Having a garden is a relaxing way for some people to spend a day. Being out in the garden becomes a way to pass time. For others it is a way to grow the food they need. Still others spend much of their time trying to grow the best fruits and vegetables they can to either sell on the farmer's market, give them away, or just keep to eat. There is an art to growing tomatoes. It can be done right to grow the best tomatoes you have ever seen.

Growing great tomatoes is not something that will just occur in just a few short weeks by luck. It takes quite a bit of time, care and effort to grow the best tomatoes that you have ever seen or tasted. You can never start doing this too early. If you don't believe it then just go into the grocery store and try one of the ones there. They have no flavor, and they sure don't look that good. You can make yours something special.

A very easy way to start your plants is to begin with seeds. Just follow the instructions on the package for planting these. When they show their first leaves, then, after about two weeks you will need to move them into four inch pots for growing. Tomato plants don't like to be crowded and will grow better when they have space.

Tomato plants love to have lots and lots of direct sunlight. They can never seem to get enough of it. Too little sunlight will hinder their growth. Direct sunlight is preferred for optimal growth, but, if you don't have much of that, then grow lights will have to do. They will need up to eighteen hours of light. It seems like a lot, but, that time under light does make a huge difference.

You do want your tomato plants to grow with strong stems. For just a few minutes a day, but no more than ten, have a fan blowing gently on them to stimulate their stems. The fan makes them move in the breeze causing their stems to grow stronger. Just a couple minutes a day will do the trick.

One thing about tomato plants is that they love to be warm. They just love heat. If you just notice where most of the tomatoes in the store come from, look at their package. They come from very warm areas. Before you even plant your tomatoes in the ground, cover that entire area with a dark plastic sheet so that the ground will be nice and warm for your plants. This will make the plants want to grow tomatoes sooner.

You do want to plant them in the ground deep. Growing them deep will make them want to grow more roots, even on the stems for more support and the ability to get water. Dig your hole deeper or just lay the plant down a little sideways. It will right itself later on.

For the last part, make sure you are adding plenty of a mulch substance around the bottom of the plant so that it can keep as much heat and water in the ground as possible. This is very important to their growth. You will need to make sure that they get a lot of water daily making sure that it gets way down into the soil. These are just some simple steps for you to follow for growing a bumper crop of great tasting tomatoes.