eBook Review – “How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes”

Authors: Annette Welsford and Lucia Grimmer

Reviewer: Lyd Holland
Rating:

Recently there have been a proliferation of books about growing tomatoes that have come onto the market – particularly on the internet. Most are nothing more than collections of anecdotes, which I found out after buying them.

“How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes” is different. In fact avid tomato growers are raving about this Australian book: they’ve had dramatically improved growth rates and crop yields by following the cultivation advice.

“How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes” has been written for anyone who wants to grow great tomatoes. Whether you’re in a hot climate or cold, on a farm or in an apartment, this book gives you step by step instructions to get started and detailed technical advice to common problems.

This easy to read 88 page book was co-authored by a lady with a Masters Degree in Plant Disease who
is a professional nutrition and disease advisor to the horticultural industry. Despite being a technical resource, it is really easy for the average person to understand. It contains lots of photos and step by step instructions as well as useful tips on organic gardening, watering, fertilising, disease, pests, growing from seed, collecting seed etc. It covers everything. It also contains very useful conversions of weights and measures throughout so whether you use imperial or metric you understand immediately what to do.

Step-by-step advice and tips on how to grow tomatoes you can use to help you substantially increase your crop’s health and yield. Not only that – your tomatoes will have more flavour and be a lot sweeter than you’ve tasted from a store bought variety.

It carries a lot more detail than the other ebooks on offer with a good amount of information on tomato problems and avoiding these problems before they start. Includes a lot of pictures that are very helpful and comes with the reassurance that the writers of this ebook are very knowledgeable and know their stuff!

My Verdict: This is the most comprehensive ebook I’ve seen, and its suitable for all levels of tomato growing ability. It gets a big thumbs up from me – Five Stars

Click Here To Get “How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes”

When growing tomatoes your success can be boiled down to just three methods. The methods we will discuss are not difficult, but do require some planning on your part. So, if you’d like to grow disease-free, plump and juicy tomatoes, then just try these three methods and be amazed with the harvest. Tip #1: Location: The tomato plant is a sun loving vegetable. So, whether the plant is grown in a container, earth box or directly in the ground, make sure the area will receive full-sunlight. In order for your tomatoes to reach maximum growth and crop yield, they need at least six hours of sunlight.Tip #2:Feeding: As with all living creatures, food plays an important role in good health and growth. If you ever hope to grow tomatoes to die for, the plants nutritional needs must be met. By working the soil with compost, worm castings, or fertilizer before planting, the seedlings will have all the nutritional support needed to get a healthy start in life. Used coffee grounds placed around the base of the plant will add nutritional value.Tip #3: Watering: Do remember we said earlier tomatoes like plenty of sun? Well they also require frequent watering. This is due partially because the amount of sun they receive, and of course their genetics. You want to allow the soil to completely dry out before watering. A better approach is to keep the soil moist but never soggy. You can accomplish this using a drip system or getting the hose out and spraying the soil at ground level. Do not water the leaves under full-sunlight because it can burn the foliage.Tip #4: Support: Tomatoes are vine plants and need support. A Stake or cage should be installed early in the plants growth. This will limit the damage to the roots as the plant matures. These support systems keep plants from growing along the ground where fungus and disease are more easily spread. In addition, your tomatoes will not get dirty and bruised from ground debris.There you have it. 3 growing tips that virtually guarantee success-growing tomatoes. Keep these tips in mind the next time you start any tomato plant. Before long you’ll have a plentiful supply of fresh, safe to eat tomatoes for the whole family. Enjoy.

On average a healthy plant can yield as much as 10 pounds of fruit. For a family of four, that’s more than enough tomatoes to feed on for a week.  The plants don’t need much space and can even be grown in containers, which easily moved around.

There are many advantages to growing tomato plants. Growing tomatoes on your own can save you money at the grocery store and ensure the fruit is as fresh as possible. In addition, you’ll know your eating tomatoes that free of pesticides and other dangerous chemicals.

