Grow Your Own Tomatoes for the Freshest Taste

Most people who are growing a limited number of tomatoes prefer to buy them as six packs or small pots at planting time.

Purchase plants when the danger of frost is past. Choose plants that are well formed, undamaged and have dark green foliage. Five or six inches tall are the best size to plant. Larger plants are more likely to suffer from transplant shock. If you use tobacco, do not touch tomato plants until you wash your hands, since tobacco and tomato are related plants and tobacco mosaic disease can be transmitted to tomatoes.

You can get a quick start by cultivating the bed before planting time. Cover the bare soil with clear plastic and the sun will warm the soil. Cut holes to plant or completely remove the plastic. Remove all plastic before the weather turns hot.

To make mini-greenhouses for each plant, cut the bottoms off large clear plastic bottles and carefully place the bottle over the plant so that the leaves do not touch the bottle. Bury the edges so the bottle will not blow away. You will need to remove the bottle caps on sunny days so that the plants do not get too hot. If the temperature approaches freezing, put the caps on, pull dirt or mulch around the mini-greenhouse or even cover completely with an old blanket or a cardboard box. Tomatoes will be damaged by any freeze. This can allow you to start the growing season a couple of weeks early.

Plant some early and more later.

If you want to spread out your production, plant parts of your tomato patch each month until mid-July. If convenient, transplant the tomatoes in the evening, on cloudy days or just before a rain shower. This will reduce transplant shock. Plants that are in shock stop growing, the older leaves turn yellow or brown, and the plant may wilt especially in the afternoon. Keep the plant well watered and it will likely recover in a couple of weeks and begin growing. Bare-rooted plants will be more easily shocked than ones transplanted with the roots growing in soil.

To transplant tomatoes to the garden row, use a garden trowel to make a hole about five inches deep. Carefully, remove the plant from the pot, and add or dig out more dirt so that two sets of leaves are above ground. All lower leaves should be removed. The plant should be planted deeper than it grew in the pot. The buried section of the stem will soon sprout additional roots that will help nourish and anchor the plant.

Once the plants is situated at the right depth, you can then add water or manure tea to fill the hole and help settle the plant roots and reduce transplant shock. Once the water is absorbed, pull the soil into the hole and firm it around the plant so that there are no air pockets. Leave a shallow bowl-shaped depression around the stem to facilitate watering. Keep them well watered for the first 10 days. By then the plant should have adjusted to its new environment and be ready to begin growing again.

Tomatoes can be grown from seeds inexpensively.

If you are patient, you can grow from tomatoes from seed. It is usually best to plant them in a seed bed according to the seed packet directions. Many more varieties of vegetables are available as seeds either in stores or ordered from mail order suppliers. Plant tomato seeds half an inch deep one inch apart, firm the soil over them, and do not allow the soil to dry out. Thin half the seedlings when they are two inches tall and transplant to the garden when they are five inches. Use a garden trowel to dig out a plug of soil around the plant roots; this is best done when the soil is moist.

Starting tomatoes early indoors is possible by planting the seed in small pots in sterile starter soil mixtures or in jiffy pots. Jiffy pots are pots made of compressed peat moss and contain a light growing medium that is ideal for germinating and growing seeds. They are widely available in garden centers in various forms. The starting mixture is sterile to avoid molds and diseases that destroy seedlings.

To start tomatoes indoors, plant three seeds in each container six to eight weeks before the last freeze date. Water the pots and keep in a warm sunny spot. Warmth from below encourages germination. When the plants reach two inches, thin to one plant per container. Jiffy pots can be planted whole in the garden as they soon rot and the roots, quickly grow through them. It is best to pinch away any of the pot that sticks above ground. Plant firmly in the garden and water.

To prevent cutworms, cut three inch paper strips and wrap them several times around the stem. Then bury the bottom of the paper one inch in the soil. Cut worms are caterpillars that burrow into the stems of seedlings, killing the plant.

Plant tomatoes at least four feet apart. Mulching between the plants will hold moisture in the soil and suppress weeds. Do not put mulch within two inches of the stems. Tomato stems are more likely to remain disease free if air flows freely around them. Straw, compost, grass clippings, and wood chips can be used as mulch.

Most growers place tomato cages over the plants soon after planting, keeping the plant upright encourages healthier plants and better fruit production. Fruit that touches the soil will soon rot. Alternatives to caging tomatoes include tying them to stout stakes at least four foot tall or planting them by a fence where they can be tied for support. Use strips of cloth or old pantyhose to very loosely tie the vines every foot as they grow upwards.