Tomato Planting Methods and Tips

Tomatoes are one of our favorite vegetables. I like to eat them raw the most. The sour and sweet taste is great. But how to grow tomatoes? What are the methods? Here are some introductions for you:

1. Open-field spring tomato cultivation:

1. Deep cultivation:

Choose deep, loose, fertile, and well-drained soil for growing tomatoes. Deep ploughing is necessary to promote the in-depth development of the tomato root system. For plots of land that are idle in winter, deep ploughing of 25 to 30 cm can be done before freezing, and the soil should not be raked after turning to facilitate soil weathering. Tomatoes can be grown on flat or high ridges. Flat ridges are suitable for relatively arid areas in the north or for early-maturing cultivation with high density planting. Generally, the ridge width is 1.2 to 1.5 m and the ridge length is 8 to 10 m. High ridges should be used for cultivation in the south and in irrigated land with sufficient water resources or low-lying and easily flooded land.

2. Applying basal fertilizer: Deep tillage should be combined with additional basal fertilizer. Generally, 5000-7500 kg of organic fertilizer is applied per 667 m2. When applying basal fertilizer, it is best to mix superphosphate with organic fertilizer, and apply 30-40 kg of superphosphate per 667 m2.

3. Seed selection: Choose cold-resistant and disease-resistant early-maturing varieties, such as Xifen No. 3 and Zaofeng. In some places, there are also upright varieties Q120 (no need to build a frame). Generally, it can produce 3,000 kg to 4,000 kg per mu.

4. Planting time and density (after the planting period is determined, sow and raise seedlings 60 to 70 days in advance): The planting period of spring tomatoes should be determined according to local climatic conditions. Generally, planting is done when the daily average temperature is above 15°C and the ground temperature is stable above 10°C. Raise seedlings in hotbeds in mid-to-late January and transplant in mid-March.

5. Sowing and seedling raising time: Seeds should be disinfected before sowing. The seed coat of tomatoes is thin, and thermal disinfection can easily burn the seeds. Therefore, disinfection with chemicals should be the main method. It is not advisable to sow too densely. It is advisable to sow 25-35g of seeds per m2, and the seed amount per hm2 is 300-450g. The seedlings should be trained before planting, and the temperature of the seedbed should be gradually reduced, especially the night temperature.