How to Plant a Tomato Plant for Crazy Fast Growth!

If you don't know how to plant a tomato, you are not alone.  If I had a dollar for every person I've explained it to...I'd have a party!

Tomatoes root along their stems.  This makes planting them a little different from most plants.  It won't hurt them to plant them the same way you plant peppers or even trees, but you will get crazy fast results if you plant the tomatoes in the special tomato way.

The biggest difference is...
to bury them deep.  I've seen recommendations to bury 80-90% of the plant.  I can't bring myself to do that.  I'm a 75%er.

You can dig a deep hole and fill it with compost, or you can dig a trench and lay the plant's trunk in it.  I dig the hole.  It is more time consuming, but when I have used the trench method, my plants dried out too often.  I am also a low-maintenance gardener.

If you are a low maintenance reader and would rather watch this:
  
After you dig the hole and put some tasty plant treat in the bottom, set your plant in.  Measure and tinker with the depth until you have enough soil under it to bring it to the level you are comfortable burying.

Take it out of the pot and pinch off any leaves that will be below the soil line.  A healthy plant will have white roots.  Tomato leaves are toxic so you can save them to use as a pesticide or just toss them on the ground.

Set the tomato plant into the hole and fill it 1/3 way with soil.  Sprinkle some granular fertilizer and fill another third.  Add some crushed egg shells or some type of calcium to prevent blossom-end rot.  Sprinkle fertilizer and fill to the top!

If you live in the hot zone, in sandy soil or just don't want to spend your summer weeding your garden, lay 5 layers of newspaper around the base and cover it with grass clippings.  USE UNTREATED GRASS CLIPPINGS!  Just sayin'

Thanks for making it to the sight!
If your plant turns yellow, it needs fertilizer.  Water it when it wilts.  Post any questions and I will answer them!