Tomatoes are one of the most popular home garden edibles across the globe. And no wonder – they are easy to plant, low maintenance, and produce 10 or more pounds of fruit per plant in less than 3 square feet. In addition, they contain vitamin C and calcium and there are indications they may play a role in minimizing digestive tract cancers and help prevent heart disease and high cholesterol. By the way, they are also delicious, easy to prepare and a staple item in many recipes. Tomatoes have it all!
Tomatoes will actually do best when the soil is warm enough to sit on… that is usually Late April or May. We always bring tomatoes in early for those gardeners who want an early start. protect early planted tomatoes with Season Starters (pictured at right) or insulating fabric (row cover).
Save room in your garden for more tomatoes arriving later, but try some of the basics now for an early start.
Prolific as tomatoes are, you can improve their yields and your success utilizing the following methods.
- Plant in lots of sun.
- Leave plenty of space between plants, at least, 2.5 to 3 feet for good air circulation.
- Amend the soil before planting with lots of Bumper Crop soil amendment. Prime pH for tomatoes is 6.2-6.6. Bumper Crop moderates pH by a full point.
- Add 1 tsp. of Epsom salts into the planting hole at the time of planting. This provides magnesium which is essential for good productivity.
- Plant stems deep. Additional roots will grow from the buried stems. More roots equate to more productivity.
- Provide good sturdy support early on. Most tomatoes outgrow their supports.
- Fertilize with Master Nursery or E.B. Stone Tomato and Vegetable Food monthly until fruit set.
- If you’re having a problem with flower set, fertilize with Master Bloom or Ultra Bloom fertilizer every other time.
- After fruit set you can fertilize with magnesium or SulPoMag every 3-4 weeks.
- Provide 1″ of water per week.
- Cull some of the upper fruit to push more of the energy into remaining fruit.
- Prune off the top of the plant to force energy into fruits.
- Pray for “mother nature” to give us warm days & nights! Prime temps. for tomatoes are between 65 & 90 degrees. Temp’s over 95 stop fruit set and growth and nighttime temp’s below 55 degrees stop fruit set and growth.
- Rotate crops into different beds or areas yearly so ou do not spread a tomato disease from one year to the next.
- Mulch after the soil warms.
