Plant Stake
Plant Stake
Tomato Seeds Tips for Planting
The following sowing and transplanting methods are available to the amateur gardener who wants to grow tomatoes outside without the use of a greenhouse.
Tomato seeds can be sowed directly into a seed bed. However, this is by far the riskiest method in temperate climates. It is only suitable for those areas which have a last frost date in MARCH. In all other areas, the soil is unlikely to be warm enough at a time which will allow the tomato plant to develop and fruit. The soil temperature must be at least 15C (60F) at the time of sowing and during germination. It is possible to utilize a cloche or cold frame. This will warm the soil prior to planting and protect the plants in their early stages.
Using a trowel, dig a shallow drill 2.5cm deep (1in) deep in the prepared bed. Place two seeds every nine inches in the drill and cover the seeds to a depth of 2.5cm (1in). Water well if the conditions are at all dry.
The seedlings should emerge in about 10 days. When they are 5cm (2in) tall, thin to one plant every 45 to 60cm (18 to24in).
Sowing tomato seeds indoors is one of the commonest methods and produces good results. Sow each seed (two if you have a surplus) in a 7.5cm (3in) pot, lightly covering them with potting compost. Ensure the compost is moist but not waterlogged. Place them in a warm (up to 27C or 80F) draught free place - the seedlings should emerge in 7 to 10 days time.
Immediately this happens, move the plants to a light position (a light windowsill is ideal), but out of direct sunlight to avoid burning the leaves. Where more than one seed has been sown per pot, thin out the least healthy seedling as soon as they are large enough to handle. When the roots start to come through the base of the pot (about 4 weeks after sowing), transfer the plants to larger 12.5cm (5in) pots. The plants will be large enough to transplant outside about 7 weeks after sowing the seed.
Sowing tomato seeds outdoors in pots is similar to sowing the seed indoors in pots with the exception that the pots are stored outside whilst the seed germinates. The advantage over indoor sowing is that space is not a limiting factor to the amount of plants to be raised.
Timing and position of the plants are the key factors to success. Keep the pots in the warmest part of the garden (against a house wall is ideal) to hasten germination and subsequent growth. The use of cloches will assist greatly in retaining heat. Timing is the most difficult aspect of this method - keeping the plants under cloches and or against a house wall will raise the temperature and permit earlier growing, but it is not an exact science. The basic rules of no frost and a minimum soil temperature of 15C (60F) must be achieved.
One combination which can work well is to sow the seeds inside (where they do not have to be in a light position) and the transfer them outside when the seedlings emerge.
Just before transplanting the tomato plants to their final position drive a strong stake into the ground 5cm (2in) from the planting position. The stake should be at least 30cm (1ft) deep in the ground and 1.2m (4ft) above ground level - the further into the ground the better the support.
Where tomato seedlings have been started in pots, they should be transplanted into their final positions when they are about 15cm (6in) high. Two to three weeks prior to this, the plants should be hardened off.
For each plant, dig a hole (45cm / 18in apart) in the bed to the same depth as the pot and water if conditions are at all dry. Ease the plant out of the pot, keeping the root ball undisturbed as far as possible. Place it in the hole and fill around the plant with soil. The soil should be a little higher than it was in the pot.
Loosely tie the plant's stem to the support stake using soft garden twine - allow some slack for future growth.
About the Author
If you would like to learn more about growing your own tomatoes from seed please visit How To Grow Tomatoes or Growing Your Own Tomatoes for further information.
What is the best way to stake a tomato plant?
I grow a lot of tomato plants and by the time they get heavy with fruit, they start breaking down. would like to know the 'right' way to grow them.
There is a steel mesh used to reinforce concrete. it is sold in hardware stores. It is about 4-5 feet wide, is steel wire that is welded in a grid, with the steel wire forming squares about 6-8 inches square. It can be cut with strong wire cutters and formed into a circle about 10-12 inches in diameter. Secure it with wire and slip it over the tomato plant, secure it at the bottom with long stakes so it does not tip.
The branches will grow through the wire and support the fruit. Some tomato plants will grow up to 6 feet so if you make it higher you will get the most from your plants. It may rust, but should last for years.
Plant Stake
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3 Practical Methods of Staking Your Tomatoes
There are a variety of ways to stake your tomato plants - some are simple and others take a little more work. If you are a practical person you can make your own support structures cheaply but if not you can easily purchase ready made staking solutions from your garden center.
Method #1 - The Humble Stake
Stakes can be made from wood, plastic or metal and can by round or flat-shaped. You can buy wooden stakes very cheaply for under $5 a piece, they should be between 3-6ft in length. Simply hammer the stake into the ground next to your plant and tie the stem to the stake with garden twine as the plant grows. The advantage of this method is that it is simple to set up but doesn't work so well with more branching varieties of plant like the cherry tomato.
Method #2 - Cage Your Tomatoes
Caging is another option you have and solves the problem of branching. Typically a cage is a circular or square mesh structure that encloses your plant. Support is provided by threading the branches through the mesh holes as the plant grows. There are many attractive structures available commercially but you can also make your own effective cages using concrete reinforcing wire.
Method #3 - Grow Your Tomatoes Upside Down!
This is an unusual method but if done well can be very effective. Technically this isn't staking but it can provide excellent support to your plant. Instead of growing your plant upwards in the normal way you actually grow it downwards from a container and allow gravity to keep the plant upright. This is how it works: You take a suitable container and create a hole in the base just large enough for the stem. You plant your seedling in the hole and suspend the container from a structure above the ground. The beauty of this method is you don't have to keep tying/threading the stem or branches of your growing plant - you just let gravity do the work. You need to be careful that your plant receives enough sunlight. Make sure the leaves are not shielded by any objects such as walls if you hang the plant from a structure next to your house.
You can find more details and methods on how to stake tomatoes correctly at my site www.growingtomatoanswers.com including how to set up a trellis for larger plants.
About the Author
Mark Shelton is a keen home gardener with a special interest in growing tomatoes. He has shown many people how to grow better tomatoes with little effort and he can help you too! Check out his site at www.growingtomatoanswers.com
Plant Stake