3+ Common Mistakes To Avoid When Growing Tomatoes

by John Griffith
Advertisement

If you’ve taken up gardening this year, you may be feeling super excited to see what you will reap. However, in order to have a bountiful harvest, it’s important to catch if you may be making any mistakes that can stump the growth of your beautiful tomatoes. Sometimes, even if we think we are doing everything the right way, the tomatoes we are growing in the garden just don’t give us the results we so desire. The reasons for that may be because of some common mistakes. These mistakes often go unnoticed until it’s way too late, and you have no tomatoes and dying plants. Nobody wants that. That’s why today we are going to show you some of the most common gardening mistakes that you can make when growing tomatoes.

Growing your own crops is exciting and beautiful

annie spratt ch j5gh6iny unsplash

Mistakes To Avoid When Growing Tomatoes

Nobody is born with all the knowledge in the world. It’s common to make mistakes when starting to garden. However, most of the time they often go unnoticed, and in the end, you end up disappointed with the results. So, in order to be happy with your crop and ensure a high success rate, we’ll catch you up on the most important things to look out for when starting out. Here are some things you should keep in mind.

There are some common mistakes when growing tomatoes

justus menke zrqrhijqdni unsplash

Suffocation

One of the most common mistakes you can do is to plant your tomatoes too close to each other. Especially if you are planting them in a greenhouse. The average space between roots in the row should be somewhere between sixty and seventy centimeters. The key to success is to eliminate the chance of suffocation between the plants.

Keep in mind that the tomato plants need space

www zanda photography rbde3jv5y68 unsplash

Overwatering

You may be drowning your plants. Really moist soil is vital only during the first week after you have planted the tomatoes. Afterward, too much water will do more damage than good. Overwatering the plants can lead to a growth spurt in more greeneries than the fruit itself. Watering your tomatoes regularly should start only after the plant has caught on and started to grow further.

It’s important you don’t overwater your plants 

markus spiske sfydxgrt5oa unsplash

Getting Rid of Healthy Leaves

You may be getting rid of healthy leaves for nothing. Do not mistake pruning with the picking of perfectly fine leaves. Old, sick, and yellow leaves should absolutely be removed, but make sure to not pick off more than three branches at a time. Especially after you’ve watered the plant. This will drastically decrease the evaporation process of excess moisture, and it will go straight to the fruit.

Old, sick, and yellow leaves should absolutely be removed

julien kettmann gedrf faiv4 unsplash

Not Paying Attention To Pests

If this is your first time taking care of plants in the garden, you may not have the habit of diligently checking them for any pests. There are plenty of garden critters that may want to attack your plants. From aphids to garden mice. The list is practically endless. But don’t worry, if you check on your plants often enough, you’ll be able to catch any infestation on time and get on with pest control.

There are plenty of garden critters that may want to attack your plants

pest control at home diy

Wrong Location

You may be planting your tomatoes in the wrong spot. If you have sown your tomatoes in places where peppers or potatoes have previously grown, it may be hard for your tomatoes to thrive. When choosing a spot, make sure you plant them in an open spot where they can receive at least eight hours of sunlight.

Make sure to not plant your tomatoes where potatoes or peppers have grown

homemade pest control for tomato plants

Lack of Support

Tomatoes need some type of support in order to help keep them off the ground. This helps to maximize the space in the garden and keep the plants growing up and not outward. Having adequate support is also necessary to prevent infestations and diseases. Plus, it’s much easier to harvest them. You need to start building support for them while the plants are still young.  You can try staking, caging, or trellising.

Tomato plants need some type of adequate support when growing 

engin akyurt eb26ev ys k unsplash

These were the most common mistakes you can make when growing tomatoes. We hope you found this article helpful! Now that you know what you should avoid, you can go on to grow plenty of plump, red tomatoes to enjoy throughout the whole summer!

Enjoy your bountiful harvest this summer 

valentina ivanova 9dp1n8wlij0 unsplash

John Griffith

John Griffith is a young, passionate journalist. Writing has been John’s hobby ever since he was a boy. He has worked in some of the UK’s most successful news portals over the course of his professional career but found his forever home at Archzine.