Don’t we all love fresh grown tomatoes which taste delicious and look luscious! Home grown tomatoes are any day better than store bought ones. They are a bit acrid and very juicy. Today we are going to share with you some tips on growing the best tomatoes from the right onset of gardening season.
1. Baking Soda
If you are growing tomatoes in containers, then baking soda can serve as your best bet. This specially holds true if you wish to produce sweeter tomatoes. All you need to do is sprinkle a bit of soda all around the base of your plant. It gets absorbed by the soil for lowering down acidity levels.
2. Aspirin
Want to boost up plant immunity? Add 2-3 aspirin tablets either to the whole ground or your tomato planting hole. It is helpful in increasing the yield and fighting off diseases such as blight. Alternatively, you can spray the solution over the plants prior to transplanting the same.
3. Fish Heads
Fish heads have already gained a lot of popularity in the filed of gardening as a natural fertilizer. This decay is known to release potassium, nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium and other essential trace elements. However, critters tend to dig them up. You should thus bury the fish heads at least one foot deep inside the soil.
4. Multivitamin
Have some expired multivitamin tablets stocked at your house? Use it as a potent fertilizer rather than throwing it away. You need to use one tablet for each tomato plant. It can provide you with fantastic yield with continued usage. But for best results, you need to stick to a regular capsule rather than opting for a gummy one.
5. Eggshells
Eggshells are known to boost up the calcium content of soil. Therefore, it is an important component of gardening. You can place some eggshells in the containers or garden beds prior to planting.
Doing this helps in preventing root rot and blossom. Just collect the eggshells while cooking and place about 3 to 4 of such shells into the planting hole. Alternatively, you can sprinkle some crumbled eggshells all around the seedling for preventing cutworm.
6. Epsom Salt
Tomatoes are known to suffer from magnesium deficiency. You can counteract this problem by adding between 1 to 2 tablespoon of Epsom salt to the planting hole. This needs to be done before transplanting the seedling. Next you will have to cover it up with a thin layer of soil. For best results, you need to ensure that the plant roots do not touch the Epsom salt directly.
7. Bone Meal
Bone meal is helpful in ensuring the quality of tomato by satiating its phosphorous requirement. You need to add a cup-full or handful of bone meal to the tomato hole while planting.
8. Kelp Meal
This rich source of micro-nutrients can impart a turbo boost to the growth of your tomato plants. It can buffer your tomato plants from experiencing shock which is very common with the usage of excess fertilizers. All you need is a cup of kelp meal. This needs to be poured into the planting hole to ensure gorgeous produce.
9. Banana Peel
Banana peel serves as a rich source of phosphorous which can be used in your everyday gardening drill. For this, you will have to freeze the banana peel inside a large ziplock bag. Next you will have to thaw it right before usage.
10. Used Coffee Grounds
Well-composted coffee grounds can be added to the tomato planting hole prior to transplanting the seedlings. Doing this can substantially improve soil composition. It also serves as a rich source of slowly releasing nutrients into your tomato plants. You can even use these coffee grounds as a mulch.
Things To Consider Before Putting The Tomato Plants In The Planting Hole
For starters, you need to prepare an adequately deep tomato planting hole. Once you have taken your pick amongst the ten fertilizers mentioned above and placed it inside the planting hole, you should cover it up using 1-2 inches of soil. Doing this ensures that the plant root doesn’t directly touch these things.
Now you will have to remove the two lower leaves. Next you will have to put the seedling on. The depth of the hole needs to be more than that of the original seedling container. This needs to be filled up using soil up to the second lower leaves. Your aim here should be to create a little hill. Doing this prevents water from touching the plants whenever you hydrate your tomato plants.
Final Words
Gardening is an extremely fun-filled activity. You can also ensure the quality of your produce by using the organic fertilizers mentioned above. So, try them out today and don’t forget to share your end results with us.
Khaja Moinuddin, a computer science graduate, finds joy in gardening and homesteading. Join him on this blog as he shares his experiences in homesteading, gardening, and composting