How can I plant tomatoes in my garden year after year?
How can I plant tomatoes in my garden year after year and have them produce abundantly?
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Tomatoes need calcium and other minerals to help them bloom well. Also we give ours Epsom salts for the same reason. For abundant fruit from blooms, they will self pollinate if you gently bump the blossoms. I call it do a "walky walky" with my fingers to gently bump them. Tomatoe blooms average 25% tomatoes, but bumping them gently as we do will give you 100% fruit for blooms all other nourishment being equal. They love heat and need good watering. I forgot to mention, for the calcium additive, we crush and puree egg shells (just crushing does not give you the break down in the soil for this year, so puree them in the blender to a fine powder. We put the calcium in the watering can and pour it over the tomato plants
You need to rotate the location each year. If that is not possible, you must remove some soil and mix in good compost every year before planting. You can also plant a cover crop like rye or clover to add nutrients back in the soil. The growing tomatoes deplete the nutrition in the soil and even with fertilizing, the ground needs help in order to produce.
In addition to the aforementioned recommendations, planting basil in front of tomatoes, removing suckers, and planting French marigolds to deter bugs, you can plant Borage nearby to attract pollinators.
Laying an underground soaker hose system and covering with black plastic reduces soil evaporation and keeps tomatoes warmer. Pin the plastic down, using garden pins. Cut "X" shapes to fit your tomato plants, leaving sufficient space between plants. If you've had trouble with cut worms, wrap the bottom 2-3 " of each stem with folded newspaper and tape closed.
It's an annual so you do this by seed. I would also recommend planting them in a different area each season.
Composted cow manure is a good soil addition