How To Plant a Tomato

Choosing a Tomato Plant

Tomato plant in a pot. Click picture to enlarge.

Above (click picture to make it bigger) is a good example of a healthy tomato plant. Look for deep green leaves, no yellow leaves at the base.

The plant should be around twice the height of the pot. If the plant is much bigger it should have been re-potted. The soil should be moist and there should be a label telling you the variety of the tomato plant.

Dig The Soil
Your tomato plant will be in the ground for around six months so prepare the soil well. Dig it over with a trowel or fork until the soil is crumbly. Dig for a depth of at least 30cm (12in) and in a circle about 60cm (2ft) wide.

If you can incorporate some compost (the same as in the pot) plus some well-rotted compost, all the better.

Plant the Tomato

Tomato plant in the ground. Click to enlarge.

Make a hole in the soil just a bit bigger than the tomato plant pot.

Check out if the size of the hole is big enough by placing the pot in the hole.

Click the picture on the left for a better idea of how big the hole should be.

Get the Plant Out of the Pot

Getting the plant out of the pot can be a problem, but it's easy when we show you with pictures!

Step one on the left (click to enlarge the picture) is to hold the pot with your hand an have a finger either side of the main stem. Don't squeeze the stem but keep your fingers very near it.

Step two on the left is to turn the pot and plant upside down. It will be OK because your two fingers will now be supporting the soil in the pot.

Gently lift the pot off the plant soil as shown in the picture. Normally, with tomato plants, it will come off easily. If it doesn't come off, gently twist the pot left and right to ease it off.

Plant Your Tomato

The final step is to place the tomato plant (without the pot!) in the hole you dug earlier. Gently draw soil into spare space in the hole and gently firm down the soil.

The soil will be slightly higher on the tomato plant compared to when it was in the pot and that's good. Finally water the soil immediately around the plant well to consolidate the plant in the ground.

Drought Tip
If you are in a drought area, a good tip is to earth up the soil around the plant to form a dip in the soil around the base of the plant. This way, when you water the plant, the water will stay in the dip around the base of the plant and will be concentrated on the roots.

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