33 Awesome Tips for Planting, Growing and Harvesting Tomatoes

As an added bonus, when you boil your eggs, don’t throw away the water as it is full of calcium
from the egg shells. Let the water cool off and water your tomato plants with it.
10. Break the Disease Cycle
To get rid of disease-causing organisms and stop the cycle, place your tomatoes on a 3-year
rotation schedule with unrelated crops. Unrelated crops such as corn, beans, or lettuce will break
the disease cycle.
Make sure you don’t plant members of the tomato family which includes peppers, eggplants and
potatoes.
In addition, get rid of diseased plants instead of composting them. Either throw them away or
burn the diseased plants and any other garden debris like mulch or weeds that were in contact
with the diseased plants.
Growing Tomatoes
11. “A Little Vinegar With My Soil Please”
Tomato plants like soil that has a pH between 5.5 – 6.8 so they are considered to be acid loving
plants.
Acidic soils have iron in a soluble form which allow plants to take in the iron contained in the
soil. Tomatoes have a high iron requirement to help it flourish and grow. Alkaline soils also have
iron, but not in soluble form and can’t be absorbed by the tomato plant.
You can gauge whether your soil is acidic or alkaline by using two simple household items:
vinegar and baking soda.
Put a couple spoonfuls of soil into two separate containers. In one container, add some vinegar.
If it fizzles, it means that your soil is alkaline and you are done. If it doesn’t fizzle, add water to
other container with soil so it becomes wet and muddy. Add some backing soda to it and if it
fizzles, it means your soil is acidic. If neither sample fizzles, then your soil probably has a
neutral pH of 7.
For other ways to determine soil pH, check out these tests.
12. Stake Them High
keeping disease away from tomato plants is always an ongoing issue, but manageable. One way
is to use 6-foot stakes (what is showing above ground) or a trellis system for indeterminate
tomatoes.
By keeping the ripe fruit off the ground, it is less susceptible to disease and it is easier to harvest.