Planting Tomatoes in Pictures: 3 in - 15 to Go

The above plot held some kale. I cleared the kale and I will be planting 3 tomatoes.
The tomatoes that will go in are Brandwine Pink, Aunt Ruby's Green and Speckled Roman.
Click the picture to enlarge.

The first step, after clearing, is to prepare the planting hole. It is 2 spades deep and I removed a lot of the existing soil. It is important to have outstanding soil for the tomato.

A mixture of peat moss and garden soil is used to fill the hole. A handful of 10-10-10 fertilizer was placed and mixed in to the bottom of the hole. I also mix in a half of cup of pulverized lime into the peat moss to decrease the natural acidity of peat moss.

I also mixed a small handful of fertilizer into the top 10 inches of the hole once filled. I dug a small handful of dirt out for the transplant. The tomato will be planted at a depth of about half of its total height. This plant is the Brandywine Pink heirloom.

The three tomatoes are planted and grass clippings are used to cover the soil. I use about 2 inches of grass clippings at a time and once they dry out, I add more.
Click the picture to enlarge.

This is the basic way I plant tomatoes. Each year I dig a large planting hole and put in new soil made of peat moss and garden soil. Fertilizer gets tossed in and the tomato plants get a fresh hole to grow in. Later the plants will get tomato stakes and I will prune them as the grow.