Gram’s
Guide to How To Grow Tomatoes
PREPARING TO
PLANT:
Test your soil. Most home
improvement stores have a variety of soil testers. It
doesn’t have to be expensive. Tomatoes like a
soil pH of 5.5 to 7.0. Make sure to work plenty
of compost into the area,
as tomatoes are heavy feeders. Some people swear by adding dried blood
to
their plants. We found that it leads to
critters coming along and uprooting the plants.
We use a biodegradable fabric
mulch made out of
cornstarch. Pros: It lasts a whole season,
and then melts in to the soil over the winter.
We use a very large roll, but smaller rolls can be purchased. Con: The large roll is too heavy and unwieldy
for one person.
An alternate is black plastic mulch.
Pros: Mulching with black plastic gets the plants off to a fast
start. Cons: I hate black plastic…it
doesn’t breakdown, and it doesn’t do anything for improving the soil. You have to try to get it up in the autumn…it
tears apart from the weeds, and sticks to the weeds. Then you have to
throw it
away in landfills. But some people love
it…so suit yourself.
Another favorite of mine is discarded newspapers…the
black ink pages
only. The colored inks can leach in to
the soil and be poisonous. Pros: It adds
mulch to the soil over time. Lay it down very thickly and water it well,
prior
to planting. Some people call this the
lasagna method of layering. I call it a
great way to utilize my newspapers…I still like to hold a paper
newspaper! Cons: If it is a windy day…you have a
problem. And it needs to be wet down
thoroughly, which uses water. It is time
consuming, but it is able to be done alone, and doesn’t need a strong
person. There is a lot of bending to
this method though.
We used to use collars of old discarded x-ray film around
our plants as
barriers to cutworms. If you have access
to these, they are terrific. But patient
confidentiality is a problem, so hospitals may not be willing to give
away old
films. They last forever, and can be saved from year to year. It does
recycle,
so be polite and ask for some. Be sure
to ask for ones that do not have patient information on them…you’ll be
more
likely to get them.
Otherwise, you can use cardboard or heavy paper collars
around the
stem. Whatever you use, sink it down
several inches below the ground.
We recommend placing soaker hoses over the biodegradable
mulch; over the
newspaper mulch; or under the black plastic to supply tomatoes with
water
during dry spells.
Old-timers tell me that you don’t have to water the
tomatoes…but we
do. Let us know what works for you.
CHOOSING YOUR TOMATOES:
Obviously, this is a VERY important step in the process. I could write a whole book about choosing
your tomatoes and how many of what types to plant.
One old-timer recently told my husband that he plants 30 -
40 plants of
one variety only; and a huge row of one type of beans. That’s
all he plants, and he’s done it for
years.
Some people just want a couple plants in containers for
their patio. Maybe a couple different cherry styles, and one large slicer.
Others want to can stewed tomatoes; make their own tomato
sauce; make
enough salsa for a year; bottle up their own juice; or just have a
multi-color
platter to take to parties.
It depends on what use(s) that you will have for the
tomatoes. And, how
much room you have to plant them. Also, how much time that you have to devote to growing.
Read the descriptions of our tomatoes.
We try to be informative as to the general use for a particular
type of
tomato. Also the
height of the plant and size of the tomato. Plant sizes can range
from
dwarf to over eight feet tall. Tomatoes
can range from tiny to over several pounds in weight. In
addition, some plants grow well in a short
season up north; and others survive and thrive in the South’s long hot
summers.
A really
important tip to deciding:
Learn the difference between Determinate and
Indeterminate types of tomatoes.
Determinate
types are usually grown on a more compact plant, maybe 2 -3 feet tall
maximum. They might need staking.
But they will not be nearly as tall as Indeterminate
types.
Determinate plants also have most of their tomatoes ripening
all at
the same time, and then being done for the season. This is very
useful if
you are canning, making tomato sauce or salsa, or bottling tomato juice. It is not good if you just want a few
tomatoes over the summer for salads and sandwiches.
Indeterminate
types vary from the tiny cherry style to the super jumbo beefsteaks for
slicing. The plants can be very leggy
and very tall, some over head height. These
plants need heavy staking or fencing.
They can be pruned somewhat, but will still be leggy. The fruit ripens throughout the growing
season. So, you have fewer tomatoes
at a time, but a longer length of production.
I like something new each season.
And we have uses for many different styles. I
don’t can as much as I used to do, but I do
like to freeze some stewed tomatoes for chili and soup and eating over
the
winter. I also drive our one daughter,
who does a lot of the planting, crazy.
We only grow a tray or so of each variety. But
I add something new every year. So, come for
your plants EARLY. We do accept deposits, and
requests. And, we will let you know when the
plants are
ready, generally in early April.
PLANTING YOUR TOMATOES:
About 10 days before the last spring frost, (in our area
of SoEastern Tennessee, this is the week
after April 15…Make
sure that you check the forecast for the week ahead when choosing your
planting
date), begin hardening off your plants
outdoors, a few hours at a time…eventually leaving them out all day
&
night.
A week after the last spring frost, transplant your
seedlings to a sunny
location outside. Bury your plants deeply, maintaining a distance of 1
to
2 feet between tomato plants, in rows 3 feet apart. You can pinch most
of the
leaves except for
the top few and bury the entire stem, in a deep hole or long trench. If using a trench style, this is better if
not utilizing a collar. Tomatoes will
send off roots all along the buried stem, resulting in a strong base for
the
plant.
All tomatoes should be staked or caged. Many of the older
varieties don't
do well when allowed to sprawl on the ground, as they are not resistant
to
early blight. Most of the older varieties, and lots of the small
specialty
tomatoes are Indeterminate. Once the tomatoes start
growing,
pinch off all the bottom leaves that are touching the soil. This
helps to prevent fungus growth from water splashing up on the plants. Also, keeps bugs from reaching the
leaves. It also sends strength to the
upper leaves, and stems.
Do not forget to pinch out the sucker growth between the
stem and the
branches. Pinching these suckers out
sends more strength to the main stem and branches, as well as the fruit.