Tomatoes are a favourite crop for many home gardeners, and even beginner gardeners can have success when growing their very first tomato plants. But if you really want to improve your tomato-growing skills and see bigger and better yields than ever before, I’m going to let you in on a few “trade secrets.” As a former organic market farmer, I’ve had lots of experience growing thousands of tomato plants over the years. As a result, I’ve put together a list of 12 tomato growing secrets to use in your home garden for healthier plants, bigger yields, and less work.
Growing
great tomatoes is easy with these 12 tricks.
Gardeners love growing ripe, juicy
tomatoes. With these 12 growing tips, high yields are right around the corner.
12
Tomato Growing Secrets
While some of these tomato growing
secrets involve tomato planting tips and soil health, others are focused on how
to properly care for tomato plants throughout the growing season. However, each
of these tomato growing secrets is aimed at helping you minimize work while
maximizing the harvest.
1.
Phosphorous is a big deal
Tomatoes love sun. At least 6 hours of
full sun per day is ideal. But did you know they also need nutrient-dense soil
with a particular focus on ample phosphorous? Of the big three plant
macro-nutrients [nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K)], phosphorous
is the one that encourages the development of sturdy roots and plenty of
flowers and fruits. Gardeners who over-feed their tomatoes with high-nitrogen
fertilizers have big, leafy green tomato plants with few flowers and fruits.
Instead of using a high-nitrogen
fertilizer, one of the easiest tomato growing secrets to follow is to choose an
organic granular tomato fertilizer that’s slightly higher in phosphorous (the
middle number on the bag). It provides a form of slow-release phosphorous
that’s available to the plant throughout the growing season without also piling
on an excess of nitrogen. Here’s more on how to
read a fertilizer label.
The
best fertilizer for tomatoes.
Tomato plants that are fed
high-nitrogen fertilizers have a lot of green leaves but very few flowers and
fruits.
2.
Soil pH matters
While most gardeners haven’t a clue what
the pH of their soil is, this important number influences
tomato production big time. The ideal soil pH for maximum tomato plant nutrient
absorption is between 6.2 and 6.5. That means that when your soil pH is within
that range, the plant’s roots can absorb the greatest diversity of nutrients.
Invest in a high-quality do-at-home soil test kit and follow the instructions
in the results for adjusting your existing pH to reach this optimum target.
Here’s more on how to
adjust soil pH.
The
best pH for growing tomatoes.
Soil pH influences nutrient
availability in the soil. So if you want lots of tomatoes, aim for a pH between
6.2 and 6.5.
3.
Warm soil equals a faster start
Tomatoes are a warm-weather crop. They
don’t tolerate frosts, and they don’t like cold “feet.” Warming up the soil
prior to planting improves early root growth and gets the plants off to a
better start. It’s a tomato growing secret many gardeners don’t always
consider. To warm the soil prior to planting your tomato crop, cover the soil
in black plastic sheeting or black biodegradable sheet mulch for two weeks. The
plastic absorbs the sun’s energy and warms the soil. Leave it in place for a
few weeks and then take it off prior to planting, or cut holes in the sheeting
and plant the tomatoes right through it. If you choose the latter option, the
plastic also helps control weeds through the growing season.
Some gardeners don’t like using
anything plastic around food plants, so if that’s the case for you, use the
biodegradable sheet mulch or skip using this tomato growing secret. However,
the use of plastic
mulches is allowed under the US National Organic Standards
Program, as long as the plastic is removed at the end of the growing season and
not turned into the soil.
Use
black plastic to warm the soil before planting tomatoes.
Even container gardeners can reap the
benefits of using black plastic mulch to warm the soil prior to planting
tomatoes.
4.
