Preparation for a bountiful harvest of tomatoes begins
while snow still covers the ground. Before you can plant a beautiful row of
seedlings, you must take several planning steps. Consulting a comprehensive
cultivation guide on growing tomatoes will aid your planning process and help
ensure you end up with a bountiful disease free crop.
Choose Your Tomato
Varieties
Hundreds of choice tomato varieties abound - enough to confuse
gardeners. Tomatoes come in every shape, size and color. Huge tomatoes that take
two hands to carry are related to tiny grape tomatoes no larger than the top of
a thumb. Purple, yellow, orange and red tomatoes all spring from the
same gene pool. Perfect round tomatoes, oblong tomatoes, little marble-sized
tomatoes, and huge scrunchy looking tomatoes grow around the world. Tomatoes
that grow as a never-ending vine share space with tomato plants that grow in a
compact, shrub form. For your summer tomato garden, choose several tomato
varieties, as each variety is best suited for its own culinary responsibility,
and each takes specific care and tending.
For summer-long harvesting, choose
tomato plants that are “indeterminate,” or keep growing and growing and growing.
These tomatoes will continue to set new fruit throughout the entire summer.
These varieties are best for small cherry or grape sized tomatoes, as getting
large fruit from these types of plants requires more work.
For shorter
harvesting periods and larger tomatoes, choose “determinate” varieties, which
grow to a certain size and stop. These plants put more energy into producing
each fruit, resulting in larger, juicier fruit.
Pre-Order Seedlings or Sow Seeds
Tomatoes are fragile in
the beginning. Growing a tomato from a seed and harvesting fruit in the same
growing season takes advance preparation. If you prefer not to gamble with
starting your own seeds, many companies offer mail-order seedlings of endless
varieties. Plan for your seedlings to arrive for planting once the danger of
frost is completely past. Tomato plants are tropical in origin and have little
tolerance for cold.
For adventurous gardeners, harvesting a tomato grown from
seed to fruit is a rewarding experience. Start seeds at least eight weeks before
you wish to plant. Sow seeds thinly on a bed of light potting mix inside. Keep
the seeds moist, but not overly wet. Misting daily does the trick. Once the
seedlings have their second set of leaves, “prick out” the seedlings (gently
remove seedlings one at a time, while holding the leaves) and plant into small
pots of their own. Once frost danger has passed, “harden off” your plants by
putting them outside during the day, and bringing them in at night. After a week
or two of “hardening off,” you may plant outside.
Prepare the Garden Soil
While your tomato
seeds are germinating on their warm and comfy windowsill, use the time to prep
the garden soil. Tomatoes need an organically rich, yet well-draining soil. If
you have extremely wet and heavy soil, avoid walking on it during the winter, as
excessive walking with compact the soil. Add organic matter on top of the soil
to help prevent winter erosion. Once the soil warms enough to be workable,
double-dig the soil (Dig all of the soil out, mix in some organic matter, and
put soil back in) to break up hardened areas and allow for good root
penetration.
Plant the Garden
Once the soil is prepared, seedlings are
hardened-off, and temperatures are warm (or warming), plant your tomato garden,
and prepare for a summer of delicious harvests.
If you want more detailed
tomato garden advice and tips from a world horticultural expert, visit www.bestjuicytomatoes.com

About the Author:
I have two passions
- growing tasty tomatoes and stamping out rude behaviour, bad clothing and fear
in all women. Big call I know! My first website How to Grow
Juicy Tasty Tomatoes! will help tomato growers to grow healthy tomato crops.
My second website How to Look, Act and Feel Stylish is for women who want to make
the most of themselves and achieve their dreams.

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