- 1). Select a planting site that receives no less than eight hours of sun per day. Soil must be well-drained, with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8, to produce the best crop.
- 2). Buy a soil testing kit from a garden center to test the soil's pH. Add lime if the pH is too low.
- 3). Use a rotary tiller to work 2 to 3 inches of compost or peat moss into the top 6 to 9 inches of soil. Add starter fertilizer in the amount indicated by soil-test results, and work it well into the soil.
- 4). Dig a hole with the spade that is big enough for the root ball of each tomato plant. The lowest leaves of the plant should be even with the soil when put into the hole. Space plum tomato plants 15 to 24 inches apart and allow 3 to 4 feet between each row.
- 5). Remove the plum tomato plant from its pot, hold it over the planting hole and loosen the soil around the roots. Place the plant in the hole. Push soil around the plant and tamp the soil lightly.
- 6). Pound tomato stakes about 8 to 12 inches into the soil about 3 to 5 inches away from every second or third plant. As the plum tomato plants grow, use pieces of heavy string, a strip of cloth or nylon stocking to tie the tops of the plants to the stakes.
- 7). Apply a complete fertilizer when the tomatoes are about the size of golf balls, at a rate of 3 pounds per 100 square feet. Use 1 pound per 100 square feet of nitrogen fertilizer. Apply fertilizer two more times--at three weeks and six weeks.
- 8). Spread organic mulch around the plum tomato plants in early summer to prevent weeds and to keep soil moist.
- 9). Water deeply at least once each week, and more often if there is little rainfall. Give tomato plants no less than 1 inch of water each week, from rainfall or hand watering.
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