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How to Grow Tomatoes

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  • Introduction

    • Nothing beats the delicious taste of tomatoes from your own garden. The health benefits don't hurt either. Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, low in fat and contain plenty of antioxidants. They come in all kinds of exotic colors, and best of all, they're relatively easy to grow. All you need is a small patch of land or a container that can get plenty of sun. With a little TLC, you'll be harvesting your own tomatoes in no time.

  • What You'll Need

    • Most of the following items can be purchased at garden shops, in the garden department of larger hardware stores or through online specialty retailers like Garden.com.
    1. Seeds or Seedlings
      • You can grow tomatoes from either seeds or seedlings, already sprouted tomato seeds. If you choose to start with seeds, keep in mind that they can take weeks to sprout and need to be germinated indoors. Once the seeds have sprouted into seedlings, you'll need to transplant the seedling to an outdoor container or garden plot.
    2. Garden plot or container
      • At a minimum, you will need a patch of earth at least one square foot in diameter or a container such as a large terra-cotta pot, a five gallon bucket with drainage holes or a wine barrel cut in half with drainage holes.
    3. Water
    4. Hose or watering can
    5. Sunlight
      • Tomatoes require at least six hours of sunlight a day.
    6. Premium soil or soil mixture
      • Tomatoes love nutrients and are known to be "heavy feeders" so a good organic soil full of composted material is ideal.
    7. Mulch
    8. Stakes or wire mesh for cages
      • Stakes should be sturdy: wood or galvanized pipes work well and should be 4-6 feet high. Cages or wire mesh should have large open mesh windows (not chicken wire) and be at least 3 feet high.
    9. Twine or garden tape
    10. Fertilizer
    11. Garden trowel
    12. Pruning shears

  • Additional Notes on Location

    • Tomatoes can be grown outdoors in a garden plot or in a container on a patio or sunny balcony. Indoor growing, while possible, isn't recommended as it requires the purchase of high-intensity lamps or access to direct sunlight.
    • Here are a few other things to keep in mind as you consider your tomato plant's future home:
    1. Sun: You'll need a location that provides good sun and a bit of shelter from the wind.
    2. Space: Your growing area should be generous enough to accommodate rapid growth. Some tomatoes can grow to be five feet tall, and the rootball can spread to an area of one square foot or larger.
      • If you plan on growing more than one tomato plant outside, they will need to be spaced roughly 2-3 feet apart.
      • If you are container-growing, a three-gallon pot is the minimum recommended size to use.
    3. Drainage: Your garden bed or container needs excellent drainage.
      • To create good drainage in a garden bed, turn the soil by digging and mix in amendments like compost or peat moss. This lightens the soil and adds air, which helps it drain faster.
      • Containers need drainage holes and fresh, potting soil made for vegetables.

  • Step 1: Choose a Type of Tomato

    • While there are hundreds of varieties of tomatoes, most fall into one of a few categories.

  • Determinate vs. Indeterminate

    • There are two distinct types of tomato plants:
    1. Determinate: Determinate types are bushy, reaching only about 2' high and often do not need staking. They yield their fruit all at once and then decline.
    2. Indeterminate: Indeterminate types are constantly growing and continue producing fruit until they are killed off. They will need a cage or staking.

  • Hybrids vs. Heirlooms

    1. Heirlooms: People grow heirlooms for their intense flavors, luscious color combos and odd shapes like "ruffled" or "pleated." Brandywine, Cherokee and Green Zebra tomatoes are considered heirlooms or "originals" because they are 40 to 50 years old. Their seeds have been saved and handed down generation after generation.
    2. Hybrids: Hybrids such as Early Girl and Celebrity tomatoes have been cross-bred with different strains of tomatoes which makes them disease resistant and more commercially viable.

  • Choosing a Tomato Type

    • Take the following into consideration as you settle on a type of tomato to grow in your garden:
    1. Start with something easy. Clustering types like cherry tomatoes are great for beginners. Their fruit matures quickly and makes them less prone to disease.
    2. Choose a variety to suit your taste, space and climate.
      • Tomato plants are usually labeled with maturity information stating how long it takes for fruiting to occur and how big and tall they may grow.
      • Cluster tomatoes such as the little pear, grape and cherry tomatoes are good for small areas and containers.
      • Big and hefty tomatoes such as The Mortgage Lifter can get giant and really should be in-ground.
    3. Consider whether or not you'll be cooking with the tomatoes. Certain kinds of tomatoes serve different purposes in cooking.
      • Paste tomatoes such as Italian plum tomatoes like Roma are great for sauces and stews.
      • Meaty Beefsteaks slice easily for sandwiches and dice nicely for salsas.
      • Cherry tomatoes are small fruits with big bursts of flavor either tart or sweet. They're wonderful dropped in salads and great for dips.
    4. Plant more than one kind. True tomato lovers plant several kinds of tomatoes. For tomato snobs, variety is the spice of life.
    5. Use a variety of resources to learn about tomato types. Seed catalogs, gardening websites and local garden centers are good places to learn which type of tomato stands the greatest chance of thriving in your garden or home.

