Planting a Tomato--Part 2

 Put your plant into a deep hole.  Fill in with soil.












Creat a basin around the plant with a little wall so it will hold water.







Fill the basin with water.  After it drains fill it again a time of two so that the water penetrates to the bottom of the rootball.





We put black plastic down between the tomato plants to keep down weeds and to warm the soil.  We also like to grow them in cages.  Brian built this cage,
there are also commercial ones available.

This keeps the fruit off the ground,
which makes for less waste, and
easier picking.   Sometimes if it is
very windy we  put newspaper or
plastic around the cage and staple it in
place to protect the plants for a few weeks.

Check your plants every day for awhile and continue to water them frequently until they get going.  After that, water deeply every 5-7 days.

How to plant a tomato--- Part 1

 When danger of frost has passed it is time to plant tomatoes out in the garden.  Choose healthy looking plants from the nursery, or grow your own in a sunny spot inside.  (You need to plant seeds in February or March in order to plant them outside in May.)

After Mother's Day is usually a safe time in Highland Utah to put tomatoes out.  If you must plant them earlier protect them with a Wall-O-Water.















Notice the lower leaves, and the fine hairs on the stem.  You want to dig a deep hole so that this part of the plant will be buried.  Break off the lower leaves.






















I like ot use a root starter solution to stimulate the roots to grow.  There are various brands.  Mix it in a bucket or jug of water.  Usually it calls for a few tablespoons of solution to a gallon of water.









You can either dip the rootball, or pot into the bucket, or if you mix it in a jug, pour some over the root ball after you put it into the ground.  Be sure not to get any on the leaves as it will burn them.




If the roots are wrapped around and around in the bottom of the pot try to spread some of them out so they will grow out and down into the soil.





Dig a nice deep hole and set your plant
down in it.

Notice the leaves I broke off--they are
 in my hand.   Tomatoes like good drainage so it's OK to plant them in kind of rocky soil.