Growing your own Tomatoes in your Greenhouse

There are many health benefits that can be derived from growing your own tomatoes in your greenhouse. Not only are you assured of high quality produce since you grew the tomatoes yourself, they also taste better and are fresh. Of all organic foods grown at home, tomatoes are probably high on everyone’s list of greenhouse crops.

Preparation for Greenhouse Tomatoes

There is no need to rush to actual production before doing the necessary preparation. There are certain important choices to be made. These include:

  • Choosing the Site – In this case your greenhouse should be protected from wind and full sun for most of the day. You should ensure you have sufficient water and good drainage.
  • Choosing your tomato varieties – Because, tomatoes demands basically depends on their size, shape, and colour. The main advantage of using high quality cultivar is a total freedom from cracks, low disease resistance, and low production. Better greenhouse tomato cultivar grows almost 30 – 40 feet for a 10 month season. Some modern species of tomatoes are more disease resistant that their older peers.

Ready for Planting

Once you have made your choice on site and tomato variety, it is time to start planting. Sourcing your tomato varieties from reputable companies or farmers will give you a heads start as most will give you detailed instructions on how to plant you tomato crop.

However in most cases, you will start with soil preparation. Ensure that the soil used for the tomatoes is prepared adequately. One of the best ways to do this is to use a standard potting soil mix with about 10% worm casting. Add about 1 teaspoon of hydrated lime for every gallon of soil mix. Lime is good for tomatoes as it’s a good source of calcium. Don’t forget to moisten the soil.

Tomatoes are best started in a regular nursery tray. Gabriel Ash Greenhouses come with enough space to house a nursery in the greenhouse. Tomato seeds should be sprouting in about 12 days and under proper conditions should be ready to be transplanted to their own containers in the greenhouse.

Continuing Care and Tips for Greenhouse Tomatoes

Your tomatoes are now ready to be grown and a Gabriel Ash greenhouse is probably the best environment. For better production you always need to be careful about the greenhouse environment, temperature, humidity, and you also need to spray pesticides regularly.

After about 60 to 80 days, most varieties of tomatoes will begin flowering. You should pollinate the flowers everyday while it is warm and humid. The ideal humidity should be 65 to 70 percent for flowering and this is normally around noon. Tomatoes require some vibration in order to release pollen from the male to the female part of the plant. You can do this naturally by introducing bees to your greenhouse or using an electric toothbrush to each support truss and main branch.

The vines that grow from leaf are called suckers, and should be pruned off throughout flowering. They suck up food that would normally be used to grow nice tomatoes.

Flowering plants need stronger light to grow properly developed fruit. Learn about high pressure sodium lighting if you have any doubts. A dose of Cal-Mag once your tomatoes have fruit set would not be a bad idea.

Following the proper care of greenhouse tomatoes calls for patience. Taking care of pests and giving the right growing environment should allow you to enjoy fresh tomatoes everyday for you and your family.

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