Growing Tomatoes Organically
Tomatoes are a favourite crop to grow in anybody’s garden, and are delicious, nutritious and versatile. If you grow them using organic methods, you know how much tastier they are than conventionally-grown ones. “You are what you eat” can be extended to growing vegetables – “Veggies are made of whatever you put in the soil.” If you use chemicals and pesticides, that’s what you will be eating. If your soil is rich and healthy with organic material, that’s also what you’ll be eating. Take your pick.
Growing Tomatoes
Tomatoes love sun, and they’ll need six hours of it per day. Plant in the sunniest area of your yard, and if that area doesn’t have soil, then grow your tomatoes in containers.
Because you will be growing them organically, the soil is your primary concern. Before you plant, mix in manure, compost and other organic nutrients like bonemeal. These organic soil conditioners will help renew the soil and feed both plant and beneficial microbes in the soil that are essential to good growth and health.
Because tomatoes have a long growing season, you will have to start your tomatoes from seed indoors, about 5-6 weeks before you plant. If buying them from a garden center, look for rich, green, healthy plants. Avoid any plants with yellow or spotted leaves, or ones already bearing fruit. If they are, you won’t get much more out of it.
Dig a large hole to loosen the soil around the roots. Fill the hole with water the day before, then fill it part-way with rich, dark compost, manure and a fistful of fertilizer or eggshells. The next day, place half the plant into the soil. You can even break off the lower branches that will be buried – these will form extra roots. Soak the surrounding soil, keeping the leaves as dry as possible to prevent disease.
When watering, don’t think about keeping a regular schedule. Instead, only water when the soil an inch down is almost dry. Fertilize regularly.
As soon as fruit begins to form, cut way back on the watering and fertilizer. If you don’t, your tomato plant will continue to grow leaves. Now is the time to “train it” to grow the fruit. Prune as necessary, and if you are using a large tomato stake, prune all but two main branches, to form a Y-shape. As tomatoes are actually vines, a tomato stake is best, though you can certainly use cages. If you use a cage, grow the tomato with three or four main branches, and prune the rest. Again, this will help the plant to concentrate on a few main areas to grow a lot of big, juicy fruit!
Pest Control
Prevention is key. First, do not grow tomatoes in the same area every year. Tomatoes are very hungry plants, and will exhaust the soil, leading to poorer plants year-by-year. Rotate your crops every year, so different vegetables will use different nutrients, helping to better balance and regenerate the soil.
Check your plants every day, and remove any diseased-looking leaves. Disease and rot is mainly caused by over-watering and constantly wet leaves. If you find pests, pick them off and crush them. If you need to use a pesticide, consider a safe, organic one, such as Bacillus Thuringiensis or Pyrethrins. You should be able to find these at specialized organic garden centres, or online.
Harvesting
When tomatoes are ripe and soft, twist them off the stem. There’s lots of recipes for green tomatoes, too, so enjoy them both ripe and unripe! You can also pick unripe tomatoes and leave them by a window to ripen indoors.
Make full use of the season. Near the end, cut off all smaller fruit and vines that are not bearing fruit. This will make the plant concentrate on the places where the remainder of the fruit is situated. Only water a tiny bit at this stage.
Organically-grown tomatoes are far tastier and juicier than conventionally-grown, with the added benefit of being pesticide-free and packed with a lot more nutrients due to your healthy, organic soil Enjoy the taste and your health!
Article brought to you by GoorganicGardening.com. Visit for more information on natural gardening tips and growing your own big, nutritious vegetables.
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