Protect plants for an earlier harvest
If you’d like a tomato growing secret
you can use to get a jump-start on tomato season, or if you’re aiming to
harvest ripe tomatoes a few weeks earlier than your neighbours, consider using
some type of weather protection so you can plant earlier. Remember, tomatoes
like hot weather, but surrounding newly planted transplants with some type of
insulation allows you to plant tomatoes a few weeks earlier. Look for
protective cone-shaped, dual-walled plastic insulators that you fill with
water. The water holds the day’s heat, releasing it at night to keep the plants
warm. Use one around each plant for the first few weeks after planting. When
the weather heats up, drain and remove it.
Another tomato growing secret is to use
clay drainage pipes cut in half lengthwise. Prop a half a drain pipe against
each side of your tomato stake (see photo) and over the plant. The clay absorbs
the sun’s heat all day and then releases it through the night. The clay
drainage pipes won’t protect tomato plants from heavy frosts, but they will
shield them from light frosts and give them a jump start in cool spring
weather.
Tomato
growing secrets that will help you harvest tomatoes faster.
Clay drainage pipes can be cut in half
and placed over plants to absorb the sun’s heat during the day and release it
throughout the night.
5.
Go deep or horizontal
Unlike other garden vegetables, tomato
plants are able to form roots all along their stems (called adventitious
roots). Smart gardeners take advantage of this by planting tomato transplants
either very deeply or horizontally, burying as much of the stem as possible.
Deep and horizontal tomato planting results in an extensive root system that’s
better able to handle drought and access soil nutrients.
No matter how tall your tomato
transplant is, at planting time, use your thumb and forefinger to pinch off all
of the leaves except the top 4. Then, either dig a hole deep enough to bury the
plant all the way up to the base of the lowest remaining leaf, or dig a horizontal
trench and lay the plant’s stem down on its side in the trench. Then bury the
plant, bending the tip up carefully so it’s sticking out of the soil.
Tomato
growing tips for success.
Plant tomato plants horizontally and
gently bend the tip up. This practice increases the size of the root system.
When you take a tomato transplant out
of its container or cell pack, take a good look at the roots. They’re probably
circling around the inside of the container to form a thick, tangled mass.
Prior to planting, use your fingers to tear apart the root ball and loosen it.
Don’t worry; you don’t have to be gentle about this process. Dig in and pull
the roots apart. When you plant, the root mass should not be in the shape of the
container. Loosening or tearing the roots prior to planting encourages the
roots to spread out into the existing soil, rather than continuing to circle
around in the shape of the pot. Spread the loosened roots out in the hole
before covering them up with soil.
Always
loosen the roots before planting a tomato plant.
Use your fingers to loosen the root
system of your tomato plant before putting it in the hole. It should not remain
in the shape of the pot.
7.
Always interplant
Looking for a tomato growing secret to
help reduce pests? Interplanting is the answer! Never plant your tomatoes
alone; always plant them with a few friends. Herbs in the carrot family, such
as dill, fennel, and cilantro, make great companion plants for tomatoes. They
provide nectar for the parasitic wasps that help gardeners control tomato
hornworms. Sweet alyssum is another great flower to interplant with tomatoes.
It provides nectar for several species of syrphid and tachinid flies who prey
on pests like aphids, whiteflies, leaf-footed bugs, and tomato fruit worms.
Sweet
alyssum is a great companion plant for tomatoes.
Sweet alyssum is a great companion
plant for tomatoes because it’s a great nectar source for pest-eating syrphid
flies.
8.
Welcome bumblebees
Along with the previous tomato growing
tip, this one involves encouraging good bugs. Tomato flowers are self-fertile
(meaning they’re capable of pollinating themselves), but they need vibration to
knock the pollen off the anthers to fertilize the flower and produce a tomato.
Though strong winds are capable of vibrating tomato flowers, bumblebees do a
far better job of it. Bumblebees perform what is called “buzz pollination”.
They vibrate their flight muscles (at the same wavelength of a middle C) as
they nectar on the tomato flowers, knocking the pollen loose as they go.