When growing tomatoes you want the soil to be rich in nutrients. It is best if the soil naturally contains all the essential nutrients, however If necessary improve the quality of the soil with compost or fertilizer.

Tomatoes can be grown indoors or out, just be sure they have good drainage. It will help if your get the soil PH correct before you plant the tomato. The ideal range should be between 6.2 and 6.8. When growing tomatoes it’s a good idea to start the plant indoors, moving outside when above 50 degrees or warmer.

When planting tomatoes in the soil only the top two leaves should remain aboveground. This will allow the plant to be hardier and the roots will grow on the stem and branch out allowing the growing tomatoes to settle itself much easier. Keep a space of two to four feet between plants. This is especially helpful when it comes time to harvest the ripe fruit.

Tomato plants need to be staked to stop them from falling over under their own weight. The time to do this is when the plant is first planted in the ground so rot damage in minimized.

Tomato plant care:

When using fertilizer choose one that is richer in potassium and phosphorus than nitrogen. A mixture of 5-10-10 is ideal and can be found at any gardening or home improvement center. The best time to add the fertilizer is two weeks before you plant the tomatoes into the ground. This will allow the nutrients to make their way into the soil, which provide the young plants an immediate food source.

You want to water the plants regularly, and never allow them to completely dry out. It’s always better to give a deep soaking instead of a surface watering. Ideally you want the water to penetrate six inches into ground where the roots are likely found. During unusually hot and dry conditions water more often.

Adding mulch around the plants is helpful. It will protect the roots from becoming too hot and preserve ground moisture. Mulch can also keep diseases in the soil from being spread onto the plant leaves when watering.

The time it takes for your tomatoes to ripen will depend on the variety you have chosen to grow. Some varieties take three month before they are ready to harvest. A tomato is ripe when its color is the same as the type you planted, whether it is red or yellow. Look for color consistency throughout the tomato. With a gentle tug the fruit should easily come off the vine

1. To find good tomato plants, your closest garden center is as far as you need to go to find healthy tomato plants. Ask the gardener working there to help you if you need it, but common sense can be used when choosing healthy plants for tomato growing. Most people can tell the difference between a healthy plant and a limp and wilted plant. Make sure its green with no yellowing or spotted leaves. No matter where you’re going to plant your tomatoes, either outside or in a big pot, bury your plant up to the bottom stems. This will allow the plant to sprout new roots and strengthen the tomato growing process. You can completely bury the bottom stems and then just cut them at dirt level.

2. Don’t over-feed your tomato plant. Too much nitrogen will give you a beautiful bushy plant, but not a lot of fruit. It’s a good idea to prepare the soil before you plant your tomato plant. These plants love rich humus or loamy soil and it’s a good idea to add a little potassium for strong stems and just a touch of nitrogen.

3. Water your plants thoroughly and make sure you have good drainage where ever your plants may be. If you live in hot climates and your plants are outside, make sure they will get at least a half of day of shade. Too much heat and the flowers will fall off, falling flowers means no tomatoes and this defeats the tomato growing process entirely. Cover outdoor tomato plants with some kind of mulch, either bark, pine needles or hay. Studies have proven that plants covered in black plastic mulch in early spring produces lots of tomatoes all spring and summer long, especially in cool or cold climates. Infra-red plastic mulch is even better. The person at your garden center should be able to tell you what is best for where you live.

4. Picking off the first batch of flowers will also ensure a healthier plant. Doing this will strengthen the root system and give your plants the chance to mature and fill out before bearing fruit. Stake or cadge your tomato plants so they have support and strength they need to grow big ripe tomatoes. With a little care and a little attention, you will be growing beautiful tomatoes in no time. Cherry or grape tomatoes are great for first time tomato growers. They grow great on a patio or porch and they grow by the bunch. Growing your own tomatoes will save you money and bragging rights about your successful tomato garden.

