Gardeners often wonder about how to grow tomatoes in open ground and get a crop no less than under greenhouse conditions. The main thing is to choose tomato varieties for open ground. An equally important factor is the place of cultivation and proper care. In this article we will tell you everything about planting tomato seedlings in open ground and about further care - feeding, watering, tying and pinching.
Landing location and soil quality
The soil for planting tomatoes open ground must be prepared in the fall. Saturation of the earth with substances useful for culture will provoke the introduction of humus.
Pay attention to the acidity of the soil, the pH should be neutral, in acidified soil it will not work to grow a good crop. Add lime or chalk to the ground, it will reduce acidity.
If it is not possible to measure the pH, then acidity can be determined by well-growing horsetail and sorrel in place.
In autumn, it is recommended to saturate the earth with mineral potash and phosphorus fertilizers. Potassium nitrate, which contains nitrogen necessary for good tomato growth, will be especially useful.
It is advisable to choose fertilizers that are stored for a long time in the ground. For example, ammonium nitrate is quickly washed out of the soil, and it is best to apply it in the spring, after the earth has warmed up.
The place for planting tomato seedlings in open ground should not be low. That is, avoid areas where water rains for a long time after rains. Excessive humidity leads to a number of crop diseases and a decrease in yield.
Tomatoes are very photophilous, they need a long daylight. Choose places well-lit, without shading, tomatoes are not afraid of prolonged exposure to the scorching sun. With good lighting, the fruits will ripen faster, and their taste will please with greater sweetness.
The predecessors of a tomato in the garden should not be:
- potatoes;
- corn;
- all members of the nightshade family.
In addition, it is not recommended to grow tomatoes in a row for two years on the same bed.
Ideal predecessors of tomatoes in the garden:
- cabbage;
- root crops (carrots, turnips, and so on);
- legumes;
- salad and spinach.
When to plant tomatoes in open ground?
Even in regions with the mildest climates, planting seeds in open ground is not welcome. The fact is that the crops will sprout unevenly, the first fruits will appear very late.
It is best to prepare seedlings, the seeds for which need to be planted in boxes or glasses from late February to mid-March. The recommended period for sowing is 50-60 days before the planned planting of seedlings in open ground.
How to grow tomatoes in open ground without problems? It is necessary to harden seedlings before planting. Place boxes with sprouts on the windowsill with the window open. And with the first warm days, when the temperature is set to positive, take out the seedlings on the balcony. Thus, the culture will be able to safely survive the temperature differences after planting, its growth will not stop.
You can’t plant seedlings early, it will not withstand night frosts, and there is a risk that it will freeze, even if for the first time it is covered with a structure with a film or covering material. The optimal time for transplanting tomatoes from crates to open ground is from mid-May, when there is no longer any threat of a drop in temperature to minus.
How to plant tomatoes
Prepare the beds: break the lumps and level the area. Before planting tomatoes, make markings for bushes on the ridge, it will be much more convenient to correctly calculate the space.
If you plant low varieties, then leave the distance between the bushes 40-50 centimeters. The same gap must be left between the rows. If you are going to grow tall tomatoes in the open ground, then the distance between the bushes and rows should be at least 70 centimeters.
It is best to plant the bushes in a checkerboard pattern. So the place will be much more economical, and each bush will receive a lot of sunlight, there will be no shading. Do not plant tomatoes on the very edge of the ridge, back off about 25-30 centimeters.
After planting, it is not recommended to water the plants for several days, so moisten the soil well in advance. Dig shallow holes, disinfect the soil by watering it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Next, pour a glass of water into each well. Only after such events can you do the landing.
Tomato planting methods
If, at the time of planting the tomatoes in the open ground, the seedlings have not grown to more than 40 centimeters, you can plant it vertically. Remove the bush from the container, put it in the hole and sprinkle with soil, compact the ground, pressing it with your palms.
If the seedlings are greatly extended or a tall tomato variety is used, then it is necessary to plant horizontally. Make the holes longitudinal, place the root and part of the stem in it, tilting the bush. Sprinkle with soil and compact.
The horizontal method of planting contributes to the development of a stronger root system, and the bush will receive more nutrients during the growing season.
The best time for planting seedlings is the morning hours, while the sun is not too hot.
How to water tomatoes?
Watering tomatoes in open ground should begin no earlier than 8 days after planting. An exception can only be made if the earth is too dry due to hot weather. Tomatoes need to be watered with defended water at street temperature and only in the evening, so that the leaves of the bushes do not burn out in the sultry sun.
If the summer was rainy and cool, then watering is completely prohibited. Waterlogged soil contributes to diseases of tomatoes, among which phytophthora is considered one of the most dangerous. After infection with this "sore" it is difficult to save the bushes, but you can forget about the crop.
Watering should be plentiful, but sparse. Under each bush, make 5 liters of water once a week (or 2 if it is too hot). The plant will especially like the water, which added manure, weeds and compost.
When ovaries begin to appear, watering will need to be increased - as needed. If the foliage of the culture is dark and sluggish - the tomato receives little moisture, increase the portion of water, but not the amount of watering. Frequent watering in small doses adversely affects the plant.
