Cultivating tomatoes in its original bag

Right now is the perfect time of the year to teach your children about plants – with the focus of environmental issues in the past few years, children in most countries certainly learn the basics about how important it is to preserve nature and many schools actually have gardens where children learn to plant fruits and vegetables.

So, if the schools are already doing it, why is it important that you do it with them? Well, besides having fresh vegetables and fruits without chemicals, this is an opportunity to teach your children how to nurture life and to set a good example for them. Your children will take pride that what they are learning in school is being put into practice at home and that they are eating the results!

So, if you have a garden, get the little ones away from the computer and enjoy a beautiful summer day, while teaching them precious life lessons!

My pick is tomato because they are easy to grow and cultivate, are very nutritious and are ideal for this time of the year.

If you are new to gardening, I recommend you start with grown plants instead of seeds – imagine the frustration of your child if the seeds never grow or die shortly after! Growing plants from seed is an exciting experience for children (and adults), so you should definitely save this idea for next summer.

Step by step instructions on how to cultivate tomato from grown plants:

1. Buy tomato plants in a bag: for a first timer, buying plants that come in a bag with fertilizer is best because the soil is prepared with what’s ideal for the plant and because it keeps the plants “higher” from the ground and away from parasites. These bags are illustrated on the picture to the right.
2. Keep them in the original bag.
3. Ask the shop if the plant is used to being outside during the night. If they are, you can just put them outside and leave them there. If they are not used to that, they need to gradually get used to the change of temperature. In this case, leave them outside during the day and put them in a shed during the night for a few days. Each day prolonging their “stay”outside. To save all this trouble, try purchasing a plant that is already used to that.


Tomato plant

4. Place a stake on each tomato plant and tie the plant to it (loosely). That will make sure the plant grows straight up.
5. Place the plants in a location where there is plenty of sun. If you have a greenhouse, even better – the plants will grow faster and the tomatoes will be sweeter.
6. Water daily. Tomato plants can die quickly if the soil is dry.
7. If there are too many birds around, place a tulle or a plastic bag around the plant (in this case, make small holes on the plastic. Birds also need their food and are an enchantment on any garden, so leaving a tomato plant uncovered just for them is appreciated and is another way to teach children about responsibility with people and animals around us.
8. Pruning: when you can see yellow flowers and/or a few tomatoes, cut of branches of the plant that doesn’t have any flowers or tomatoes. That will allow the plant to concentrate its energy on the tomatoes that will grow – each flower means one tomato, that’s why you should not cut any out.
9. Enjoy them!

Make sure you do each step with your children, explaining the “whys” of each step.

Even if you don’t have children, the nutritious value of tomatoes should be enough reason to cultivate them. Tomato is the best source of lycopene, an antioxidant that helps to prevent several types of cancers, by protecting the cells from oxygen damage. They are also a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A and fiber.

If space is an issue, you can try to plant strawberry plants in a container. I think this could be an option for an apartment, but I haven’t tried it. One tip with strawberries: don’t over water the plants, because the strawberries will grow too fast, but will lack flavor.

Here is a video I found that shows in details how to plant strawberries in a container

Source: Whfoods.com