"Tomato Gardening Products..."
do you really need them?

With all the tomato gardening products available, it's hard not to go and buy everything you see. Some products are necessary for a healthy crop, but you won't need to buy everything, that's sure!

Here are a few FREE ideas!

Recycled sticks and last winters tree prunings make great tomato canes.

Make your own organic comfrey feed to nourish your plants.

Use recycled yoghurt cartons for 'potting on' your seedlings.

Use broken egg shells to protect the very young plants from slug attacks.

Tomato Gardening Products - the early weeks!:

If you're growing your tomato plants from seed, you will need seed trays and pots for 'potting on'. Choose a good seed compost to give the tomatoes a solid start. For a full article on planting and growing tomatoes stroll over to this page.

In most regions, tomato seed should be started fairly early in the year and kept indoors, warm and watered until the plants are big enough to cope with outside.

You can buy mini-greenhouse kits and windowsill propogators that work remarkably well.

Gardener's Supply ( US deliveries ) have pots, seedtrays and propogators available....

Growing a few different varieties will make a stunning display in your vegetable garden or even on the patio!

While the plants are small, it's a good idea to put plant markers into the pots so you don't forget which is which!

Tomato Gardening Products - following up!:

Once your tomato plants are planted outside they will need support. There are perhaps a variety or two that will grow as a 'shrub' - but generally most tomato plants will need support of some kind:

Long sticks and branches from the winter tree prunings are perfect for plant supports. They even have small nodules that help support the weight of the fruit.

But if you don't happen to have a pile of tree branches hanging around :-) - buy some plant canes from your local garden centre, or go for the new cage type supports. There are some fscinating new growing techniques for yuor home veggie plot! Gardener's Supply ( US deliveries )

Gardener's Supply Homepage

And in the UK Crocus have a Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter available - it even produces fruit a month earlier than regular planting techniques!... I couldn't resist showing you the picture! Click on the Crocus link below for more details.

Crocus UK

Or you could build a short fencing-type structure for your tomatoes. A line of wooden trellis, put together with old branches, or anything else you can lay your hands on.

Whatever kind of support you use, make sure it's firmly in the ground. If the support blows over in a strong wind, it will take your precious tomato plants with it, causing even more damage.

Toamto plants can be grown in containers and planters...

Make a feature on your patio: Choose a few different varieties of tomatoes and grow in large pots. They will love the sunny position, and you get to pick fresh tomatoes from the plant without leaving your easy chair!

Tomato Gardening Products - and later still:

Give your tomato plants a feed every few weeks. I prefer to make it organic, always. And there are a number of products on the market these days that don't contain chemicals.

If you have the space and inclination to make your own organic plant food, read the comfrey article on this page

One of the tasks you will have to take on with your tomato patch is picking out those extra little branches. Tomato plants stain your hands after a while so Wear gloves for this job!

They don't have to be proper gardening gloves. A disposable plastic pair, or household rubber gloves will be fine.

There are a number of ways you can cut costs in the garden, as you've read above. However, the tomato gardening products on the market will certainly help you grow a marvellous tomato crop!

Happy Gardening!

More "Tomato" Reading

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