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Tips for the Tomato Grower

From pots to garden beds, staked or unstaked, organic or traditional fertilizer, there are as many ways to grow tomatoes as there are recipes to eat them. While some advice stays true for anyone trying to grow a tomato, the details vary depending on your level of expertise. The following are tips for beginner, intermediate, and expert growers.

Beginner

Is it your first time growing tomatoes? If so, choose a hardy variety—and look for healthy, sturdy starter plants from a reputable nursery.

"Don't choose plants with long weak stems, more than one plant per cell, or yellow or spotted leaves," said Karen Selines, a gardener at Old Saybrook's Common Good Gardens, a non-profit that donates produce to the Shoreline Soup Kitchen & Pantries.

"If they're just getting their feet wet, use a grape tomato plant—you can't do anything wrong with that, they just grow great," advised Michaele Williams, assistant farm/greenhouse manager at Bishop's Orchards in Guilford.

Hybrid tomatoes are a good choice, as they're bred for disease resistance, among other qualities.

Beginner-friendly items such as grower boxes make growing tomatoes easy for anyone.

"They have a reservoir underneath them so that it takes the guesswork out of watering," Williams said of the boxes, adding, "You can put one tomato plant in a five-gallon bucket and grow it, so long as it has good drainage."

In the garden, "Plant them in sun, three feet apart, and deeply," said Selines. "When you plant the seedlings, remove all the leaves except the top two sets. Bury the stems in the soil up to the bottom of those leaves. The tomato plant will grow roots all along the buried stem."

The tomatoes should get at least six hours of sun each day. To avoid stunting the plants, don't plant them until the end of May.

The plants should be watered regularly, from the base.

"Water at the base of the tomato plant; don't water over the top of it," said Williams, emphasizing, "The biggest problem is inconsistent watering—letting it go bone dry and then watering."

Intermediate

The intermediate gardener should start by looking at the quality of their soil.

"The first rule is to treat your garden soil well," said Selines. "Add an inch or two of compost to it every fall."

Though gardeners can get their soil tested to see exactly what should be added, "I just add the compost every year and a dusting of lime or wood ashes, because most soils here in the Northeast are more acidic than what vegetables like," said Selines.

The intermediate grower may want to consider more factors, such as whether they want to grow determinate or indeterminate tomato plants. The former stops growing and producing once it reaches a certain size; the latter grows and produces until the first frost.

"A determinate is probably easier to grow," noted Williams.

Adding a fertilizer such as organic Miracle-Gro—the company even makes a tomato-specific fertilizer—is a good way to give your plants a boost. Williams recommends a slow-release granular fertilizer.

Finally, intermediate growers will want to stake their tomatoes to get them off the ground and prevent the fruit from rotting.

"I have found the only method sturdy enough to hold my tomato plants is a seven-foot metal fence stake that can be pounded into the ground at least a foot," said Selines.

Advanced

Advanced growers may want to experiment with different varieties, such as heirloom tomatoes. Getting your soil tested (try the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven) is a must; many local soils may need additives to get to the 6.0 or 6.5 pH that tomatoes enjoy.

If you're starting from seed, the time to begin is during the first week of April, according to Williams. The seedlings will require grow lights suspended an inch or two above them. Acclimate the plants by putting them outside during the day before you plant them outside in mid-May.

"I try and bring them out not when the sunlight is blasting, not when it's freezing cold—just to get them acclimated," said Williams.

"A few days after planting, you can give the plants a drink of dilute liquid seaweed," Selines said.

She recommended adding one to two tablespoons per gallon.

"In the Common Good Gardens, we experimented with feeding two of our tomato beds with microbiotics. Those beds outproduced the untreated beds," she added.

Expert growers will also want to prune their plants.

"Pinching out the side branches on the tomato stem results in fewer, but earlier and larger tomatoes," said Selines. "Pinching also increases air flow in and around the plant, which reduces the chances diseases will spread. I try to leave no more than three or four main stems, and keep them tied to the stake with soft twine or fabric strips."

Mulching with straw, shredded paper, or biodegradable plastic helps keep moisture in and suppresses weeds. However, don't disturb the soil too much.

"The less you disturb your soil, the better it is for that microbial life," Selines said. "Don't turn over the soil and don't ever walk on it. Just dig the minimum size hole to plant your seedling, or the minimum furrow for your seeds."

Finally, plant the tomatoes in a different area in your garden each year, and consider planting a cover crop that will add organic material back into the soil.

"Many tomato diseases live in the soil and could infect next year's plants if you plant them in the same place," Selines noted.