Plant tomato seedlings correctly and reap the sweet, sweet benefits this summer. Photo / Paul Thompson
Organic gardening: Planting tomato seedlings with the right method will ensure healthy plants and an abundant harvest. There are a few key things worth bearing in mind from the outset that can really help to increase your chances of a bumper harvest of sweet delight.
1. Firstly, check your seedlings
are ready to go outdoors. Seedlings should be at least the length of your middle finger and have several pairs of leaves. Check that they stand up and appear sturdy in their containers with and adequate root system before planting out (usually you can see a few small white roots coming out the bottom punnets and pots that indicate seedlings are well-rooted).
2. Ensure soil has been well dug through with plenty of organic compost. You could also add some sheep pellets, blood and bone meal.
3. Space plants about an arm's length apart to prevent over-crowding and ensure good airflow around mature plants that can actually spread their foliage quite far on each side.
4. If your chosen variety grows tall, at the time of planting push a strong 6 ft bamboo cane into the ground a few inches away from your seedling so it can be used to tie the plant to as it grows. If you do this later when the seedlings has started to grow larger then there is a chance that you may damage roots.
5. Protect young seedlings from strong winds with juice bottle cloches and ensure that soil around them stays moist with extra watering if needed. Maybe mulch to keep weeds at bay as well as help retain moisture.
6. Consider planting nearby crops of companion plants such as marigold, basil, parsley, carrot and lettuce.
7. If you haven't got any, make some liquid comfrey now. This will be ready to nourish plants when they need an extra boost as fruits start to form and ripen. Check out POD's short video on how to make liquid comfrey.
Get free seeds packs with all POD orders over $25 at the POD website.
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