How To Grow Big Tomatoes At Home

If you want to grow huge tomatoes that will beat Gordon Graham's record 7 pound 12 ounce whopper it's going to take a lot of luck, but once you how to grow big tomatoes you have as good a chance as anyone

Knowing the basics of how to grow big tomatoes is the first step to harvesting a crop of huge tomatoes.

Selecting a variety of tomato like the "Delicious" that Gordan Graham grew is the first decision you need to make.  Some like the cherry tomatoes just don't get big, where others can get huge. Most of the varieties of tomatoes that grow huge are of the indeterminate type.

Just as any plant does, tomatoes require good soil with the right nutrients in order to reach their full potential. Start with well worked and properly fertilized soil and you have half the battle won.

Tomatoes just don't do well without direct exposure to sunlight and heat. If at all possible locate them where hey will get maximum exposure to the afternoon sun.

Don't over water your tomato plants by sprinkling every day. They like deep watering so use a soaker hose and only water them once or twice a week.

The way to ensure your tomato plants have a strong root system is to trim off the bottom couple of branches and plant them as deeply as possible. Tomato plants will grow new roots from any part of the stem that is underground. You can even lay them out horizontally if you find that they are too long, and they will do great.

Overcrowding their tomato plants is a mistake many gardeners make. If space is at a premium cut back on how many plants you grow. Give them at least two feet between plants and you will end up with more and bigger tomatoes than you would with more plants that don't have the space they need.

Indeterminate tomatoes need to be pruned often if you want to get large tomatoes. Simply pinch off the new shoots that start to grow between the stem and main branches, being careful not to pinch off the flowers.

You want your plants to spend their energy on growing a few large tomatoes rather than on a lot of smaller ones, so remove all but the largest tomato from each cluster.

There you have it. You now know the basics of how to grow big tomatoes. With a little luck and a bit of patience you may just grow the next record tomato.

Once you get some truly big tomatoes you might want to consider saving tomato seeds from the biggest couple so that next year you can grow tomatoes from seed using seed that you know have good genes.

Article Tags: Tomato Plants

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