In this video, I share 4 garden secrets that will help you grow the strongest tomato plants! The long-term health of a tomato plant hinges on its root system, so growing tomato plants with the biggest, strongest roots possible is key! I will teach you how to plant tomatoes to have extra large root systems, which leads to bigger, more fruitful and more disease resistant tomato plants.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Intro To Growing Tomatoes
0:51 Tip #1: Planting Tomatoes Deeply
2:55 Tip #2: Fertilizing Tomatoes Properly
5:52 Tip #3: Compost & Mulch
8:03 Tip #4: Water Soluble Feed
9:32 Bonus Tip!
12:50 Adventures With Dale
If you have any questions about how to grow tomatoes in your vegetable garden, have questions about growing fruit trees or want to know about the things I grow in my raised bed vegetable garden and edible landscaping food forest, are looking for more gardening tips and tricks and garden hacks, have questions about vegetable gardening and organic gardening in general, or want to share some DIY and “how to” garden tips and gardening hacks of your own, please ask in the Comments below!
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Miracle-Gro Soluble All Purpose Plant Food https://amzn.to/3qNPkXk
Miracle-Gro Soluble Bloom Booster Plant Food https://amzn.to/2GKYG0j
Miracle-Gro Soluble Tomato Plant Food https://amzn.to/2GDgJ8n
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Southern Ag Liquid Copper Fungicide https://amzn.to/2HTCKRd
Southern Ag Natural Pyrethrin Concentrate https://amzn.to/2UHSNGE
Monterey Organic Spinosad Concentrate https://amzn.to/3qOU8f5
Safer Brand Caterpillar Killer (BT Concentrate) https://amzn.to/2SMXL8D
Cordless ULV Fogger Machine https://amzn.to/36e96Sl
Weed Barrier with UV Resistance https://amzn.to/3yp3MaJ
Organza Bags (Fig-size) https://amzn.to/3AyaMUz
Organza Bags (Tomato-size) https://amzn.to/36fy4Re
Injection Molded Nursery Pots https://amzn.to/3AucVAB
Heavy Duty Plant Grow Bags https://amzn.to/2UqvsgC
6.5 Inch Hand Pruner Pruning Shears https://amzn.to/3jHI1yL
Japanese Pruning Saw with Blade https://amzn.to/3wjpw6o
Double Tomato Hooks with Twine https://amzn.to/3Awptr9
String Trellis Tomato Support Clips https://amzn.to/3wiBjlB
Nylon Mason Line, 500FT https://amzn.to/3wd9cEo
Expandable Vinyl Garden Tape https://amzn.to/3jL7JCI
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ABOUT MY GARDEN
Location: Southeastern NC, Brunswick County (Wilmington area)
34.1°N Latitude
Zone 8A
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#gardening #garden #gardeningtips #tomatoes #tomatoplants
50 Comments
If you enjoyed this video, please "Like" and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 😊TIMESTAMPS for convenience:
0:00 Intro To Growing Tomatoes
0:51 Tip #1: Planting Tomatoes Deeply
2:55 Tip #2: Fertilizing Tomatoes Properly
5:52 Tip #3: Compost & Mulch
8:03 Tip #4: Water Soluble Feed
9:32 Bonus Tip!
12:50 Adventures With Dale
Amazing how to grow! Thank You.
Did you make another straw bale video yet after the conditioning video?
Some millennial is going to bury that dang seed tray. You wait 🙂
Great content and very helpful! Thank you for continuing your channel. I know it must take a lot of work to make each video but you’re helping so many people become better gardeners!! The crab meal fertilizer is also recommended for boxwoods to thwart root nematodes.
On these new plants, what method are you going to use to stake them?
French Marigolds can repel those bad nematodes.
Plant around your tomatoes.
Hello from Poland 😊 what kind od mulch layer You put around tomatoes?😊
@The Millennial Gardener
Two quick questions:
1. When you’re adding all those fertilizers are you literally adding the 3 numbers up?
So you had (20 20 20) + (5 3 3) + (3 17 3) = (28 40 26)? Why even worry about the strengths of each component and just double down on the (20 20 20)?
2. It didn't look like you had your line trellises ready are going to move them to a different location when the get bigger or do different trellises?
3. Sorry BONUS question 😊
What are you growing between the tomato plants? Almost looked like ginger.
I LOVE your channel and I've learned so much even though I'm an experienced gardener.
Thank you. I am so grateful for your tips, I have some of the fertilizer you have, but there are 3 that I was at a loss for not knowing what to get. Thank you 😊😊
trials have shown no appreciable increase in total root mass, when planting tomato seedlings very deep.
sure, tomato stem can sprout roots but, root mass total is ultimately always proportional to plant size and vigour above.
secondly, if you have soggy springs, it may retard growth by having young seedling roots sit in soil that is wet.
if you use mulch, do it in summer, as soil warms much better in spring without mulch. some people use black plastic to warm soil and keep weeds out, and prevent soil drying in summer.
nowadays i dont bother with all the fuss at planting time. just water them in and start fertilizing with 20-20-20 +TE at regular intervals, and set them up on strings and keep vigilant on suckers. that's my secret 😉
I add micorrhizol powder and bone meal on the roots when I put them in the ground to boost the health of the roots.
For nematodes,marigolds work well and look great as companion plants. Hardly need to use any pesticide (I only used neem oil) on my previous tomatoes.
