How To Grow Your Tomatoes From Seeds

Heirloom tomatoes are types of tomatoes that were grown often a long time ago and they are delicious. You'll get flavors with heirloom tomatoes that you'll never get from store bought tomatoes. Black Krim are one of my favorite varieties of heirloom tomatoes. The tomato grows an almost deep purple blackish color and the flavor of these tomatoes is just fantastic. And there are many other kinds of heirloom tomatoes that you can plant and enjoy. I like the black cherry tomatoes for my cherry tomatoes. I grow them in hanging baskets and they are so delicious. I like to pick them while still green and can them with green cayenne peppers for a delicious item to use this coming winter. I also often put some red pepper pods in the jars for color. The pickled tomatoes and peppers go great with a pot of pintos or some delicious homemade chili.

I Hope There Is A Tomato Sandwich In Your Future.

And oh man there is nothing like a tomato sandwich made from a black krim tomato. They are lower in acid than other tomatoes and I like them sliced real thin and on Bunny white bread with Dukes Mayonnaise. And you have not lived until you have a green tomato apple pie made with the green black krim tomatoes and granny smith apples. Its truly one of the best things you'll ever eat.

Be sure to click that link and check out the green tomato apple pie recipe. Its truly one of the best pies you'll ever make and taste in your life. It is so delicious.

You Can Easily Start Tomatoes In Peat Pots.

I buy one of the trays filled with peat pots to plant my tomato seeds in. There are 48 peat pots in the trays I buy with a plastic lid to put over the top of the tray while the seedlings get started. You soak the little dried up peat pots with water and in 24 hours your ready to start your tomato plants. I soak my tomato seeds in water for a full 24 hours before I drain the water off with a fine mesh strainer and then I plant two seeds per peat pot. After I plant the tomato seeds I set the tray with its lid on it on the dryer and let it set there until I see the tomato plants start to come up. I keep the peat pots damp but I don't over water. If you over water your tomato plants will grow to fast and fall over.

When your tomato plants are several inches tall and have at least three leafs each its time to plant them outdoors in your tomato bed as long as all dangers of frost have passed. Prepare your tomato bed before you get ready to plant your tomato plants in it. With your garden tiller or a shovel work well rotted manure or fully rotted compost into your soil. Also apply one pound of 5-10-5 fertilizer for each 20 foot of tomato row. Be sure that any manure or compost that you add to the soil is old and well rotted. If you put new manure or compost in your tomato bed you will burn your plants up. And you want to be sure that you don't do this.

Marigolds Are The Secret To Healthy Pest Free Tomatoes

Tomato pests hate marigolds. The tomato horn-worm will avoid marigolds completely so guess what you should do. Plant marigolds in the same place you plant your tomatoes is the correct answer. If you will plant several marigold plants around your tomato plants then your tomatoes will remain pest free. And you'll have all the delicious tomatoes you could want. Plant your marigolds if possible a couple of weeks before the tomato plants so they can get established and keep the tomato pests away.

You will want to start by putting two pounds of diced tomatoes in a large pot. You want to cut the tops off the tomatoes before you dice them up.

To the pot now add the below ingredients.

1. 1/4 Teaspoon each of allspice, celery seed, and ground cayenne pepper.

2. Add in three cloves, one cinnamon stick, one sweet onion diced very well, one tablespoon fresh minced garlic, and two teaspoons mustard seed.

Now you want to cook your ingredients for 45 minutes over medium heat stirring often. Now remove from the heat and discard anything that's left of the cinnamon stick. Let your mixture cool to room temperature and then run the mixture through your food processor.

Now you will want to strain through a fine wire mesh strainer into the pot where you cooked it. To this pot add 1/2 cup of vinegar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and one teaspoon of ground sea salt. Cook over medium heat until it reaches the desired thickness. Put in a covered container in the refrigerator. This is going to be some of the best ketchup you will ever eat.

To make bigger batches of the ketchup just multiply the recipe. You can process and can your ketchup just like you would can tomatoes. Click Here to find out how to can tomatoes.

Once you have your soil ready and your tomato plants are ready to plant you can plant your tomato plants and start dreaming about canning tomatoes and tomato sandwiches. But lets not get ahead of our self.

You'll need either a tomato cage or tomato stakes for your tomato plants. Tomato plants have to be supported especially as they get older and start to put tomatoes on. Tomato cages are best but you'll need a tomato cage for each tomato plant. If you use tomato stakes they will need to be about five foot long and you'll need to drive about two foot of each tomato stake in the ground and then you'll use string or twine to tie your tomato plant to the stake as the tomato plant grows.

Tomato Plants Must Have Full Sunlight

Your tomatoes must be planted in full sun in order for them to produce a big crop of tomatoes for you. You can not plant tomatoes in a shaded area or your tomatoes won't grow or produce tomatoes. Ideally your tomatoes should be planted in full sun on the south side of your property. You will find that tomatoes love the sun and if you put them where they can get full sun they will reward you with a huge crop of tomatoes.

When The Tomato Plants Are Two Foot Tall Fertilize Them Again.

