place your tomato in full sun, stake well, and fertilize every three weeks or so with an organic fertilizer.
Good luck – and let me know how your tomatoes are growing!
Let’s build a garden together! Please join the 2009 Casual Gardener “Get It Garden” Challenge today and help make a difference for yourself and your community.
Great video. I’ve been taught that in hot, dry conditions (like here in Central Texas), to put the plant straight down rather than trenching. While trenching helps spread the root zone (good for non-dry climates), straight down (with only the top four inches sticking out) puts the roots deeper where more water is.
Matt – good advice in a super hot zone like Arizona or Texas. For we midwesterners, trenching is a fantastic technique.
Very nice video. I am just about to plant my tomatos, which I have been growing in the basement from seed. In my area we plant from Memorial Day on, it’s a mad dash to try to catch up with the rest of the country. I haven’t tried this technique before, and am anxious to try it.
I think it works fine either way but I prefer to go straight down when planting a tomato. You don’t have to worry about where the stems are if you are interplanting around the maters.
The best way to support your tomato plants is with The Tomato Stake.
Easier to use than metal cages or upside down planters, stronger than bamboo and won’t rot like wood stakes. The built-in twist-tie supports make tying your tomato plants easy!
Good job Ms. Shawna. We sometimes plant our tomatoes like that. I also add one Tum (or generic equivalent) to each planting hole, it adds calcium which helps prevent blossom end rot. And we always companion plant with marigolds between each tomato plant.