Tending your own garden is fun. Not only that, it also allows you to get a free supply of vegetables and fruits. It allows you to get fresh air and sunshine, exercise, and relaxation, as well as the reward of the harvest.

One of the most popular plants for beginners and experts alike is the tomato plant. Every garden needs at least one tomato plant. Nothing is better than harvesting your own sweet, juicy, and huge tomato. You can eat it alone or use it as an ingredient in your favorite dish.

7 Things to Add to Your Tomato Planting Hole

To ensure you grow the best tomatoes when it comes to size and taste, you need to nourish it from the very beginning. Adding these seven things straight into the tomato planting hole helps to give your tomatoes a great head start towards a bountiful harvest. Not only will you give the plant the right amount of nutrients and fertilizer, you are also increasing the chances that your plant will be strong enough to fight off the pests and diseases that might come its way.

What to put in the hole when planting tomatoes?

That is a fairly common question gardening newbies (and old-timers) ask. Some people call them tomato hole planting recipes! You can use this recipe in the ground or in a container – realizing that the fish heads in the container may not be the best idea (critters can dig them up).

Here are the 7 things that you should add to your tomato planting hole to give it a healthy beginning!

Aspirin

Aspirin boosts the plant’s immunity, keeping it away from diseases, thus increasing its yield.

You can drop one crushed Aspirin tablet in the hole, or you can also dissolve it in a spray bottle and spray directly on the tomato plants.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is one of the all-time favorite gardening hacks, even if you’re growing your tomato plants in pots and containers.

To get sweeter fruits, sprinkle baking soda in the hole as well as at the base of the plant. The soil will fully absorb this material and use it to lower the fruits’ acidity levels, resulting in sweeter produce.

Bone Meal

Bone meal is a source of phosphorus and calcium. It aids in maintaining a good root system and production of quality tomatoes. Just add a cup full of bone meal into the hole when planting.

Coffee Grounds

Coffee grounds put nitrogen into your soil and do not have to be composted before you can add them to your tomato hole.

Eggshells

Eggshells boost the soil’s calcium content, one of the key components that a plant needs to continue to grow. It helps in preventing blossom end rot, a common tomato malady.

To prepare your eggshells, first, cover the empty shells with water in a pan and boil them for 5 minutes to sanitize them. Then crush them by hand or in a blender, then they are ready for use in the garden.

Before you plant your tomatoes, make sure to scatter some crushed eggshells in the hole and around the garden plot or container. Or give your eggshells a whirl in your mini food processor to make eggshell powder to sprinkle. Ask your friends and family to save their eggshells. Remember, clean eggshells will not smell, and you don’t care if they break while being saved.

Note: if you do end up with bloosom rot this works.

Epsom Salt

A lot of tomato plants suffer and die from a magnesium deficiency, especially in the process of bearing fruits. Organic gardeners love to use Epsom salt as the magnesium helps strengthen cell walls and improves plants’ uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.

Add one to two teaspoons of Epsom salt before you transplant the seedling in the tomato planting hole. Cover the area with a layer of soil and ensure that the roots are not directly touching the salt.

Fish Head

Fish heads are used by farmers and pro gardeners as natural fertilizers for their plants. This “natural waste” releases potassium, nitrogen, phosphorous, and calcium into the soil.

The only issue with using fish heads is that critters tend to dig them up. To prevent this problem, bury the fish head deeply in the ground. You can drop it in whole, or you can also grind up the head and mix it with water and milk to create a supercharged solution.

To recap your tomato hole planting recipe should incliude:

1. Apsirin
2. Baking Soda
3. Bone meal
4. Coffee Grounds
5. Eggshells
6. Epsom Salt
7. Fish Head

Mix with soil or compost and then place your tomato plant into the hole. Bury your tomato plants deep, the hairs you see on the stem will grow into roots once buried, so the deeper you bury them, the better the root system.

By adding these seven things into your tomato planting hole, you are increasing the chances of getting the best tomatoes in terms of size and quality. You can feel good knowing you gave you tomatoes the best head start and you will see them flourish as they grow and you tend them.

You may also be very interested in these other gardening tips:

• 10 Common Household Items to Use as Garden Fertilizers – These 10 common household items to use as garden fertilizer will add needed nutrients to your soil for pennies (or less). Turn your household wastes, simple kitchen products, and excess leaves into nutrient rich soil. These common household products make great additives to your soil and help to produce some amazing flowers and vegetables in your home garden.

• The Most Common Garden Failures and How to Avoid Them – Identifying common causes for most garden failures. These simple solutions will help avoid the reasons most gardens fail, and offer corrective measures so your garden will thrive!

• How to Create the Perfect Vegetable Garden on a Patio – When you think of a garden, usually you think of a yard with lush green area, shrubs, grass, and maybe a few flowers. However, sometimes you just don’t have that space to plant all the crops of your dreams. But, every green thumb needs a small sanctuary. If you want to create your little garden on your patio, here are some tips to help you make it a reality!

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