Tomatoes are a multipurpose fruit. Not only do they taste great as a snack, but they are also often used as an important component in dishes.
Tomato slices are also often added to healthy food such as salads because of their abundant benefits, including helping to lose weight, maintaining healthy skin, and etcetera.
Tomatoes contain a variety of vitamins, including vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, and potassium. They also have an abundance of antioxidants, such as lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin.
Because of its abundant benefits and usefulness, it’s a good idea to try growing your own tomatoes at home. To avoid failure, follow the steps below on how to grow tomatoes properly.
How to Grow Tomatoes Correctly
Tomatoes are one of the fruits that you can try to grow yourself at home. Besides being safer, you can save money by growing your tomatoes and be satisfied with the good quality of your yield.
However, growing tomatoes can be quite tiring and make you thirsty. So, before you start planting tomatoes, make sure you have AQUA 600 ml with its handy packaging.
AQUA is the perfect drinking water for gardening because it can help you to fulfill your body’s fluid needs, especially after being exposed to the sun due to gardening.
Why should you have AQUA? Because AQUA water has a cool sensation when drunk at room temperature, even though it is not refrigerated, it proves that AQUA comes from a protected source whose natural mineral composition is maintained.
In addition, AQUA is also 100% pure mountain water that contains natural minerals without any added substances, making it safe for consumption.
If there is AQUA 600 ml beside you, now it is time to follow the right way to cultivate tomato plants at home below:
1. Choose a Strategic Planting Location
A strategic location for planting tomatoes is one of the things that must be considered. If you want your tomato plants to be fruitful, make sure your planting location can get enough sunlight.
This is because sunlight has an important role in the photosynthesis process in tomatoes later. Therefore, the choice of location for planting tomatoes should not be made carelessly.
2. Set the Distance Between Seedlings
After finding a strategic location, you can start planting tomato plant seeds. Place 3 to 5 seeds on the soil you have prepared. When they start to grow, don’t forget to move them with an appropriate distance of about 40–50 cm between plants and 600–80 cm between rows.
This needs to be considered so that the tomato plants have enough space when growing later. You also have to be careful in moving them so that the roots of the plants are not damaged, which causes inhibition of tomato growth.
3. Watering Tomatoes Regularly and On Schedule
Like other plants, tomatoes also need water to survive. For this reason, you need to water them regularly and on a schedule so that the plants can absorb nutrients optimally. As a result, tomatoes will have the potential to produce more fruit because their needs are fulfilled.
4. Use Mulch as Ground Cover
To protect tomato plants from weed growth, installing mulch as a ground cover can also maintain the temperature around the plant more in accordance with the needs of the plant.
If you intend to plant in pots, then the use of mulch can be replaced with straw or raw husks.
5. Cutting the Lower Leaves
To prevent the growth of parasites and pathogens, you can cut the bottom leaves of tomato plants.
The reason is, old leaves that are close to the ground will be more susceptible to mold so they must be cut before the mold and other harmful parasites arise.
Moreover, there are also those who say that cutting the lower leaves can also make tomato plants produce more fruit.
6. Apply Fertilizer If Necessary
The use of fertilizer in tomato planting is actually optional, as needed. However, if required, you can use NP, TSP, or SP36 fertilizers.
The addition of fertilizer is also adjusted to the condition of the plants. If you feel that tomato plants need more fertilizer because the soil is eroding, lacking nutrients, or the plants have entered the time to be fruiting, the intensity of fertilizer application can be increased.
How to Grow Tomatoes in Polybags
Growing tomatoes in polybags is a common gardening method, especially if you want to grow tomatoes at home, such as on a balcony, terrace, or other small area. Here’s how to grow tomatoes for beginners in polybags that you can follow:
1. Prepare the Necessary Tools and Materials
Before starting to plant, you must prepare the tools and materials that will be needed later, including polybags, soil, and tomato seeds. With these tools and materials, you can already grow your own tomatoes at home.
2. Choose the Best Tomato Seedlings
When choosing tomato seeds, make sure you choose the best seeds. Choose seeds that are pest-free. This can be done by choosing tomatoes that are fully ripe with red color and thin skin.
Another way to grow tomatoes from seeds will be fruitful is to see that the tomato seeds do not float when soaked in water. If it is, then the seeds are superior seeds.
However, if you have any doubts, you can buy seeds from farmers or farm stands that are likely to have good-quality tomato seeds.
3. Seeding
After finding a good quality seed, you can start seeding by mixing soil and manure in a 1:1 ratio.
After it is mixed well, put the seeds in a seeding box and place it in a shady place that is not exposed to rain.
After 20 days, you can transplant the plant seeds to the prepared soil. You must be careful when removing the polybags from the plants so that the roots are not damaged.
4. Maintaining the Tomato Plant
Maintaining a tomato plant is very simple. You just need to water them regularly and check whether other plants are growing around them or not. If there are, remove the wild plants so that the tomatoes can grow well without interference.
5. Make Sure Your Tomatoes Get Enough Sunlight
To get maximum results, you should always pay attention to whether your tomato plants get enough sunlight.
Sunlight will help the photosynthesis process of plants grow well. Therefore, make sure your tomato plants are placed in an area that is exposed to enough sunlight.
6. The Right Way to Harvest
Tomatoes may only be harvested after 60 to 90 days after planting.
The right way to pick tomatoes is by breaking the fruit stalk while holding the tip of the fruit with the palm of your hand so that the tomatoes are not damaged when picked.
When planting tomatoes, you will definitely be exposed to the sun, especially if the activity is carried out during the day.
Well, for that, make sure to always ensure that your body’s hydration is maintained by always having #AQUADULU on hand.
For example, you can prepare AQUA 600 ml, which is practical to carry everywhere and suitable to accompany your gardening activities and overcome thirst during the day’s gardening.
Also, please note that not all water is AQUA. AQUA comes from selected mountain springs that are protected through 9 selection criteria, 5 stages, and at least 1 year of research on 600 parameters.
So, don’t forget to AQUADULU because not all water is AQUA. AQUA water is naturally filtered by layers of natural mineral-rich rocks and processed untouched by human hands & through 400 stages of quality testing, before being distributed.
Last but not least, AQUA has been certified Halal, BPOM, and SNI, so that AQUA is safe for consumption. AQUA is 100% Pure, 100% Indonesian, and 100% Halal. Don’t forget to stock up on AQUA to accompany you and your family’s gardening activities!