When I was a kid, we always had plenty of tomatoes in our garden and growing good tomatoes was a family activity. Each year at the end of summer and into the early fall we had fresh, delicious tomatoes to eat. Most years, the leftovers would be canned by my mother, though I wasn't particularly fond of the taste. I really like to eat good tomatoes, but if they're stewed, I really don't care for them. There is nothing better tasting-than homegrown tomatoes, and growing tomatoes is quite easy, in fact almost anyone with a large planter can grow their own.

When starting your tomato plants, you can either choose to use the starter plants most people enjoy, or you could begin growing good tomatoes early inside your home. Growing from seed is a much more difficult way to do it though, and you can make things easier for yourself simply by purchasing the starter plants that are available. Correctly grown tomatoes are not planted outdoors until they meet certain size requirements. These plants can be transplanted with little difficulty, but make sure that they have plenty of space in their new location. A tomato plant will require room to spread out and collect lots of sunlight.

Even though a lot of people like growing large tomatoes in large gardens, those without much yard space can start their tomatoes growing in a window box. This might mean only planting one or two plants, but they can still produce a good number of tomatoes for personal use. Remember that growing good tomatoes does require a bit of care. You must stake the tomato plant if it starts to bend to prevent breakage. You can buy specially made round wire frames at a gardening store, or else you could pitch a stake or fence beside your tomato plant to hold it up. This method ensures that your tomatoes will stay off the soil.

Healthy plants and growing large tomatoes are two benefits of using a good fertilizer on your garden. Just like most other plants, you need to keep their area weeded and watered. Although some people prefer to let tomatoes fully ripen on the vine, you don't have to do that. Tomatoes picked early will continue to ripen if stored in a dry place. Tomatoes taste best when stored in a dry, cool place but not the refrigerator. You'll have fresh tomatoes for longer if you keep some green ones in a paper bag in your cellar. They will keep well for a few months like this, allowing you to remove them and place them on the windowsill to ripen long into the autumn season.