Thursday, May 18, 2006

Planting tomatoes

Someone found my blog through google looking for "how far apart to plant tomatoes"
I doubt they'll be back soon but just in case.

We plant our tomatoes about 2 feet apart in rows about 6 feet apart. Good strong trellis or wire/stake cages are a must. Sprawling tomatoes do very poorly in comparison. The home gardener will want more room between plants in the row and need less room between rows. I would suggest 3 foot between plants and 5 between rows for the small farm or garden. A soil test kit will give you a fairly accurate Ph reading, adjust close to neutral with lime. Gypsum can also help to raise calcium content if your soil is a little alkaline. Calcium is a must for tomatoes along with a steady supply of moisture. Not too wet and never completely dry, soil moisture fluctuations will definitely increase the incident of blossom-end rot as will excess nitrogen. Tomato plants like a little bit of extra magnesium, I will put a short tablespoon full in with each gallon of miracle grow (or other water soluble fertilizer) about every other time I foliar feed (that means feeding through the leaves)

Good luck and happy gardening!

1 comment:

Rae Ann said...

Great advice! Thanks!