A bumper tomato crop comes with early season planning. Getting
tomatoes off to a strong start will almost guarantee a great yield next summer.
Here are easy steps to an outstanding bumper tomato harvest:
1. Seed Sowing
Time
Tomato seedlings are tender and easily fall prey to disease, pests,
and unpredictable changes in weather. Starting tomato seeds indoors is a good
strategy. Sow tomato seeds in a seed starting mix 6 to 8 weeks before you plan to
transplant them into the garden. Transplant tomato plants into the garden after
the last frost in your area. Check with a nearby garden centre for the average
last frost date in your area and then count back 6 weeks—that’s a safe time to
sow tomato seeds indoors.
2. Sowing and
Growing Indoors
Sow two tomato seeds per pot; that way you will hedge your bet.
Tomato seeds germinate at 75°F; you can use an electric seed starting mat to
regulate the temperature or set your seed trays atop the refrigerator. Once the
seeds are up, don’t let the temperature fall below 60°F. If both seeds emerge,
use a little scissors to clip away the weaker of the two once both plants have
a couple of leaves. Now let your seedlings grow on for a week or two.
3. Potting Up
As your seedlings grow larger, you will likely need to give them
more room for root growth. “Potting-up” means transplanting seedlings from a
smaller container to the next larger container—the next deeper container. When
you repot, set the seedling stems deeper than they were growing before—so the
first set of leaves is just above the soil surface (you are actually burying
most of the stem). New roots will grow from the buried stem and that will make
for a stronger plant.
4. Transplanting
to the Garden
Tomato plants can be transplanted into the garden once the garden
soil temperature has reached 60°F; that will be about 2 weeks before the last
spring frost date. A week before you plan to transplant your tomatoes into the
garden set them outdoors for an hour each day, then two, then three. Over the
course of several days you will expose the plants to outdoor conditions; this
is called “hardening off” – which means preparing plants for their life
outdoors.
5. Garden Soil
Tomatoes thrive in average soil that is well-draining (meaning water
does not sit on the soil surface for long after a rain or irrigation). If the
soil drains slowly, add planting mix or compost to the garden or plant tomatoes
in raised beds. Loosen the soil to at least 1 foot deep—the length of a shovel
blade to help the roots grow down deep. To get a bumper crop, add a couple of
shovelfuls of aged compost to the bottom of each hole when you plant.
6. Warm the
Soil
Tomatoes thrive in warm soil. Two weeks before transplanting
tomatoes to the garden, cover the planting bed with black plastic—which will
store solar heat in the soil. Raised beds or mounded beds also warm more
quickly in spring than in-ground beds. When your garden soil has reached 60°F,
you can transplant tomatoes into the garden.
7. Space
Set tomato plants at least 3 feet apart, 4 feet is better, if you
are going to allow them to sprawl without caging or staking. Caged or staked
tomatoes can be planted slightly closer. The closer you set tomato plants the
more pruning you will need to do as the season progresses. If you tend to let
tomatoes go, if you don’t manage their growth every week—then give them more
room. Tomato plants do best when they get plenty of sun and fresh air; and it
will be easier to harvest the fruit.
8. Sun
Tomatoes require sun; plant tomatoes where they will get at least 6
hours of sun each day.
- Less
Sun - If your garden, get less sun—as little as 4 hours each day,
plant early-season or determinate varieties such as ‘Early Girl,’ ‘Oregon
Spring,’ or ‘Stupice’; these cultivars were bred for regions with short
seasons, cool climates, and cloud cover.
- Too
Much Sun or Heat - If you live where summers are long and
hot—common in southern gardens, plant tomatoes where they get morning or
late afternoon sun and are protected from excessive mid-day sun and heat.
Shade cloth attached to a frame directly over your crop can protect
tomatoes from mid-day heat and sun. Where the growing season is long,
plant one crop in spring and the second crop in early summer—that way your
tomatoes will not mature in the extreme heat of summer; sunburn can easily
ruin an otherwise great tomato crop.
9. Support
Set tomato cages or poles in place when you transplant tomatoes into
the garden. Tomatoes grow quickly and it is difficult to cage a rangy plant even
a few weeks in the garden. And, tomato cages and supports are more readily
available from garden centres early in the season than later.
10. Protect
Transplants
If the weather is unpredictable, wrap plastic sheeting around each
tomato cage once plants are in the garden; this will protect young plants from
drying winds and cool night temperatures. Once temperatures stabilize—and night
temperatures do not dip below 55°F—you can remove the plastic wrap to avoid
overheating.
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