Watering and Blossom End Rot.Watering can be a tricky business when it comes to tomatoes especially if they are grown in containers. However, correct watering can help avoid blossom end rot, which is caused by a lack of calcium when the fruits are swelling and leaves a dark leathery patch on the underside of the tomatoes. The first aim should be to keep the entire root area moist by giving them a thorough watering once a week (especially when the fruits are swelling) and water moderately in between. The reason is that roots are only able to feed and absorb nutrients (including calcium) from areas of soil that are moist. If half of the soil that your plant is growing in is dry, calcium uptake may also be reduced by half. Increase Aeration.One way to keep tomato plants healthy, especially when grown in a confined space such as a greenhouse or where they may be planted close together, is to increase aeration. This may be done by removing old, lower leaves below the first truss to improve air circulation. Deleafing.Opinion about deleafing varies considerably. Some gardeners will leave most leaves on their plants which helps shield tomatoes from direct sunlight. Too much direct sunlight and heat can cause sun scald, greenback and blotchy ripening. Some growers, especially those who grow in greenhouses, remove all leaves below the truss that is producing ripe fruit. This enables plants resourses to be directed into the fruit rather than having to support lots of leaves. Plants grown in greenhouses do not usually have their fruit in direct sunlight for long periods, so avoid the problems of sun scald etc.Watering and Disease.When watering, avoid splashing soil up onto the lowest leaves which may transfer soil infections into a plant through the leaves. Splashing water up onto growing fruit may also create ghost spot which is caused by grey mould soil spores and displays small transparent water-like rings. It’s also a good idea to pull off suckers, side shoots and leaf branches by hand rather than cut them because the blades of knives and scissors can spread disease from one plant to another.

The idea of getting the best tasting, healthiest tomatoes is what drives most gardeners. What’s a bit problematic is the fact that we want to avoid using pesticides where possible. The way you prepare the garden bed will help to ensure that this happens for you.

If you are starting with seeds, then you will want a good organic potting soil to start with. By doing this young plants will be more resistant to diseases in the early stages of growth. Once the plants have begun to grow, you’ll want to put them in your selected spot when they are about 6 inches or so tall. There are a variety of methods used to keep cutworms and slugs away from the plants. You can do a little checking to find the one that’s best for you without the need of using pesticides. Some people use strips of newspaper, while still others will use plastic containers and such to keep the critters away.

In case of fertilizers you will probably notice that there is a huge variety of mixtures available in your local garden center. It’s simply a matter of choosing the one that you want to use. One of the most popular seems to be Miracle Gro, but depending on where you live, that might not be available. The garden center will be able to help you choose the one that is best for you, but remember, just because something is more expensive doesn’t necessarily means it’s the best one for you to use! Use your own judgement where necessary.

Sometimes, trying different things will help you to decide the one that is best for you to use so perhaps in one end of the garden you can use product A, and in the other end use product B. You will know what’s working best by looking at the differences in the fruit production.

There’s absolutely nothing better that a sweet tasty tomato that has come directly from your own vine! It’s no wonder that the tomato is the most popularly grown garden staple!

If we live in a colder climate and we are fixated on growing tomatoes in cold weather, then we have to do one of 2 things. We either have to fix up a nice place indoors for them with plenty of light, and the proper temperatures, or we have to install a green house outdoors.

Now, when we talk about greenhouses, we don’t have to be talking about the big expensive kind you see at the local garden centers. Because most of us do not have enough resources or space to install one, we should consider smaller alternatives. Small versions however can be built or even kits found on places such as eBay for less than a hundred dollars, complete.

Among the most important benefits of using a greenhouse is the fact that it protects the plants from both wind and low temperatures. This is probably the best scenario as the plants will be able to take advantage of natural light which is best for them. If that’s not possible however, then perhaps you have some extra space inside the house or even the garage where you can set up your tomato garden.

