When to buy tomato seeds?
The sowing of tomato seeds does not start until March, but you need to pay attention to the purchase of tomato seeds in advance. It is worth not to buy seeds until spring, but to buy seeds in winter, for the following reasons.
- Although the New Year and Christmas discounts are not over yet, the cost of tomato seeds is lower than one and a half months later.
- Not all gardeners are prudent people. Most people first turned away from buying seeds in the last few days and then began to rush to find suitable varieties. And they either solve what’s left in the inventory or buy tomatoes, hoping to find the tomatoes they like.
- People who like to line up tend to save the matter of buying seeds until later, because the department and shops that sell tomato seeds and other gardening supplies are the most visited in spring. However, if you cherish your time and know a more interesting pastime than queuing, it is recommended that you prepare to buy tomato seeds in advance.
The number of suitable (comfortable) plantings on a 10-square-foot raised bed depends on the type of tomato: the higher the planting height, the further the planting distance. Otherwise, the denser the plant, the slower the growth and the spread of pests and diseases.
It is recommended to plant every 10 square feet.
Low-growing varieties: 4-5 tomatoes.
Medium-growing varieties: 4 tomatoes.
High-growing varieties: 2-3 tomatoes.
How many tomatoes can be grown in 10 square feet?
Based on these data, it is easy to calculate the number of plants needed for the greenhouse or bed. For example, your greenhouse is 10 feet by 14 feet. Taking this space as an example, you can plant 4-6 medium varieties of tomatoes, 20 medium shrubs, and 25 low tomatoes, which is about 50 tomatoes.
When buying tomato seeds, don’t forget the concept of germination. If the germination rate of a crop is 50%, only five out of ten seeds will germinate. Therefore, you should always buy stock seeds.
How many tomatoes does each person need a year?
Many gardeners often ask the question “How many tomatoes do I need?” After all, no one is willing to pay for the tomato seeds, and then plant them for several months, putting in plant maintenance and time, but throwing away the extra tomatoes after planting. Therefore, you need to calculate the demand for tomatoes in advance and choose tomato seeds with accurate data.
According to the regulations of the World Health Organization, a person should eat 20 kg of tomatoes every year. Of course, if children eat less, big tomato lovers eat more, but we don’t consider this factor and take the average-20 kg. For a family of four, we multiply this number by 4 to get 80. Therefore, to meet the needs of an ordinary family for tomatoes, you need to grow 80 kg of fruit.
Most tomato varieties and hybrids have higher yields in the greenhouse than outdoors. Therefore, if you grow tomatoes in a greenhouse, you will need to plant fewer shrubs, and if you are outdoors, you will need to plant more. But no matter where you grow tomatoes, they need to be well maintained and cultivated to bring you the maximum yield.
When planting tomatoes, it is recommended to buy varieties of different maturity periods, so that fresh tomatoes will always be on the table. For example, we have selected two varieties of the early, medium, and late tomato varieties, which are most popular with tomato lovers.
How many tomatoes should be planted in the outdoor garden?
Among the early ripening tomatoes, when a tomato is planted in an outdoor garden, if you take care of it properly, you can harvest about 3 pounds of fruit.
Among tomatoes in the mid-ripening period, a good tomato plant can mature up to 6 kg of tomatoes. The yield of the second-grade plants will be slightly lower. Two golden dome tomato plants will give you 4.5 kg of orange-yellow fleshy fruits, which are very juicy and delicious.
Now let’s talk about late tomatoes. Tomatoes can be eaten no earlier than 120 days after germination. On two high-quality tomato plants, you can get 2.5 kilograms of small fruits that resemble plums. But even on an open elevated bed, the fruit size and yield will surprise people, about 4 kg per tree.
So you need a total of 9 tomatoes of these varieties. For a family of four, multiply this number by four to get 36 plants. This is the number of tomatoes you need to plant in the open space to meet the needs of a family for these vegetables.
How many tomatoes should be grown in the greenhouse?
If you own a greenhouse, you are lucky: in this case, you will have to spend less energy and time to obtain the same yield.
When calculating from the above, you will find that to get 20 kg of tomatoes in a season, it is enough to plant one plant of each variety in the greenhouse-six in total. For a family of four, you need 24 trees.
As you can see, this is not complicated arithmetic at all. To obtain these data, we only need to know how many kilograms of tomatoes can be grown on a tomato plant under certain conditions.
I hope it can help you figure out the necessary amount of other vegetables, and don’t waste energy and health on growing unnecessary crops.
