Use these tips on how to grow cherry tomatoes to grow your own tomatoes in your garden this summer.
How to Grow Cherry Tomatoes
Any tomato variety is a wonderful thing to start for any skill level of a gardener. They are plentiful producing plants that are an absolute joy to grow and can grow in almost any environment as long as the temperatures stay up for the long growing season. You can even start them indoors to help if you happen to live in an area that doesn’t stay warm most of the Year. Here are some wonderful tips on how to grow cherry tomatoes.
How to Grow Cherry Tomatoes from Seed
Start with good soil that includes some compost mix up about 30%. Tomatoes really flourish with lots of good nutrients that most compost can provide. Make sure your pots are deep enough and wide enough to accommodate the routing system of a tomato plant. Also, make sure that your growing area inside is warm enough. For detailed instructions on how to grow cherry tomatoes from seed, check out this article.
How to Transplant Cherry Tomato Seedlings
Before you transplant your cherry tomato seedlings, make sure to harden them. This process will get them used to the outdoors before you place them in the ground.
When transplanting your cherry tomato seedlings, gently shake the root off to remove excess dirt. Make sure to not pull too hard or you could risk damage. Cherry tomatoes like to be planted deep so make sure to plant them several inches into the ground. Water with a soaker hose for best results whenever the ground seems dry. Cherry tomatoes like to be very moist and since you plant them so deep they need one that will reach the root system. For detailed instructions on how to transplant cherry tomato seedlings, check out this article.
How to Deal With Pests with Cherry Tomatoes
Unfortunately, tomato plants are susceptible to a variety of diseases and troubles. While tomatoes are easy to grow, depending on the area you’re in you might have a susceptibility to certain insects as well as things like molds.
The University of Tennessee has a really great guide for identifying pests and problems with growing cherry tomatoes or any tomato variety.
Some very common issues include sunscald and aphids. Sunscald is essentially when the Tomato gets sunburned. This can be prevented by not leaving the Tomato in direct sunlight for too long without any shading trees or shrubs around it.
There are a variety of ways to prevent aphids or get rid of them if you seem to have trouble with them. Apparently, aphids really don’t like cold so try spraying them with cold water first. You can also prevent them by applying neem oil, which is natural. You can buy this at any garden supply store. The Old Farmer’s Almanac also has some great information on getting rid of and preventing aphids.
How to Harvest Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes have a long growing season, like most tomato varieties. Most will produce their fruit at maturity when they have reached 70 days. First, you will see small white flowers. Then, within about a week or two you will start to see green fruit form. Give it a couple more weeks, and you will have Red Delicious Fruit to pick.
When harvesting cherry tomatoes, make sure you don’t pick them too early. If when pulling gently on the fruit it doesn’t immediately release, it’s not ready. Sometimes it just needs one or two more days. Leaving your fruit on the stem will ensure that it is sweet and perfect for picking.
Make sure to harvest daily when you start to have red fruit. This will allow more fruit to come through and you will get a higher yield.
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