How long is the lifespan of a tomato plant? Do you grow tomatoes in your garden? Tomatoes are really awesome to grow. The fruits coming from the plant taste delicious and you can mix them in many different dishes.
Growing tomatoes takes a little bit of time before they bear fruits. But it will be a good harvest to come when the plants receive what they need regularly. You will enjoy getting tomatoes from the plant for a few months and sooner the plant will stop growing and there will be no more fruits and you need to wait for the next planting season.
Lifespan Of A Tomato Plant
The tomato plant’s lifespan lasts for around 6 to 8 months. This length of time is a little bit shorter compared to the lifespan of trees. Commonly smaller plants just have a short life expectancy and you shouldn’t be surprised. 6 to 8 months is good enough for you to pick a lot of tomatoes.
You can use those fruits to cook some food. Tomatoes have various vitamins and minerals and it will be great to grow them in the garden. When the tomato plants reach their maturity stage, they will give a lot of fruits.
You need to take care of tomato plants so that they will grow healthy which will lead to an abundant harvest. You need to make sure that plants are getting their needs like sunlight, water, and nutrients. When the tomato plants start to produce flowers for the first time, the fruits will appear after a few weeks.
If you really want to harvest a lot of tomato fruits, you should grow a couple of plants. Each plant can bear a few fruits and when you combine those fruits from other plants, it will be a huge amount of tomatoes.
You can cook those tomatoes and enjoy eating them, or if you have a big garden and you have a bountiful harvest you can sell those tomatoes to earn some profit.
Tips To Prolong The Lifespan Of A Tomato Plant
Keeps Tomato Plants Healthy
To keep your tomato plants’ lifespan in a good shape, you need to keep them healthy. There are many areas to focus on to make tomato plants grow healthy. To do that you need to make your plants thrive well. When the tomato plants receive their needs regularly, they will grow bigger and faster.
Tomato plants need water, sunlight, and nutrients to achieve healthy growth. Also, protection from pests and diseases is important to keep them safe. Animals also may destroy the tomato plants and you need to add fences or barriers to keep them away from your garden.
Keeps Tomato Plants Hydrated
Tomato plants need water regularly. You can water tomato plants every two to three days when the weather is not too hot. But once the temperature increases you can water them almost every day.
There are many factors to consider in watering tomato plants. If the soil you have dries faster even if the temperature is not too cold, you can water them more often. You can check your soil by pressing your index finger 2 to 3 inches in the soil. If you feel that the soil is still moist, you don’t need to water them. You only give tomato plants water if the soil is partially dry or completely dry.
The water will help plants to make them thrive which can also lead to a good harvest of tomatoes. When you have a small garden you can grow a lot of tomatoes.
But you really need to make sure that the tomato planting distance is enough and the plants will not be overcrowded in one place. In that way, tomato plants will not compete for the water and they will grow at a maximum. Also, don’t overwater the plants to avoid root rot and yellowing of leaves.
Plant Tomato In A Place With A Lot Of Sun
Sunlight is very important for tomato plants to make them grow faster, and bigger, produce more flowers and fruits, and will make the plants healthy. When you are just starting your garden, you need seeds to grow them.
Growing tomatoes from seeds are easy. You just need to prepare your seeds and you can do it as soon as you want. You can buy tomato seeds from nurseries, agriculture stores, or even online. There are plenty of stores where you can get high-quality seeds.
Germinating tomato seeds takes a few days before the seedlings appear on the soil. You can choose healthy seedlings and plant them in your garden. The tomato will like to get more sun and it will help them on their journey.
The tomato plants do not tolerate too much cold and if in your area you experience frost, it will be great to grow them in pots and transfer them indoors. In that way, the plants will be safer.
Improve Soil Quality
When you have a garden but the soil is not rich in nutrients, you need to improve it by adding fertilizers. It depends upon you what to choose from chemicals or organic. If you feel good with commercial chemical fertilizers, then you can use them to make your tomato plants in a good shape. But if you are practicing organic gardening, then you must find organic fertilizers.
The fertilizers will help the tomato plant to make them bloom. Once the bloom shows up on the plant it will be exciting because fruits will appear next. You need to improve the poor soil so that all plants planted in that area will be benefited and make them grow really well.
When the soil is rich in nutrients, you can expect more tomato fruits per plant. It will be worth it to improve the soil quality which will also lead to an abundant harvest. Surely all gardeners want to have an abundant harvest and they will enjoy cooking them next to or selling some of those to earn profit.
Protect Your Tomatoes From Pests, Diseases, And Animals
If you want to keep your plants living longer, you need to protect them from pests, diseases, and animals. There are some pests that will likely cause damage to your tomato plants. Some of them are aphids, beetles, worms, mites, etc. You need to keep them away so that the leaves, fruits, and all parts of the tomato plant will be safe. Some diseases might attack the tomato like early blight, leaf spot, anthracnose, etc.
The pests and diseases can be controlled by using pesticides and fungicides. You can also use some organic ones to control them. Aside from pests and diseases, animals can also damage your tomato plants. Squirrels, rabbits, birds, etc., can eat the fruits of your plant. You need to make some barriers or control measures to keep animals away from your plant. In that way, the tomato plants will live longer and give you more fruits.
It is great to know how long the lifespan of tomato plants is. When you know how long a tomato plant lives you will have an idea of how much time you can harvest tomatoes in your garden.
Tomatoes are so popular and many people like eating them. Many people make a garden and they grow a lot of tomato plants. A single plant can give you a bunch of fruits.