How to Grow Hybrid Early Girl Tomato Plants
- 1). Weed an area with well-draining soil in full sunlight. Dig the soil to 12 inches deep with a shovel and add in 4 inches of manure or compost. In the top 6 inches of soil, mix in 1 pound of 5-10-5 slow-release fertilizer for each 100 square feet of planting space.
- 2). Dig a hole with a hand trowel that is deep enough to hold two-thirds of the plant. Place the Early Girl tomato plant seedling in the hole so that only the top two or three sets of full leaves are above the ground. Gently fill in the hole so you do not break the branches. The stem on a tomato plant will produce roots underground.
- 3). Space the other Early Girl tomato plants 24 inches to 36 inches apart. Place a tomato cage around the young Early Girl tomato plant. Using a cage eliminates the need to prune the tomato plant and keeps the tomatoes off the ground as they develop.
- 4). Water the soil around the bottom of the Early Girl tomato plant, soaking the soil. Watering the leaves of the tomato plant causes plant disease problems. Tomato plants require 1 inch to 2 inches of water each week. In dry weather, check the soil every day. Water the tomato plant whenever the top of the soil is dry.
- 5). Spread 2 inches to 4 inches of mulch such as straw, clean hay, compost or paper around the Early Girl tomato plant. This keeps the moisture from evaporating too quickly from the soil. Mulching also reduces the need to weed the tomato plants.
- 6). Feed the Early Girl tomato plant when the tomatoes are one-third their mature size. Use 1/2 cup per plant of 5-10-5 slow-release fertilizer. Scratch the fertilizer into the top 1 inch of the soil with a hand cultivator and water. Feed the tomato plant two weeks after picking the first fruit and then again one month later.