Encourage bumblebees in your tomato garden by planting lots of their favourite
flowers. The list includes baptisia, blueberries, sunflowers, coneflowers,
phlox, and lupines. For more tips on encouraging bumblebees, visit this article.
Tomato
growing secrets to encourage good pollination.
Bumblebees easily pollinate tomato
blossoms through buzz pollination.
9.
Mulch immediately after planting
Savvy gardeners take advantage of this
tomato growing secret without fail. Mulch tomato
transplants immediately after planting, using weedless straw, shredded leaves,
or untreated grass clippings. Not only does mulch reduce weeding and watering
needs throughout the season, but perhaps most importantly, it suppresses common
soil-borne tomato diseases, such as blight and leaf spot. Since the spores of
these pathogens are found in the soil, the mulch keeps rainwater from splashing
the spores up onto the plant foliage. The layer of mulch should be 2 to 3
inches thick, and it should be applied even before you water your newly planted
tomato plants in.
Mulch
is a necessary tomato growing secret.
Mulch tomato plants immediately after
planting them. I like to use straw, shredded leaves, or untreated grass
clippings for the job.
10.
Get rid of the lowest leaves
Another key practice for tomato disease
suppression is to remove the bottom leaves of every tomato plant. Since the
lowest leaves are closest to the soil, removing them means a reduced chance of
fungal spore splash-up. I typically remove the leaves on the lowest 8 to 10
inches of plant stem, but some gardeners remove far more than that.
To remove the lowest leaves, use a pair
of scissors or pruners to clip them off where they meet the main stem. If you
already have signs of disease on your tomato plant, disinfect the scissors with
a spray of Lysol or Clorox before moving on to the next plant so you don’t
spread the disease from one plant to another. You can also use your finger and
thumb to pinch off the leaves, but you should wash your hands before moving
from a diseased plant to one that’s free of disease. Read this article for more
on preventing
and treating tomato diseases.
Remove
lower tomato plant leaves to prevent soil-borne diseases.
These plants need to have their lowest
few sets of leaves removed to limit the incidence of soil-borne fungal
diseases.
11.
No “splash and dash” allowed
Tomato plants need plenty of water
throughout the growing season. If you don’t provide consistent moisture, your
tomatoes could develop a physiological disorder known as blossom-end rot. This
is when the bottom of a tomato turns into a black, sunken canker. Blossom-end
rot is a symptom of a lack of calcium in the developing fruit, but it’s not
likely to be caused by a lack of calcium in your soil. Most soils have ample
calcium. The primary way calcium moves into a plant is with water, so when the
soil is not kept consistently moist, that calcium can’t be absorbed by the
tomato plant’s roots. The result is a deficiency of calcium in the plant (but
not in the soil). Adding calcium to the soil will not help. Proper watering is
the answer.
To water tomato plants, set the hose
nozzle at the base of the plant and let the water really soak in for a long
time. Then go back and do it again. Don’t do what I call “splash and dash”,
where you only wet the top inch of soil and then move on to the next plant.
After effectively watering a tomato plant, you should be able to dig down with
a trowel and find wet soil down to a depth of 10 to 12 inches. Deeper,
once-a-week waterings are way better than a daily “splash and dash”.
Proper
watering is an important tomato growing tip.
Water tomato plants deeply. As they
mature, it’s important to keep the foliage as dry as possible to help prevent
fungal issues.
Plenty of gardeners get hung up on
whether or not to prune
their tomato plants. The truth is that it doesn’t really
matter whether or not you decide to prune your plants. As long as the plants
have ample support from a tomato cage, trellis, or staking system, and you
space the plants properly (more on how far apart to plant tomatoes here), you can
choose to prune or you can choose not to prune. If you like a neat and tidy
plant, prune out the suckers. For those who don’t mind a bushy, rambling plant,
let the suckers grow out into full stems. Gardeners like me who fall somewhere
in between, do some pruning but we’re not religious about it. When it comes to
tomato pruning, I say to each his own.
by
Jessica Walliser
Comments
Post a Comment