Part 1: Choosing your Garden Area
Above: in-ground, container, and raised bed tomato gardens.
In order to grow a tomato plant, you need somewhere to plant it! Tomatoes can be grown nearly anywhere- in buckets, planters, or pots, in raised beds, in traditional in-ground gardens, and even hydroponically! There are some important considerations for each.
Sunlight: Tomatoes tend to love sun and heat. Most varieties need full sun- at least 6-8 hours per day. Make sure whatever you decide to plant in, it gets lots of sun exposure.
Water & Drainage: Tomatoes, like all plants, need water to live and thrive. If you don’t get adequate rain, you will need to supplementally water them. It’s a tricky balance though- too much water can cause just as much harm as not enough. For tomatoes in pots, ensure they have drainage capabilities- holes in the bottom. For in-ground tomatoes, make sure the area doesn’t get standing water. Make sure you have a good way to water your plants.
Soil/Nutrients: Tomatoes need nutrients from the growing media to survive. Soil in the ground has these minerals naturally, although the type and amounts will vary from location to location. If you plant a garden in the same spot year after year, there is a risk of depleting the nutrients in that area that certain plants need. Potting soil designed for vegetables or plants will also come with nutrients in the mix, but again, planting in the same media year after year may empty the soil of any nutritive value. We’ll cover more about soil, fertilization, and tomato’s nutritive needs in a later post.
Space: The space requirement for tomatoes depends on the variety of tomato and whether you will provide support for them. In general, plan to allow a minimum of 12” between plants, but it is more likely you will need more space- up to 2 feet per plant. “Support” refers to tomato trellises, cages, stakes, etc that support the weight of the plant. We will go into all these topics in detail in later posts, but just know to be planning for support when you choose your garden area!
No matter where you decide to grow your tomatoes, we’ll have information in future posts to help you have a successful tomato growing year!
Tomato Vocabulary in this post
Hydroponically (hydroponic): The process of growing plants in water, without soil.
Growing media: A substance through which roots grow and extract water and nutrients. Typically soil, but can also be potting mix, water, sand, gravel, rock wool, etc.
