Tomatoes are amongst the easiest plants to grow organically and with a good chance of bearing edible fruit. This is if you have prepared the soil well and have chosen a variety of tomato that will thrive in your locality.
Soil preparation is paramount for the success of your tomato crop. They need soil that has a pH of between 6.0 and 7.0. You can purchase test kits from most garden shop to determine the right variety of tomato to plant.
It is imperative that your soil is free of perennial weeds and has adequate nutrients for the plant. Organic matters like well-rotted garden compost, leaf moulds, well-rotted manure and soil or garden clippings are excellent to enrich the soil.
To plant the seedlings, dig a hole about two feet deep and two feet wide. Remove the plant and plant the whole referring limb with the roots trailing through. Space the plants eight inches apart. An inch apart each direction is fine.
The benefits of growing organic tomatoes:
Healthy tomatoes:
The plant does not suffer from pests and diseases; there is no need to spray them with insecticides and fungicides. You just need to water them on a regular basis and also perform their maintenance. Compost is passed on to the growing plants through the leaves. The growing tomato plants are fussy and make sure you have the right compost for them.
Good tomatoes:
disease-resistant;
Good at retaining moisture;
They are less vulnerable to drought;
Some are better at resisting pests;
Some are better at resisting diseases;
Some are better at supplying good amount of nutrition for the plant;
Some are ready made for the environment;
Some are adapted to be grown in the kitchen;
Some are not quite ready for the kitchen yet.
There are also some ready made organic tomato plants available that you can select from.
Some tips for growing organic tomatoes:
There is no fear of the plant getting infected by gardeners disease, because they are rarely seen. But they do show up sometimes, when the soil is too wet or the weather is too cold. If you do find a disease on the plant that doesn’t bother to kill it, at least try to get rid of as fast as you can.
Try to be as organic as you can. That is, avoiding the use of any chemically-based or synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, and weed killers.
Select disease-resistant varieties. Many seed catalogs will offer these tomatoes.
Place them in direct sunlight. Tomatoes are best grown in direct sunlight. Even if the plants are in a container, always find a place where they are going to get bright light.
Make sure the air is stagnant, and try to move the tomato plants to a cooler place, such as an area in the garage or a basement. This is to slow down the process of evaporation, so the leaves will not be exposed to sunlight.
Water them regularly. If you water the plants too much, the leaves will get wet, which shows up as black spots. Choose a day that is dry and shed some water on the leaves. If it continues to happen, water it less often.
Consider using organic fertilizer. If you would like to try something experimental, such as organic compost or herbal compost, it is best to supply the needed elements yourself, so it is best to go with what you know.
There is nothing wrong with experimenting with new things though. It’s called the fun part of gardening.
These are just some of the tip that can help you grow organic tomatoes. It can be hard to grow an organic tomato, but if you just strive and succeed like I do, you will beyards ahead of the game. Sometimes, you just have to roll with the times and see what works.
