Site and Soil Are Key To Growing A Successful Crop Of Tomatoes
by John Yazo
Sunlight, air circulation, and soil structure, all are very important when choosing a site location for growing a thriving crop of tomatoes. There is no better tasting tomato than one grown fresh in your home organic garden, and with the proper planning it can be a very rewarding experience.
Choosing a location for planting your tomato crop is very important. An area that gets direct sunlight for most of the day, 8 to 12 hours is ideal and 6 to 8 hours is minimum, is the first thing you will need to provide for your plants. Temperature is another factor in producing a productive crop. Most tomato plants wont produce a thriving crop when the temperature falls below 50 degrees Fahrenheit or raise above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, you may need to plant heat or cold tolerant varieties if temperature is a concern in your area.
Air circulation is the next most important requirement you need to provide. Prune,and properly staking will increase the air flow around the plant. This will reduce the risk of both pest and disease problems that can attack your crop, especially with indeterminate plants that sprawl freely, pruning will limit there growth and to maintain the size of the plant. Some gardeners prefer just let indeterminate plants sprawl and benefit from the increased fruit production.
The third part of having a successful tomato crop is the soil. Tomatoes will grow in a moderate to a highly fertile soil. A sandy loam that drains and warm quickly can provide you with an earlier crop. The one downside about a sandy soil is that your tomato plants may require more watering, and the preferred soils ph level should be between 5.5 and 6.8.
Even though soil is a very important part of any garden, it should be the last requirement when choosing a location. The reason for this is because soil can be amended with organic matter to improve it's structure. Another though that can be considered is if the only area you have is rocky, to hard to work or to steep, you can build a terrace or raised bed garden. Sunlight and air circulation are the two natural requirements that you can't change, and are needed to grow a healthy, thriving crop.
Tomatoes are a fun and easy crop to grow in the home garden. With just a little simple planning and a good organic soil management plan in place you can grow a thriving crop of your own.
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