Watering is done under the bush. Moisture can only get to the basal area, do not let the foliage and shoots get wet.
Hilling Tomatoes
This is a very important point in the cultivation of tomatoes in the open field. Hilling provokes the development of additional roots from the stem, due to which the plant receives more moisture, oxygen and nutrients. It is especially important to huddle bushes during the appearance of ovaries. Lack of oxygen and nutrition contributes to the discharge of ovaries and flowers.
Carefully, using a small chopper, scoop up the earth from the row-spacing to throw it in a heap around the stem of the plant. You need to act carefully so as not to damage the roots of the tomato. It is best to spud on wet soil - after watering or rain. As a result, the work should produce knolls around the tomatoes, and along their edges - grooves in which the moisture necessary for the growth of the culture will accumulate.
Do I need to mulch tomatoes?
Mulching the soil is especially true in a dry summer, it will help maintain moisture in the soil. In addition, the mulch will prevent the growth of weeds in the bushes, which adversely affect them.
The only caveat is that coniferous bark is not suitable for mulching tomatoes, as it increases acidity. And in acidic soil, as has already been written, tomatoes feel uncomfortable.
What top dressing to use for tomatoes?
For the whole season it is necessary to carry out 4 top dressing of tomatoes in the open ground. Each requires a different fertilizer:
- The first lure is made three weeks after planting seedlings in open ground. On a bucket of water you need to dilute a tablespoon of nitrophoska and the same amount of fertilizer ready for use, for example, "Ideal". Mix the contents well and pour half a liter of complementary foods under each bush.
- The second feeding is done when the second turn of inflorescences appears on the bushes. Gardeners recommend using fertilizer "Senior Tomato" (1 package is designed for 20 liters of water) or another, but with a similar composition.
- The third lure - with the advent of the third stage of inflorescences. For application under the root, you will need exactly the same composition and dosage as in the first feeding.
- Two weeks after the third feeding, the fourth is produced. Dilute two large spoons of superphosphate into 10 liters of water. Dosage - a bucket of the mixture per square meter of soil.
How to tie tomatoes in the open ground?
Garter of tomato bushes is necessary so that the branches do not break from the wind and the severity of the fruit. Plants less than 50 centimeters can not be tied, but for tall varieties you will need trellis, a soft net or ordinary wooden sticks.
As a support, drive sticks to a depth of 20 centimeters immediately when planting seedlings. Check the strength of the sticks, they should not sway.
Ties should be tied with ribbons made of fabric. Wrap a ribbon around the stem together with the support, tie a cross to the cross. It is necessary to tie up as the plant grows.
You can put a clothesline between the sticks, to which the bushes are also very convenient to hang, tying branches with fruits.
How to increase the yield?
In this section, we will talk about how to pinch tomatoes in the open ground and what this event is for.
Over the entire season, the bushes grow, extra shoots appear on them, which take away many useful properties, and the yield decreases. Removing these excesses is called pinching.
Excess shoots grow from the axils of the leaves, it is they that need to be carefully plucked from the bush. We leave only the main stem and the very first stepson, which will be strong. If there are too many lateral shoots, they can not be removed, as this will be detrimental to the whole plant. To stop the growth of the bush and side shoots, you need to pinch off the top from the second stem.
Pinching the top will accelerate the growth and ripening of fruits, since the bush will not spend all the energy on the growth of greenery, but on the formation and maturity of tomatoes.
You need to pinch tomato bushes every ten days, this will be enough to harvest even small shoots in time.
Late blight - a destroyer of tomatoes
How to grow tomatoes in open ground? Harvest can only be obtained with disease prevention. The most common for tomatoes in the open ground is late blight, which kills the plant with high humidity and a sharp change in temperature. To protect the bushes from this ailment, process tomatoes several times a season with the Barrier, which, according to gardeners, is very effective.
Tomatoes for open ground
What tomatoes are best suited for open ground? Of course, early and early varieties. We offer to consider the most fruitful varieties of tomatoes for open ground.
- "Riddle" is one of the most beloved varieties of vegetable growers who do not use greenhouses on their sites. Bushes up to 520 centimeters in height, and fruits on average 150 grams. Very tasty and fragrant tomato, which is suitable for both summer salads and for preservation.
- "Anastasia" is a high-yielding variety. From one bush you can collect up to 12 kilograms of tomato, the average weight of one is 200 grams.
- "Raspberry Giant" is one of the most successful table varieties adapted for cultivation in the open ground. The color is raspberry (pink), the average weight of one fruit is 500 grams.
- "Roma" - the variety is ideal for conservation. The fruits are dense and medium-sized - 70-100 grams each.
- "Wonder of the World" is a very interesting variety that resembles lemon in appearance and color. The ideal tomato for summer salads is juicy, fragrant, sweet. It is not suitable for preservation, since the skin is very delicate and thin. But such tomatoes are ideal when preserved in their own juice.
About how to grow tomatoes in the open ground, it is written above in the text. This is not difficult, because special varieties are created for such conditions. Only a little work will be required from the gardener, and the bushes will reward a decent harvest for their care!