Delicious tomatoes are no accident. With the right preparation, anyone can grow them.

One bite of a juicy vine-ripened tomato can capture the whole essence of summer. Let your teeth break through the shiny skin, and the sweet flavor instantly delivers everything the season promises. And what's even better is that growing them is easy. Use this simple planting guide, and you'll have an abundant harvest you'll be proud of.

Good Roots
The key to tasty tomatoes is limiting how much water is inside the fruit. The more concentrated the flavor, the better. The best way to get this result is to encourage your plants to grow deep roots, accessing the water table belowground. With well-developed root systems, the tomato plants won't need much surface watering because they will be getting their moisture from below.

This has a number of important advantages. First, you won't have to water the tomatoes as much, which will end up saving you money and valuable time. Second, by limiting the amount of water that is around your plants, you will reduce the likelihood that they will become infected with disease and mildew. Finally, if your tomatoes receive a consistent supply of water from belowground, the fruit will be much less likely to split open or rot.

The Right Seedlings
One of the easiest ways to get the best-tasting tomatoes is to start with the healthiest seedlings you can find. Avoid leggy plants with more than an inch between branches. Compact plants with well-developed roots will grow faster and areless prone to disease and insect problems. Also, don't be tempted to buy seedlings when they first appear at nurseries. Wait until nighttime temperatures stay in the upper 50s to buy and plant your tomatoes.