If you chose to enjoy tomatoes straight from your garden, get ready for a great harvest! Pousse Pousse offers you 12 smart gestures to adopt in the garden or on the balcony. Something to pamper your beautiful charges and get the best out of them, without having to be embarrassed about your production!
1. Plant deep
Bury the roots as deep as possible, also covering a large part of your plant’s stem. Do not hesitate to plant “tilted” , the stem will recover naturally after a few days.
This buried part of the stem will quickly develop additional roots. Perfect for “anchoring” your plant in the soil, stabilizing it and allowing it to develop an extensive root network! It can then easily absorb all the water and nutrients it needs.
2. Air and space
When planting, space plants at least 60cm apart (80cm is ideal).
Tomatoes are water and nutrient intensive, but they also need maximum sun and good air circulation to thrive. With plants placed a good distance apart, stems, leaves and fruits can absorb light while underground, the roots have enough space to grow freely.
When the tree reaches about sixty centimeters, cut the lowest leaves to mid-height . This pruning helps aerate the base of the plant and limits soil diseases.
3. A small welcome gift
Just before planting the tomatoes, place the organic elements that will accommodate them at the bottom of the hole. The idea is to enrich the soil: potato peelings, corn, nettles, banana peels… the choice is yours! Once they grow large enough to reach this nutritious layer, the plant’s roots will extract valuable trace elements from it.
4. Unwavering support
Your tomato plants will grow, a little, a lot… To protect them from the wind and support them, install stakes from the beginning . Mesh cages, spiral steel stakes or bamboo poles will keep your plants straight throughout their growth.
5. A protective covering
Mulching your tomato plants is a very useful precaution. The straw will protect the base of the plant, limiting the appearance of “weeds” and maintaining good soil moisture even during hot weather. Great for limiting watering in the middle of summer!
6. Maintain good neighborly relations
Tomatoes go well with basil, parsley, marigolds or marigolds . For what ? Basil and parsley tend to enhance the flavor of tomatoes and repel insects. As for the beautiful marigolds and marigolds, they are so fragrant that they repel certain pests (especially nematodes) while blooming in your garden! On the other hand, be sure to always keep tomatoes away from cabbage and potato crops .
7. Rega superior
The secrets of good watering :
– Never water the leaves to avoid diseases.
– Water the base of the plant slowly so that the water gradually reaches the roots.
– Watering must be regular and never excessive . Too much watering at once (especially after a lack of water) can cause the fruit to burst!
8. Gourmands, do we remove them or not?
The “greedy” ones are these small shoots that appear at the corner of the main stem and a branch. They never bear fruit and are often accused of “tiring” the plant. Once the plant is strong enough (at least 80 cm tall), you can remove it by gently squeezing it between your thumb and index finger. Far from being mandatory, this operation allows you to obtain larger tomatoes. On the other hand, don’t hesitate to remove the leaves that deprive certain clusters of light!
9. Keep snails and slugs away
These peaceful gastropods are also enemies of your crops. To keep them away from your tomato plants naturally and without decimating them, use copper : they hate this metal! Make circles using thin tubes or curved strips of copper and place them on the ground at the foot of your plants. This should stop them from attempting the climb!
10. Epsom salt, a precious ally
Despite care and adequate watering, tomato plants are very weak or the leaves are turning yellow… To improve the health of tomatoes, there’s nothing like a teaspoon of Epsom salt diluted in 3 liters of water . Used every three weeks, this “reinforced” watering will do your plants a lot of good! Find some in June’s Pousse-Pousse box!
11. Shake the flowers
Sometimes, tomato plants produce flowers, flowers… and no fruit. To avoid this cruel disappointment, play Queen Bee! By gently shaking the flowers of your tomato plants every day, you will promote the movement of pollen essential for fruit development.
12. We limit losses at the end of the season
The days are getting shorter, temperatures are dropping… In short, autumn is coming and you still have a lot of tomatoes on your plants, but they are no longer ripening. It would be a shame to throw them away! For those that have already started to mature, don’t panic, just remove the plants from the soil, keeping the roots. Hang them upside down so the tomatoes ripen quickly . As for completely green tomatoes, they don’t ripen, but you can use them to make a few jars of jam or relish!
And if a tomato falls off the vine mid-season before it turns red, place it in the fruit basket near an apple or banana. Soon you will be able to taste it, perfectly ripe.
Did you like this article?! You’ll love our gardening boxes full of good tips and tricks with Les Bonnes Feuilles de Pousse Pousse. We guide you from seed to plate, a gardening box to plant and have fun all year round!