What can I use as a mulch around my tomato plants? (2024)

FAQs

What can I put around tomato plants? ›

Mulch around your tomato plants.

A 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch will suffice and can help protect your plants from weed competition. It can also reduce the splashing of water that can transfer soilborne diseases to the leaves and stems of the plants.

Coffee grounds are packed with nutrients that tomato plants love, like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. They help improve soil structure and promote microbial activity, which can lead to healthier, more robust tomato plants. Plus, they may even help deter certain pests.

Plastic mulch helps maintain heat in the soil and increases the rate of plant growth. The first tomatoes to hit the market get the best prices. Using mulch can shorten the interval from planting to harvest by as much as one week if the sun shines. Plastic mulch also helps prevent evaporation form the soil.

Tomatos do best when grown off the ground. There are a few ways to achieve this, such as cages, stakes and trellises. No matter what kind of tomatoes you're growing, it's important to keep them off the ground or else you risk fruit rot and leaf diseases.

Finely ground pine bark is often sold in bags and called either mulch or soil conditioner. No matter what you call it, I like that it is very fine and light. Like straw, it's good for tender plants and emerging seedlings.

But, generally, using organic mulch made from wood chips or bark will be the best choice. It's one of the easiest and least expensive ways to ensure the long-term health and fertility of your soil and the health of your trees and shrubs.

Coffee grounds inhibit the growth of some plants, including geranium, asparagus fern, Chinese mustard and Italian ryegrass. Conversely, grounds (used as mulch and compost) improve yields of soybeans and cabbage.

Most of us have heard that eggshells can help increase the calcium in our garden soil, and some of us may have even tried it in our own yards. The goal is to help prevent blossom end rot on tomatoes and other plants affected by calcium deficiency. As it turns out, using eggshells really doesn't fix anything.

Are banana peels good for tomato plants? ›

Banana peels are also brimming with potassium, which is excellent for plants like tomatoes, peppers or flowers. “Banana peels also contain calcium, which prevents blossom end rot in tomatoes,” the Cape Gazette adds.

Generally, it works best on hot-weather crops like tomatoes, peppers, melons, squash and pumpkins.

In research done with Clemson University, he and ARS soil scientist Patrick G. Hunt found that tomato plants grown over red mulch yielded about 20 percent more fruit than those grown over standard black mulch.

TOMATOES need full sun and plenty of air. Plant about a metre apart and mulch using straw, sugar cane mulch or some other course organic material. Tomatoes are heavy feeders. A month after planting, start additional feeding.