GROWING KNOWLEDGE – A Homegrown Advice Column from Jackson County Master Gardeners

Tomato Tips and Tricks, Part One 

Preparing for the Planting of Tomatoes

• Before I plant (3-4 months) I always add ground oyster shell to each bed where the tomatoes will grow.  This adds calcium to the soil. Later in the season, I may also add 12-6-6 liquid fertilizer as needed. — Sean
• Preferring different heirloom varieties, I start my tomatoes indoors from seed so they’re mature enough to plant out after last killing frost. — Jordan and the Two JRT’S
• Delicious tomatoes grow from good soil. Feed your soil with 1-2 inches of compost every year. — Susan Koenig

* Generous amounts of compost mixed well into the soil is crucial.  DO NOT add additional nitrogen             because it encourages leaf growth over root and flower development and results in fewer tomatoes.

* Dig a hole or a trench.  Add water and let it soak in.  Some people like to put a mixture of ¼ cup bone meal, ¼ cup organic tomato-                   vegetable fertilizer, and 1 teaspoon magnesium (Epsom Salt) covered with 2-3 inches of soil in the bottom of the hole. –Jane From                    Practicum

 

The Planting of Tomatoes

*  My tip for growing tomatoes is plant onions all around them so you won’t get the big green tomato hornworm.  — Virginia Clark

• I always plant onions as a perimeter in my raised beds. This helps to ward off 4 legged critters early in the season.

* I also always plant basil close to my tomatoes. You can never have too much basil.

* I make sure the garden is balanced; no monoculture rows. Intermingle basil, tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers and lots and lots of flowers: everything from sunflowers to yarrow; zinnias to comfrey and borage; bachelor buttons to coreopsis and calendula. — Sean

• In the planting hole I use my grandma’s method adding 1/4 cup epsom salts with organic fertilizer.

* I like columnar growth using 7’-8’ heavy garden stakes, pinching out suckers and securing then securing new growth with green tie tape            about every 12”.

* Shear plant tips off above larger green tomatoes mid-September to preserve energy for ripening them instead of those that won’t mature          before frost hits them. — Jordan and two JRT’s

* For the last couple of years to protect from the heat and sun, I plant my tomatoes on the east side of the house. That way they get late                afternoon shade. They seem to do great!  —DA

• Planting tomatoes horizontally in a trench has advantages. The soil is warmer at the surface, so they benefit from the added warmth. Dig a trench 4 to 6 inches deep along the stem and deeper for the rootball. Lay the plant horizontally in it, burying the roots and stem except for the top two sets of leaves. (The lower leaves can be pinched off or just buried.) Within 2-3 days, the tops will have become vertical.

* If you want to use a stake, put it in the ground before filling the hole while you can still see the roots.  Fill the hole or trench and firm the         soil around the roots. In the garden, a tomato cage can be used instead of, or with the stake. These supports are more important for                  indeterminate than determinate tomatoes.  — Jane from Practicum