Tomatoes! How To Be Successful

When and where to buy plants

1. When to purchase plants – mid-February if weather is mild
2. When to plant. When nighttime temperatures are expected to be above 45-55 degrees. March 1 is a good date to plan for.
3. Where to buy plants – Buchanan’s, Another Place in Time, Southwest Fertilizer, Wabash.

Varieties (cherries vs large)

Characteristics to look for
(Check online seed companies for this information – Totally Tomato, Tomato Growers): 

• Less than 80 days maturity
• Crack resistant
• At least reasonably productive
• Indeterminant if you have space

Small tomatoes
Verona, Golden Gem, Amish Gold, Stupice, Sweet Million, Supersweet 100, Sungold, Orange Zinger, Juliet

Large tomatoes
Rose de Berne, Carmello, Cherokee Purple, Champion F1, Big Beef F1

Saladette
Bloody Butcher, Mountain Magic

Small sized tomatoes are more productive.

Avoid

• Brandywine, which produces very poorly here, despite its appeal as a legendary heirloom
• Paste tomatoes are highly susceptible to blossom end rot

How to choose plants

• The larger the better with a thick stem at the base
• Important – select healthy plants with dark green leaves

How to start tomatoes from seed

1. Plant seeds indoors about 6 weeks before planting in the garden.
2. Use a sterile potting soil mix such as Fire Fox Potting soil.
3. Here is a link to a video giving directions to starting indoors.
4. Follow directions closely and spend some time learning all the factors.
5. Money is required for grow lights and containers.
6. Using fertilizer correctly is a critical issue.
7. If you do not have time to learn how to plant seeds correctly, buy plants.

Transplanting to the garden

1. When to plantWhen nighttime temperatures are expected to be above 45-55 degrees. March 1 is a good date to plan for.
2. Spacing: Three-foot diameter is best; two feet is possible with less production.
3. How to plant (fertilizer, depth, watering)
   • Set the stem in the soil, up to the first set of true leaves.
   • Place a handful of fertilizer in the hole, mix with existing soil. Apply no more fertilizer after that.
   • Mulch with leaves, pine needles, or alfalfa hay after planting. This keeps soil from splashing on the plant, blocks weeds and reduces water evaporation.
   • Water every few days when the soil is dry.
4. Frost Protection for the young plant (Wall of Water, 5-gallon bucket over the top or frost cloth)
5. Cages
   • Concrete Remesh is 42”x 7’ (see specifications for product shown at link) 2 sheets wired together make a 7’ high cage, which is needed for indeterminate tomatoes.
   • Texas Tomato Cages are 6 foot high and 2 foot in diameter.
   • A 6 foot metal stake is needed to keep the cages upright.

Pests
Army worms, tomato horn caterpillar; pick off, use BT in afternoon; leaf-footed bug or stink bugs (nymphs and adults) get bad as the weather turns hot.

Harvesting
Harvest when tomatoes show some color. Ripen on the kitchen counter.

Preserving
Dehydrate, make salsa or tomato sauce.

Remove plants when they are diseased in early summer.
Quality goes down rapidly as summer comes on.
Place the vines in a dumpster or city compost recycling, not in compost bins.