Tomato Growing Tips

Tomatoes Tips for Success

Time to make tomato sauce!

After seedlings outgrow their 2 inch pots, loosen their roots and plant into a larger pot.

A freshly transplanted tomato plant in 4 inch pot.

Once plants outgrow their previous container, transplant into a 1 gallon pot.

Start tomato seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost.
Thin seedlings and discard all weak, spindly ones.
To learn how to grow from seed, click here.
As seedlings grow, plant them in their own individual 2 to 4 inch pots.
Harden-off plants 7 to 14 days before the last frost date.
To learn more about how to grow sturdy and healthy seeds indoors, click here.
Click here for Tomatoes Seedlings to Plants.

When planting, remove the lower leaves and bury part of the stem.

A tomato well acts as a reservoir and keeps foliage off the ground. Stems are loosely tied to the surrounding 5 foot cage.

Plant outside where they will receive at least 6 hours of direct sun in fertile soil with good drainage.
Remove foliage from half, third or quarter of the stem and bury it. Roots will form along the buried stem.
Support each plant with a cage or other sturdy support.

It's best to remove suckers that form between stems and leaves when they are small.

The stems of this Black Krim tomato are so long they have collapsed.

Remove any foliage that touches the ground.
Pinch out suckers before they get too big.
Keep plants properly staked as they continue to grow.
For overly long stems that have escaped their support, cut back to a leaf, flower cluster or a tomato.
To tame and to encourage faster ripening cut overly long stems and ones that have escaped their support, to a leaf, flowers or a tomato.
Water well after pruning.
Don't prune plants if they are wilting due to lack of water.
Snip off the ends of all the stems just above tomatoes clusters approximately a month before the first frost date in your area. This encourages the remaining fruit to ripen.

Scissors are being used to cut off flowers as the season draws to a close.

To encourage the remaining fruit to ripen, cut off the ends of stems just above the fruit.

Inconsistent watering causes fruit to split.

Blossom end rot is caused by a calcium deficiency due to lack of water.

Yellow leaves are symptoms of a nutrient deficiency.

Watering

Fertilizing

Avoid giving tomatoes too much nitrogen. It results in huge plants with low yields. It also encourages tender growth prone to insects and diseases.
To learn more about fertilizers click here.

Powdery mildew on a tomato. To learn about this fungi, click on the picture.

Blight is a common tomato disease.

Harvest often when plants are dry.

A successful tomato harvest.

Harvest frequently but only when plants are dry.
Don’t keep any damaged or diseased fruit.
Keep tomatoes on the kitchen counter, not the fridge.
Before digging up plants, harvest green tomatoes. Place them on the kitchen counter or place in a paper bag with an apple to encourage ripening.