You can side dress the tomato plants with 5-10-5 fertilizer and you want to be sure not to touch the plants with the fertilizer. For this and other reasons each tomato plant needs about a 24" X 24" square to grow in. As the tomato plants grow keep the sucker leafs picked off and if you want bushy tomato plants cut the top off each tomato plant when they get about two foot tall. You want to cut about the top four inches off and you want to do it when the ground and tomato plants are dry.

Water At Night.

I water my tomato plants and other vegetable plants either at night or before the sun comes up. I use sprinklers and I water until the ground is well soaked. Your tomato plants will need at least one inch of rain a week or you will need to give your tomato plants the equal amount of water by using your sprinklers. With most sprinklers it will take about forty five minutes to give your tomato plants one inch of water. You need to buy a rain gauge and put it up near your tomato plants. If you are getting one inch or more a week of natural rainfall you won't have to use your sprinklers. But if your not you'll need to water your tomato plants.

I plant marigolds in with my tomato plants so that I don't have to worry about pests bothering my tomato plants. Marigolds will keep most if not all garden pests away from your tomato plants. If you don't have to spray any pesticides you can take some of the marigold flowers and add them to white rice while its cooking. People have been doing this in the American south for years and its delicious. When you get some good sized green tomatoes on your plants now would be a good time to try some fried green tomatoes. They are delicious.

If you do start to see damage from insects go to your local farm and garden store and ask them what people in your area do for this type of problem. You might want to take a branch of the tomato plant with you so they can see the damage you are describing. If you do have to use pesticides be sure to read the label carefully so you'll know when you can water your tomato plants and how long you have to wait before you can eat the tomatoes. I try to stay as pesticide free as I can but some years I've had to spray Japanese Beetles or I wouldn't have any tomato plants.

Once you have all those tomatoes grown what in the world are you going to do with them. Well you can make homemade tomato soup, marinara sauce and you can always can your tomatoes. Tomatoes are one of the easiest vegetables there are to preserve and can.

I also just simply love to dry tomatoes with my food dehydrator. To four gallons of cherry tomatoes cut in half I add a cup of olive oil and a cup of fresh dried basil and stir well. Then I fill my food dehydrator with the little tomato half's and let them dry. I dry them until they are fully and completely dry and then I store them in containers with tight fitting lids. And tomatoes dried this way are just wonderful. I add them to vegetable bread, put them in salads and serve them on sandwiches. They also give a wonderful flavor to soups and stews. I also like to eat them as a snack. You can cut regular tomatoes a little thicker than you would for a sandwich and sprinkle them with olive oil and fresh dried basil and dry them. I often dry them this way and when I fill up a gallon bag with dried tomatoes I date it and put it in the freezer. I use these for soups and stews and they are also delicious as a snack.

Be sure that you try the green tomato apple pie and also be sure to make yourself a few tomato pies. Tomatoes especially home grown tomatoes are just simply wonderful. Home grown tomatoes have a flavor that you're never going to find in a supermarket tomato. Once you ever taste a home grown tomato your never going to be able to enjoy a store bought tomato again. I can plenty of tomatoes, dry plenty of tomatoes and I can tomatoes, okra, and corn to be used that way or as a base for stews and soups in the wintertime.

Believe me on a cold January afternoon there's nothing like homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. The tomato soup made out of the homemade grown tomatoes will be so much better than any canned tomato soup that you buy in a grocery store.

In the last couple of years I have also started making my own ketchup, marinara sauce, and barbecue sauce. I also can green tomatoes and cayenne peppers and I'm working on a hot sauce that I haven't perfected yet. But I'm going to. I love my homemade tomato juice.

You should only can what you'll use by the next year. With trial and error you'll figure out how much of each thing you need to can. You can't ever go wrong though with canning as many tomatoes as you can because there's just so much you can do with the canned tomatoes. You can add the canned tomatoes to a lot of other things and use them that way to. And before you know it you'll look in the pantry and be down to your last few cans of tomatoes and you'll wish you had canned more.If you ever have any questions just post them and I'll try to find you the answer if I don't know it.

I want to thank you for reading my Hub Page on, " How To Grow Your Tomatoes From Seeds ". I hope there are some home grown tomatoes in your future very soon. If you have questions, tips, or suggestions about growing tomatoes please post them below. Thanks and I hope you have a nice day.

You will want to purchase a 9 inch premade pie shell to bake your pie in.

You Will Need For Your Tomato Pie

1. One Half Red Or Purple Sweet Onion Diced Very Fine.

2. Three Cups Course Chopped Tomatoes.

3. One Fourth Cup Finely Chopped Fresh Basil.

4. Two Cups Grated Mozzerella Cheese.

5. Three Fourth Cup Mayonnaise.

6. One Level Teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper.

7. One Level Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt.

You'll want to start by pre-cooking your pie shell in a hot 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Cut slits in the bottom of the pie shell before you put it into the oven.

Squeeze your tomatoes between layers of paper towels to remove as much of the liquid from the tomatoes as possible. You need to get as much water out as possible.

Sprinkle the bottom of the cooked pie shell with your fine diced onions.

Spread the tomatoes over the fine diced onion.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl and then put the ingredients on top of the tomatoes.

Put in the hot oven and bake 25 - 35 minutes until the top is bubbly and browned. Let the pie set about 10 minutes when you take it out of the oven.

This is truly one of the most delicious tomato pies that you'll ever taste in your life.