If you love tomatoes, there is no more satisfying way to have fresh, juicy and tasty tomatoes than doing your own tomato gardening. Tomatoes are one of the most popular plants for the home garden because they are easy to grow and care for.
Like most plants, the ones you chose for tomato gardening like soil that’s loose and friable, drains well and has lots of organic matter. Organic matter such as compost and mulch help the soil retain moisture. But you don’t need to take a lot of time digging your garden up, either. Tomato gardening can be done even on ground that hasn’t been tilled.
We have created gardens simply by placing layers of newspaper or cardboard down and covering it with grass clippings and potting mix. This method of tomato gardening works perfectly and the yields are impressive as well.
We simply built a mound of grass clippings on top of several layers of newsprint. Then we let the clippings sit for a week while they heated up and then cooled down from the action of micro-bacteria. We placed the tomato plants into the grass clippings so that most of the stem was buried and added the potting mix on top as mulch.
Tomato gardening is easy when you use this method. The plants will naturally grow roots from the buried stems and in our experience this will cut down on “blossom end rot” a disease that affects the first tomatoes from the plant.
Once the plants start growing, you should use something to keep them off the ground. Stakes are most commonly used for this. Place the stake a few inches from the plant and tie it loosely as the plant grows.
Some prefer to use “Tomato cages” for tomato gardening. These keep the plant enclosed and support the plant as it fills the cage with vines. Both methods have there advantages and we urge you to try each and use what works best for you.