Tips for Growing Tomatoes

Here are a some tips for growing tomatoes tips in your home garden. There is nothing like fresh vegetables from your own yard but sometimes it feels like a war zone out there. With these few points you can win your battles and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

• Plant deep
• Water well-daily if needs be. They should never be allowed to dry out
• Mulch is good in hot dry summers to keep even moisture
• Do not handle plants in wet conditions. This can spread diseases like fungi
• Buy plants or seeds that are disease resistant
• Encourage birds in your garden
  

Tips on common problems and how to solve them:

• Cracked fruit- this is usually a result of uneven watering. Try to water on a daily basis if needs be.
  
• Wilt and mosaic-buy resistant plants or seeds, there are many varieties to choose from

Tips on how to get bugs to leave your plants alone:

The infamous cutworm-this is usually the first bug to start chewing at your plants and this one is the most merciless. They lie in wait below the ground and then emerge at night. They attack young tender plants by chewing right through their stalks. An easy way to stop these night stalkers is to cut some plastic straws into 2”-3” lengths and wrap them around the base of the plant stalks when you plant them. Even cutworms cannot get through plastic.

Tips for those nasty aphids: You can wage an all out war on these annoying little pests by simply getting some commercial spray from your local store or get rid of them with home made recipes of hot pepper spray or very mild soap and water spray

The devastating hornworm: this is a big ugly worm that can devastate a plant within hours, chewing through the leaves at an alarming rate. This is found especially in California where winters are mild and these bugs are prevalent. Fortunately they are quite easy to just pick off and destroy.

Wicked white fly- they are often very prevalent in greenhouses, where the air is still and quiet. If you like unusual plants just keep a few carnivorous plants like Venus flytrap or Pitcher plants to keep these down. Of course you can also wage chemical warfare on them.  They are not hard to control with chemicals.

With these tomato growing tips you will be able to enjoy growing your plants and take pleasure in eating delicious home grown produce. There is nothing like the thrill of victory when you finally get to eat your hard earned harvest. Also you get the bragging rights when you can display your vegetables at the local county fair. You can even show them off and give them away to your colleagues at work. Plus you and your family will enjoy eating great tasting vegetables that not only taste good but also can improve your health.