Just make sure that where ever you put them, they have access to plenty of light. Where sunshine is lacking, fluorescent lights can be used in place of it. The longer the lights can stay on, the better off your plants will be. Then once you have your area set up, simply carry on with your gardening the same way you would normally care for your plants.

Further care of your plants should include feeding them and pruning them back. When the leaves have plenty of room to grow and they aren’t all bunched together, they will produce far more fruits than if left to their own devices. Taking good care of your plant regardless whether it’s growing indoors or outdoors will always help it in producing better quality fruits. You need to make sure that your tomato garden will drain well and your plants will not experience floods or droughts. Water them every day and remember that they like to be moist.

What is Pruning?

When most people think of pruning, they think of trees and shrubs. We prune trees to change the shape, increase air-flow through the canopy, reduce the size, and remove dead or diseased wood. Tomato pruning works in much the same way.

Pruning for Plant Health

Tomatoes benefit from good air circulation, as they are prone to diseases if their leaves stay wet or are encased in constant humidity. Pruning helps thin the tomato plant so that air moves freely. Tomatoes, when attacked by disease or pests, can recover; however, the injured part of the plant must be removed so that the injury does not spread to the rest of the plant.

Pruning for Increased Harvest

Every time a plant flowers, once the flower is pollinated, it will produce a fruit. Juicy tomatoes we love to eat are actually the fruits of the tomato plant. Vigorous, vine types of tomatoes will grow forever if not stopped! A plant can only produce a certain amount of sugar to “feed” the fruit; consequently, tomato plants with more fruits will produce smaller fruits. Pruning side-shoots helps lessen the amount of fruit on the plant, and allows the plant to send all of its energy to a few, select fruits.

What is Staking?

Staking is the process of providing support for a plant. Staking helps promote air flow throughout the plant, ensuring less buildup of moisture, and fewer diseases. Staking also helps support tomato plants as they grow and produce heavy fruit. Tomato stems are brittle, and will break under too much strain. Many types of staking mechanisms exist including cages, trellises, and single stakes. Consult a tomato growing reference like How To Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes for a comparison of 11 staking techniques.

The proper staking technique will depend the tomato variety and individual gardener’s harvesting goals.

Pruning and Staking are keys to successful tomato growing, as they promote overall plant health and higher fruit yield.

If you want more detailed tomato garden advice and tips from a world horticultural expert, visit www.bestjuicytomatoes.com

Home grown tomatoes are the absolute best. There’s no doubt in my mind about it. The only thing that makes them better is when they are grown organically without the use of pesticides. The first thing you want to do when growing organic tomatoes is to find a good seed. The local nursery or garden center will have some valuable information to give regarding the variety of tomatoes that grows best in your area. Don?be afraid to ask them questions. They are happy to help you!

Now, you’ll want to plant the seed perhaps an inch deep in loose compost. You can do this anywhere from 5 to 7 weeks before the last frost hits your area. You want to make sure that the soil stays damp while you are awaiting germination. You will notice that seeds germinate around the 10 day mark ( possibly day or 2 earlier or later ). After the seeds have germinated and grown 2 more leaves other than the germination leaves, you can transplant the seedlings to a different container by themselves. Plant band or cup can make a good container.

The location you choose outside for the plants should be carefully considered. Organic tomatoes prefer aerated soil that contains a lot of rock minerals. The soil needs to drain well and should also contain a lot of compost. Fallen leaves are a good suggestion to use as compost.

After about 7 weeks, your plants will be ready to transplant into your outdoor bed. You want to make sure that you include a handful of compost to each plant when you transplant it, and do so with great care to minimize the shock. You should place the plants about 18-24 inches apart and plant them deep. The role of stake is to support the plant as it grows by tying it around. This keeps them off the ground. Use a soft yarn to tie them off.

Feed the plants once about every three weeks when waiting on them to start bearing. Once the fruit sets, you’ll want to feed the plants about once a week or so. Water them on a daily basis, but not too much. Too much is just as bad as not enough. Keep the soil moist and you’ll be fine!