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 Reduce pest problems and increase the harvest by growing your
tomatoes in a sunny location with well-drained soil or in a quality
potting mix for container gardens. Improve your garden soil by
adding several inches of organic matter to the top eight to twelve
inches of soil prior to planting. Compost, aged manure, and other
organic materials help improve drainage in heavy clay soil and
increase the water holding ability of sandy soil.
Add a slow release organic nitrogen fertilizer like Milorganite (milorganite.com)
according to label directions at planting. Slow release fertilizers
provide a constant diet that is better for your plants and less work
for you. Save yourself more time by mixing the fertilizer into the
soil when incorporating the organic matter. Then give your plants a
midseason boost as needed.
Once the soil is prepared, wait for the air and soil to warm to
plant your tomatoes. Planting too early when the soil is still cool
and the nights are chilly can stress the plant and delay your
harvest.
Plant your tomatoes slightly deeper or in a trench for better
rooting. Trench tomatoes by digging a shallow trench about 3 to 4
inches deep. Remove the lower leaves and lay the plant on its side
in the hole. Roots will eventually form along the stem. Carefully
bend the stem, so the upper leaves will be above the soil. Fill the
trench with soil and water.
Stake or tower your tomatoes to reduce insect and disease problems
and make harvesting easier. The type of tomato and your schedule
will help determine the training system that works best for you.
Determinate tomatoes (look for the D on the tag) grow a certain
height and stop. They work well in towers, containers or even
hanging baskets. Indeterminate tomatoes, labeled with an I, keep
growing taller, producing more flowers and fruit until the end of
the growing season. These do best when grown on tall sturdy stakes
or extra tall strong towers.
Towering tomatoes is easy. Simply place the tower over the tomatoes
at planting. Tomatoes grown in towers produce a larger, but later
harvest than staked tomato plants.
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Allow a bit more time if you decide to stake your plants. Place the stake in the
ground at planting. Be careful not to injure the roots. As the plants begin to
grow prune off all side branches, suckers, that develop between the main stem
and leaves. Loosely tie the remaining one or two stems to the stake. Cloth
strips, twine or other soft ties work well. Keep tying up the plants as they
continue to grow. Staked tomatoes produce the earliest and smallest harvest.
Check new plantings every few days and water often enough to keep the developing
root system moist. Reduce frequency as plants become established. Water
established plants thoroughly whenever the top few inches of soil are slightly
moist. Mulch the soil with evergreen needles, shredded leaves or other organic
mulch to keep the soil consistently moist and suppress weeds. Consistent soil
moisture encourages more flowering and fruiting, while reducing the risk of
blossom end rot, cracking and misshapen fruit.
Harvest your tomatoes when fully colored. Leave them on the plant an extra 5 or
6 days for even better flavor. Unfortunately, the animals often move in and
feast on the ripening fruit. In this case, you may need to finish ripening
tomatoes indoors.
And once you taste that first red ripe tomato, you’ll be looking for more sunny
spots for containers or to expand your garden.
[By Melinda Myers]
Gardening expert, TV/radio host, author
& columnist Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture
experience and has written over 20 gardening books, including Can’t
Miss Small Space Gardening and the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook. She
hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything: Food Gardening For
Everyone” DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden
Moment segments. Myers is also a columnist and contributing editor
for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers’ web site, www.melindamyers.com,
offers gardening videos and tips. |
