How to Look After Tomato Plants
Looking after tomato plants entails regular pruning, ideal nourishment, constant watering and suitable training to reach their potential and live up to their standing as rapid, heavy manufacturers. Pruning enables the plant to direct its energy toward fruit production and maximum return. Training, or staking, keeps the plant erect during development, provides support and prevents the fruit from touching the soil. Ideal levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium helps ensure the plant remains healthy and resilient to infection.
Training and Pruning
Moisten a lint-free towel using isopropyl alcohol and wipe the blades of pruning shears to sanitize. Permit the pruning shears to air dry.
Rank a 1-inch square, 5- to 6-foot-long steel or wood stake 6 inches away from the base of your tomato plant. Drive the stake 4 inches deep in the soil with a rubber mallet or hammer.
Tie an 8-inch part of twine to the stake 1 inch beneath the first bloom cluster. Loop the other end around the tomato plant’s most important stem several occasions and fasten it by tucking the loose end in a loop. Don’t tie the loose end to the stem.
Continue tying the major stem to the stake at 1 foot intervals until you reach the top. If you encounter a fruit cluster in a 1-foot point, tie it 1 inch beneath the cluster.
Remove the suckers you encounter as you work your way up the tomato plant, using pruning shears. Make your cuts at the crotch between the primary stem and the leaves.
Wipe the blades clean with a moistened towel after each cut to prevent spreading infection. Permit four healthy shoots to remain on the plant. Keep on training and pruning as required throughout the development cycle.
Remove all leaves in the bottom 1 foot of the main stem when the plant attains a height of 3 feet, as the lower leaves will be the first to create fungal diseases.
Watering and Feeding
Water the plants in the soil line 2 to three times a week using a drip hose till the water reaches the bottom of the main system, approximately 6 to 8 inches deep. Water the plants once a week after the fruit sets.
Test your soil to ascertain its nutritional state. When it’s healthy and balanced, pick a fertilizer with a 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 ratio of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. If the soil test indicates a sulfur deficiency, then pick a 10-10-10 fertilizer.
Break up the soil to a depth of 1 inch at the planting hole using a garden fork. Add 1 inch of fluid to the bottom of the hole and mix to incorporate. Cover the fertilized soil using 1 inch of non-fertilized soil to prevent burning the plant.
Water the plants after the fruit sets and apply fertilizer to the soil surrounding their foundations. Avoid applying fertilizer in 6 inches of the base on all sides.