Tomatoes are the undisputed king of the vegetable garden.
Tomatoes are grown by 94 percent of the country’s 50 million
gardening households. You’ll rarely find a summer vegetable garden
without at least one tomato plant in it.
Tomatoes are the undisputed king of the vegetable garden. Tomatoes are grown by 94 percent of the country’s 50 million gardening households. You’ll rarely find a summer vegetable garden without at least one tomato plant in it.
Which brings us to the crux of this week’s column. Specifically, how can you be 100-percent successful in growing your own tomatoes in your garden this year? Let me count the ways.
• Number 1: Sun, sun and more sun. Yes, let the sun shine in! Actually, this is the same recommendation for almost all vegetables. The hotter the area the better in order to get lots of tasty fruit. In the shade, you’ll get skinny, straggly vines and few tomatoes.
• Number 2: Good soil. I can’t reiterate the need for good, well-draining soil. This usually means incorporating generous amounts of organic material into the top six to 12 inches of soil.
Organic matter stimulates microorganisms, maintains moisture and moderates soil temperatures. It will especially work its magic in our area’s clay soils, encouraging drainage.
You can buy large bags of organic compost at any garden center, and even get creative by mixing in a little mushroom compost, redwood soil conditioner, peat moss, etc.
If you’re planting tomatoes in containers, always use packaged potting mixes instead of plain garden dirt. You can amend the packaged potting soil by adding organic compost as well.
• Number 3: Plant appropriate varieties. Admittedly, this is where tomato-growing gets tricky. Veteran home gardeners all have their favorite varieties. Plus, new varieties are always coming down the pike. Suffice to say, plant varieties that have good disease resistance. On seed packets or plant tags, look for letters, such as “V” for verticillium wilt and “N” for nematodes, which denote disease resistance.
Growing different varieties also guarantees success. Generally, the large-fruited indeterminate types like “Big Boy” won’t ripen until late summer. Therefore, I like growing cherry tomatoes, such as “Sungold” and early-fruiting types like “Early Girl.” These carry me through June and July until the large-fruited varieties get going in August and September.
• Number 4: A head start helps, but if you haven’t planted yet, don’t worry. That’s because tomato plants really don’t get growing until our night-time temperatures start to heat up. That means you still have plenty of time to plant and, in fact, encourage your plants to grow.
I like to spread black plastic or weed-block fabric over the ground before planting. The black attracts heat and helps plants get off to a faster start.
• Number 5: Water and fertilize. This goes without saying, but just be aware that tomatoes do best if irrigated deeply rather than sprinkled daily. I like watering two or, at the most, three times a week, even during the hottest weather. Deep watering encourages plant roots to grow deep. You can also fertilize every few weeks with dry fertilizer, or more frequently with a liquid fertilizer solution. A cheap fertilizer is good old Epsom salts.
• Number 6: Weed and mulch. Competing weeds will draw water and fertilizer away from tomato plants, so control weeds. When the weather gets hot, mulch with any type of top dressing to retain moisture and also keep weeds from germinating.
Good luck, and get growing!
