Best Way To Grow Tomatoes

Choose a sunny position in your yard or garden to build your tomato patch. It needs at least 6 hours minimum of sunlight to be productive. Don't skimp on this - less than 6 hours and you will be disappointed with your tomato crop.

Your tomato patch will need a border or edging. Borders work two ways - they hold soil in and also prevent grass from spreading into your tomato plants.

Borders can be made from nearly anything - bricks, pavers, rocks or timber. Hardwood is the best timber, such as, sleepers or logs.

Don't use treated timber, the chemicals used to treat the timber can leak into the soil and be taken up by your tomato plants.

A raised tomato patch is simply an area that is built up to be higher than your surrounding soil level.

They have many advantages as you can fill them with beautiful organic compost and manures which in turn make them a good free draining mix for growing tomatoes.

As a raised tomato patch is elevated off ground level they can be a very convenient way of gardening for older folk or people with disabilities or medical conditions that make bending for long periods of time uncomfortable.

As you can see from the image on the right you can even grow tomatoes in a raised garden on existing bricks or pavers.

Anything that makes gardening more enjoyable I'm all for!

Tomatoes grow equally well in containers. You may need to be more vigilant with your watering as containers can dry out more quickly than a tomato patch in the yard.

Make sure you get the correct size container. Don't buy a container that is too small. Tomato plants like to have room to set their roots. But as there are so many varieties of tomatoes nowadays - from dwarf to super-big - that shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure you check how big your tomato plant will grow and buy your container to suit.

You can even get containers on wheels or you can use a pot plant caddy that has castors so you can move your containers around without straining your back.

Should you buy a plastic or terracotta container? It's up to you - I have had success growing tomatoes in both types of containers as long as you use the correct potting mix and know when to water and fertilize.

Find out what your tomatoes need to grow and you will be the envy of the neighbourhood.

With the wonderful dwarf or mini varieties of tomatoes you can even grow them in window boxes.

Pop some basil seedlings in with your tomatoes and you will be enjoying Bruschetta for brunch.

Make sure you use a top quality potting mix to give your tomatoes the best possible start in life and water correctly and they will reward you over and over again.

In the garden or in containers, it doesn't matter. Once you know the best way to grow tomatoes you will be the envy of the neighbourhood and amaze your family and friends with the most beautiful meals they have ever eaten.