Start with good quality, hardened plants and use a high quality organic fertilizer when planting. It takes days or even weeks for a soft, weak, greenhouse plant to get established. Our plants are grown in unheated greenhouses which makes them hardier and they start to grow immediately after they are planted!
Don’t plant too early!
This is the number one mistake people make. Whether you are planting hybrids or heirlooms, tomatoes DO NOT LIKE COLD WET SOIL. Even if they don’t die from frost, they are weakened by diseases and pests in cool, damp conditions resulting in root stress and reduced yields. Resist the urge to set out your transplants on a warm sunny day in late April or early May. The air temperature may be warm but soil temperatures warm up much more slowly. Studies have shown tomatoes planted at the beginning of May ripen their first tomatoes 2 weeks later than those planted at the end of May and planting just a week or two early can reduce yields by 20%.
Best planting dates in Northern Ohio are May 25th thru June 15th. Tomatoes can be planted into July, but if planting that late, use shorter season varieties and/or more mature plants.
To get the earliest tomatoes.
Remember that the best tasting varieties mature later so only plant a few early ones to last until the main season starts.
Plant them into warm soil. Turn your garden soil at least 3 times, every couple of weeks, starting in mid-April. This turns the warmed soil under and brings the cold soil up to where the sun can warm it. Mulching with clear or black plastic also helps to warm up the soil before plants go in.
Use short season varieties, especially those bred to tolerate cold soils like those grown in Russia and Oregon.
Be careful planting some heirloom varieties early, especially if they can from a warmer climate like Italy or Mexico.
You can replant small plants into larger pots and let them grow a little more while the soil warms up. However, do not stunt the plants so you have to keep them growing healthy until it is time to plant. If not, it is better to plant smaller but healthier plants after the soil has warmed. Bring them in during cold nights.
Blossom End Rot on early tomatoes is a mineral deficiency often caused by cold soil temperatures so often tomatoes that have begun to form when the soil is still cool can be damaged by this disease.
Choose the sunniest location for your plants.
Tomatoes need a minimum of six to eight hours of sunlight each day to grow well. It’s also crucial that the sun burns off the morning dew as early as possible in order to prevent foliage diseases taking hold. Cherry tomatoes and early, smaller tomatoes do better in more shade.
Plant your seedlings deep.
When transplanting, plant each seedling a little deeper burying part of the stem. Use our fertilizer with mychorrizal fungi spores when planting to innocculate the roots and develop bigger and better root systems.
Give them room to grow.
Many gardeners plant their plants too close. This encourages many different diseases because of poor air circulation, especially around the base of the plants. Plant them 18 to 36 inches apart, depending on pruning techniques used.(See pruning handout)
Feed your plants. Use our all-organic fertilizer rich in trace minerals, and avoid excess nitrogen. If you give your plants too much nitrogen, you’ll get a lot of beautiful leaf growth, but not very many tomatoes.
Stake your tomatoes.
It’s important to stake or cage your plants and remove bottom leaves as the plants grow to improve air circulation around the base of the plants, and minimize disease problems. (See pruning handout)
Water them consistently.
Tomatoes need consistently moist soil for best growth & taste and to prevent cracking. Keep the leaves dry and don’t splash any soil from the ground onto the leaves. Avoid watering your tomato plants in the evening or, if you have to, be especially careful to keep the leaves dry.
Pests and Diseases.
There are many pests and diseases that attack tomatoes. Good cultural practices like watering and pruning are very important in minimizing tomato diseases. It is important to remember when growing tomatoes that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Since there are so many diseases, check out the following website for identification by pictures and ask us for organic control methods once the problem is identified. -- http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/tomatoproblemsolver/index.html
Best Tasting Tomatoes.
To get the best tasting tomatoes, choose the best tasting varieties (mostly heirlooms) and fertilize with an organic fertilizer that is rich in trace minerals. Note: All organic fertilizers are not equal and many are not rich in trace minerals. Our all-organic fertilizer is designed to maximize flavor and nutrition. Ask us for help choosing varieties, we follow tomato tasting contests nationwide and grow the top winners.
Growing Heirloom varieties.
Growing Heirloom tomatoes is not as easy as growing modern hybrids. They are more susceptible to diseases and usually have lower yields. Rotate their position in the garden every year or two and grow in fresh humusy soil each year. Large troughs filled with fresh soil also work well. Be more diligent in cultural practices.
Container Planting.
You can grow a tomato in a pot, but it's more work. We recommend at least a 15 gallon pot, with just one plant per pot. You can get away with two plants in a half wine barrel. You must also have good and fresh potting soil. We recommend a compost based soil mix like our Container Planting Mix. Remember, you get what you pay for.
Tomatoes in containers need more water and fertilizer than those grown in the ground, particularly during hot weather. We water container plants at least once a day during the hottest times of the year. Water early enough in the day so the foliage dries before evening. If you use drip irrigation, make sure that it saturates the entire root ball, or use multiple emitters.
If you are growing in black plastic pots, you'll want to shield or shade the pot from direct sunlight after the weather begins to turn significantly warmer. If you don't shade the black plastic pots, the sun will super-heat the roots and your tomatoes will suffer for it.
Container grown plants still need to be staked, particularly if you are growing indeterminate varieties.
Try short internode indeterminates like Better Bush and Better Bush Cherry for containers.