  • Step 2: Plant the Tomatoes

    • Start with healthy, ready-to-plant seedlings that are at least a few inches tall and have some stalks and leaves.
    1. Do not plant outdoors until the chance of frost is gone and temperatures remain above 50 degrees. If the plant freezes it can die.
    2. Dig a hole about a foot in diameter for each seedling.
      • Many gardeners recommend tossing in one or more of the following: bits of compost, a few crushed eggshells (calcium from the eggshells may help prevent blossom rot), fish emulsion, bone meal, a gentle fertilizer or diluted starter solution.
    3. Water the hole with a gallon of water.
    4. Let the water soak into the hole. If you have put granule-type fertilizer in the hole, make sure the water has thoroughly drenched it.
      • Fertilizer can burn the roots of a seedling. Do not make this mistake. Water the fertilizer to dilute it, then stir it up, making sure it disperses and is absorbed into the soil before planting.
    5. Place the plant into the hole being careful not to disturb the delicate rootball.
      • Don't be afraid to snip off the lower branches of a seedling in order to bury the plant a few inches deeper into the soil. Allow top branches to remain above the ground. This encourages the plant to make more roots, which is beneficial.
    6. If you are using a stake, cage or trellis, insert it close to or around the seedling.
      • Push stakes or cages down into the soil several inches deep so they will hold when the plant begins to grow large and heavy.
    7. Fill in the hole with soil and tamp down gently.
    8. Dress or sprinkle the top of the soil around the plant with a layer of mulch to help retain moisture, keep soil cool and fend off weeds.
    9. Water immediately. Give the soil around the plant a good soaking which will fill in air pockets around the roots with soil.

  • Step 3: Care for the Tomatoes

    • Caring for your tomatoes as they grow includes keeping them watered, fed and free of pests. Here are a few tips on the love and care of your new tomato plants:
    1. Water plants regularly but sparingly. Insert your finger a few inches into the soil, if it's dry than you need to water.
      • Over-watering causes leaves to yellow and depletes the sugar content of the fruit. Try watering the plant less when the fruit is almost ripe.
    2. Avoid spraying the entire plant when watering. Drenching the leaves with water can cause fungus and mildew problems. Water at the roots.
    3. Fertilize every two to three weeks.
      • Packaged fertilizers are labeled with numbers describing the contents of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. They are always in this order. A ratio of 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 is a good, balanced choice for tomatoes.
      • You want the fertilizer to reach the roots. Avoid direct contact between the plant and fertilizer because it can burn the plant. Spread dry or liquid fertilizer around the base of the plant and water so it soaks into the soil.
    4. Tomatoes are vines, and most need a support structure. As the branches grow tie them loosely to the stake or cage with twine or garden tape to keep the fruit off the soil, which in turn, helps deter pests and prevents fruit from rotting.
    5. Companion planting can fight off pests. Growing basil, nasturtiums, marigolds and poppies nearby can help prevent undesirable insects.
    6. Use netting to protect the plants from birds. If birds are pecking at the fruits of your labor, cover the plant with netting. You can buy this at a nursery center or find something suitable at a fabric store that will let sunlight in but defend against critters.
    7. Watch out for hornworms. The lime green caterpillar, called a "tomato hornworm," can you eat you out of house and home. If you see this sucker, pluck him immediately!
      • If you're not a killer, you can keep the hornworm in a fishbowl with some soil and a lid with air holes. Feed it tomatoes and provide the caterpillar a stick or branch to hang its cocoon upon. Watch it morph from cocoon into a large dove-colored moth! Kids love this home project.
    8. If plants develop a mildew problem choose an organic over-the-counter spray for the foliage.

  • Step 4: Prune the Tomatoes

    • Many tomato gardeners disagree on how much is too much when is comes to pruning but keep in mind you are trying to grow tomatoes, not leaves.
    • While you don't want to over-prune, you can safely remove the low, in-between shoots called "suckers" from the stalks because they will not bud, flower or produce fruit. "Suckers" can be pinched off with your fingers or cut with clean shears.
    1. Determinate Type: Because determinate tomatoes are bush-like, they don't require heavy pruning. The plant will stay upright on its own.
    2. Indeterminate Type: Indeterminate tomatoes do need some pruning to promote growth, provide airflow and allow sunlight to ripen the fruit. When you notice a tomato is ripening, clip away any leaves that are preventing sun from getting to the fruit.

  • Step 5: Harvest the Tomatoes

    • It's time to reap what you've sown! There's nothing better than a sun-drenched tomato ripe for the plucking.
    1. Harvest tomatoes when they are rich in color but still fairly firm to the touch. Tug on the tomato gently or clip it off at the stem with a pair of clean shears.
    2. Heirloom tomatoes may split their skins, but this is nothing to worry about. A split-skinned tomato is fine for eating, as long as there are no pests or mold on it. If there are, cut away any infected parts before serving.
    3. Avoid storing tomatoes in the refrigerator. They can lose flavor and become mushy.

  • Resources for How to Grow Tomatoes

  • Tomato Seeds and Supplies


 


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