Growing organic tomatoes
with the help of earthworms

Growing organic tomatoes is fun and rewarding. There are quite a few good reasons why you should be growing organic tomatoes with the help of earthworms.

• The fruit produced by the plants are healthier and tastier than those produced by using chemical fertilizers.
• The plants are usually less prone to diseases, grow bigger and produce more fruit than plants grown on chemical plant food or without any kind of fertilization.
  
• Organic tomatoes fetch a significantly higher retail price on the market.
• Earthworms introduced to the environment where tomato plants are grown will dig tunnels that will aerate the soil, allow for easy penetration of water and make it easier for the plants to grow their roots.
• In addition earthworms revitalize the soil they are living with their poop, known as worm castings. It is one of the most balanced natural plant foods and soil conditioners known to man.

Cherry tomatoes ripening.

What does organic mean?

Now what do we understand under the term organic?  A lot has been written about it and you'll find lots of products labeled green or organic on the shelves of grocery stores all over the world. So what does organic mean?

In short organic products are produced in an environmentally friendly way without the use of chemicals or other harmful materials.

Growing organic tomatoes
with the
help of earthworms

To grow organic tomatoes with the help of earthworms you will need:

• small tomato plants
• a natural growing medium and soil conditioner
• a sunny area for your tomatoes to grow
• a batch of earthworms 

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To get started prepare a growing medium for your tomato plants. The medium should be fertile and provide some nourishment for the earthworms that are living in it as well. 

We had great success with a mixture of worm castings, kitchen scraps and top soil which we mixed in equal parts. Place the growing medium into a reasonably sized pot or bucket that has drainage holes at the bottom.

Dig a hole deep enough for the roots of your small tomato plants and place the plant carefully into it cover the hole with the growing medium and water thoroughly. 

Depending on the climate you are living in you should water the plants every day or every other day.  

Small tomato plants in a pot with earthworms

Now add a handful of earthworms to the pot. They will dig down quickly and will start feeding on the kitchen scraps you added to your growing medium. The tunnels that the worms build aerate the soil and make it easy for the roots of the plants to grow. The poop of the worms called worm castings will continue to feed your plants as they grow. If you want to add more organic waste materials to your pot you can place a plastic pipe that has lots of holes in its sides into the center of the pot. This way you can add continuously worm food to your tomato pot which the worms will convert into nutrient rich plant food.

Larger tomato plants after a few weeks

As the plants grow prune of all side shoots that are below the first fruit holding branch. This enables your plants to put more of its energy into growing the fruit that you are after. 

Lots of cherry tomatoes ripening on a branch.

You can throw the pruned off shoots onto the surface of the pot where they will protect the soil from the sun and will turn into worm food as they start to decompose. 

Depending on the kind of tomatoes you have planted you will be able to harvest juicy ripe fruit for several months.

Growing organic tomatoes with the help of earthworms is easy and very rewarding. 

Return from "Growing organic tomatoes" to the home page

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Building a simple worm bin at home

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Learn what to do about "Tomato blight" 

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How to make money with worms

Tippen sie hier ihren Suchbegriff (z.B. Regenwurm) für mehr Informationen zur Wurmkompostierung ein .

Gardening with earthworms

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Where to buy worms

Worm farming is a sustainable business

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Worms compost dog poop

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Recycling against climate change

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 For a more in depth definition of the term "Organic' have a look at this page from "Organic.org".