“Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes. What would life be like without homegrown tomatoes. Only two things that money can't buy. That's true love and home grown tomatoes.”

Slice them for sandwiches, toss them in salads, cook them into sauces or squeeze them for juice: tomatoes are delicious and good for us.  Tips on how to care for them:

When & where to Plant: Plant your tomato plant when the air and ground temperature is consistently above 60 degrees.  Tomatoes need a minimum of 8 hours of direct sun per day if not full sun, to stay healthy and productive. 

Planting: Mix a small amount bone and blood meal in the ground and then bury two-thirds of the stem (cut off the side branches first).  This will allow the plant to sprout roots along the buried stem, so your plant will be stronger and better able to find water in a drought. Please note that this deep-planting method only works with tomatoes (and tomatillos), not other veggies.  Water immediately.  

What is the difference between “determinate” and “indeterminate” tomato varieties?  Determinate (or bush) tomatoes grow to a specific size, usually 3-5 feet. All the fruit on determinate varieties are ready to be harvested around the same time. Determinate tomatoes produce over a short period of time. Indeterminate varieties keep growing and vining until they are pulled up or die. They can grow from 6-12 feet tall so they need strong support. The fruit on indeterminate varieties produce and ripen throughout the spring season until night time temperatures get above 75 degrees. At which time, the pollen in the flowers becomes unable to produce. 

Fertilizing: Tomatoes are a very fast growing plant and they consume significant amounts of nutrients in order for them to form fruit quickly.  Tomatoes need a high phosphorus fertilizer as do most vegetables in general, this is what helps produce the fruit. Try to avoid high nitrogen fertilizers because it will produce a very healthy green plant but fewer fruits.

Maintenance:  People love growing and eating tomatoes, unfortunately so do garden pest.  Ideally, daily walk around your plants and check their health, looking for disease and/or bugs.

Mulch:  By mulching your tomatoes it helps keep the soil evenly moist (which tomatoes love) an helps prevent moisture from evaporating from the soil and reduce weeds.  Plus, when you apply a good mulch it helps prevent water from splashing on the leaves, which can invite blight, pathogens and other issues.

Pruning: Routine pruning of your tomato plant is very valuable for the plants growth plus its fruit quality and quantity.  There are several schools of thoughts on removing suckers.  (suckers are also called laterals or side shoots) Many people believe when you remove suckers throughout the season it enables your plant to focus on fruit production.  Others see it as a way to  manage growth.  I pinch heavily on my plants until the first fruit set then I trim suckers sparingly.

I also remove the five to six inches of branches and leaves to increase airflow and reduce the risk of soil bacteria.  This is more important when you stake the plants.  Many people when using staking method, they select one main and all of the suckers and side branches are removed.