How to Grow Tomatoes
By Jodi Torpey
After waiting all winter to taste a garden-grown tomato, most gardeners tend to rush the season by planting too soon. It’s best to wait to plant tomatoes until night-time temperatures are a reliable 55 degrees before planting garden tomatoes in the garden.
At higher altitudes, gardeners may need to plan ways to create a warm microclimate in their
garden to ensure adequate tomato-growing time. Wall O’ Water, or other plant protectors,
make a difference in planting time. Use them to warm the soil for a week and you can then
plant while the weather is still cool.
If you want to be the first on your block to pluck a tomato from your own vines, plant short-season tomatoes. These are also called early tomatoes. These are tomatoes that will mature in 55-60 days. The less time it takes for tomatoes to mature, the more likely you’ll have a tomato crop, especially if the weather turns cold or there’s an early freeze in fall.
When choosing tomatoes at the garden center, look for plants that are dark green, 6-8 inches tall with a stem about the diameter of a pencil. Read the label and look for “VFN resistant” hybrid varieties. VFN means the plant is resistant to Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, and nematodes.
Tomatoes can be planted in the ground, in raised beds or in containers. Select the sunniest spot in your garden—the one that receives 6-8 hours of sunshine each day in the summer—and an area that’s protected from wind, if possible.
Before planting in the garden or containers, move plants outdoors and gradually give them a
few hours of sun each day to get them acclimated to the outdoors.
When to plant tomatoes?
The best time to plant tomatoes in the late afternoon or on a cloudy day. Dig a small planting hole, remove some of the lower leaves from the tomato plant and plant in the soil up to the remaining leaves. For tall, leggy plants, plant lengthwise and bury some of the lower stem. Plants will grow roots all along the stem.
Tips for maintaining your tomato garden:
- Mulch around the plant with thin layers of dry, untreated grass clippings to conserve water, control weeds and regulate soil temperature.
- Water at the roots of the plant and water deeply to 8-10 inches. Avoid splashing water on the leaves.
- Keep tomato beds weeded, but take care not to damage roots when weeding.
- Tomatoes need nitrogen so fertilize tomatoes lightly with a water-soluble fertilizer when the fruits begin to grow. Make fertilizer applications every 2-4 weeks.
What other tomato tips do you have to add to the list?