My tomatoes have become one HUGE HUGE GLOB OF LEAVES..IM PUSHING 80 AND GROWN THEM SINCE ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD NEVER SEEN SUCH BUSHY PLANTS. I AM THINKING.ABPUT GOING PUT AND CUTTING.LEAVES OFF…NEVER.EVER DID THAT BEFORE..BUT THERE IS ZERO AIR CIRCULATION IN THERE…I WENT WITH DETERMINANT THIS YEAR FIRST TIME AND NEVER KNEW..THEY WERE 2.5 FOOT APART…IDK…
❤Could you be my, would you be my, won't you be…my _____! (Someone out there knows this.)😂
I don't use water soluble with Alaska fish emulsion I use Alaska Morebloom.
Is there a difference in plant tone and tomato tone
Thanks, as always great info. Long time vegetable gardener, over 50 years. My son turned me on to the mycorrhyzal innoculants and I have become a strong believer in this additive. Don't fully understand the science behind it but have done comparison plantings and without a doubt it's by far the best fertilizer I've found to add at planting to improve the vitality of a tomato plant. It promotes extremely strong root growth. I was hesitant due to the cost but after seeing the benefits I am using this on more vegetables every year at planting.
Very, very valuable information! 🙂 keep going with your great videos! 😋
It would be nice to have soon an update of your fig plants. Those from your experiment! 🥸 all the best!
Thank you so much for such great content to help us with our gardens!! I have learned so much from you!! God bless 🙌🏻🤗💐
Did you get any tomatoes by Easter this year?
Thanks!
I finally got my tomatos in the ground yesterday. I supported my Catawba Ridge High School's FFA program by buyng my plants during their spring plant sale yesterday. I added bone meal to the plantings, so that should give them an extra head-start.
Planting deeper has been proven to not grow as big of a root system, just more roots closer to the plant. Gardener Scott has a video about it. Apparently the plant focuses on growing roots to the detriment of the other roots that were already there, so you will have crowns of roots, but they wont get as deep or as far from the plant.
What if I have already planted my tomatoes? Should I pile the soil alongside the stem?
The line of the woman lol Dale agrees
I use a post hole digger for my tomato planting holes. I also bury my plants, but I leave the branches on, because they also produce roots.
Lol – you and Dale! Makes me smile every time. Thanks for the very well researched information (and to those who provide the informative comments.) After the just departed summer (Australia) I've become a tomato cynic. The carefully tended seedlings produced almost nothing, whilst the supermarket cherry toms dumped in the worm farm resulted in more tomatoes than I've ever produced before. Hmmm!
How about plants that already have flowers before you replant them? I've heard it's best to clip them off. True?
Loved your video. I would love to start a garden myself but have a few concerns. I’m originally from New Jersey and now live in Florida. My dad had a gorgeous vegetable garden. So much so that people would pull over and just admire it or talk to my dad. I should have spent time with him learning his wisdom on gardening. Some questions….. Can tomato plants stand the Florida sun? Can tomato plants grow in sandy soil? Your soil is beautiful. One side of my yard has sandy soil and the other side is like yours and filled with a lot of earth worms. This side (close to my house) has my flower garden (I want to keep). Do I have any chance on growing tomatoes with my sun and soil situation or should I find another hobby?
Great Tips…
I use bone meal and d all purpose fertilizer and I see growth in em …
that's one of my favorite too, fish emulsion! …
I have bone meal in granular form. Would I apply it the same? One tablespoon per tomato hole. Is it good to use with cucumbers, as well?
Thank you, brother, thank you.
Our winters here in the Netherlands 8B have been quite different as to what we had last year. Right now we are still having nights in between 35-47 degrees, yet in 2022 I already had all my plants in the open ground.
How much degrees would you gain when using the jugs. Is 5 degrees a safe bet?
Hi, would you sometimes mention the temperature? Thanks
I've grown for over 35 years… I'll bet the farm my flavor is better using all organic. Compost tea and cow, hoarse and chicken manure😊. Open field planted not cramped
What did you have planted with the tomatoes ?
Thanks for the great tips 👍🏾⭐️
Jack’s is the bomb!
Wow. This seems like a LOT of additions of fertilizer… ? What about just amending beds heavily with quality organic compost regularly..???
Great tips! I live here in Eastern NC as well. I live in a little town called Little Washington in Beaufort County. Im hoping the weather will stay warm but if not I like your idea of the milk cartons as little green houses. Great job and thanks for all your tips. I have put them to use already. I got some rain barrels today and now going to order the supplies so I can start collecting rain water.
No secret white powder 😂
quick question am planning an area about the size of yours,raised beds and walkways. what kind of covering do you have over the walkways.? my plan so far im thinking is to put 30 year weedcloth down n then wood chips over that. but your area looks nice as to make it easier to walk n move a cart around the walkway areas. it that stuff permeable?
I appreciate so much how detailed you are. So helpful!!
Can you address the use of molasses mixed with your fish emulsion to feed the soil/compost and your tomato plant once flower buds begin forming? Is molasses beneficial or unnecessary?
When pinching any plant, I dust the "wound" site with cinnamon. Would that then enable you to plant the tomatoes immediately?
Thank you so much for creating this channel. I’m planting my first container garden this year and your information has helped so much! I’m in Oklahoma, is there anything you talk about with your local climate that would be an absolute no in Oklahoma or do we have a similar enough climate that all of your advice is good to go? Thank again!