Tomato Growing Tips

We all want to get started early in the spring planting our tomatoes, but we need to know when to plant them. But it doesn't pay to start them at the wrong time. Too early and you end up with leggy transplants that won't get a good start. Too late and you will miss the prime growing season for tomatoes. Here is a look at the best time to plant your tomatoes.
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After all the hard work you put into your tomato garden, the last thing you want to do is either pick tomatoes too soon or to leave them on the vine too long. Here are some tips on how to know when to pick tomatoes in your garden.
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We all know that keeping your tomatoes well watered is critical not only for the best production from your tomato garden, but it also helps ward off diseases like blossom end rot as well. But keeping the garden watered can be a time consuming task, not to mention a lot of work. Here is a look at some watering tools for the garden that will help keep your tomatoes well watered and your body well rested.
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One of the more popular varieties of tomatoes are beefsteak tomatoes. These are some of the larger tomatoes most gardeners grow, so they take some extra pride in them. Here are some tips to help you get the best beefsteak tomatoes around.
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Cherry tomatoes are a favorite of many gardeners. Cherry tomatoes have a few advantages over some of the larger tomato varieties that make them a must have in many tomato gardens. Here's a few tips on how to grow cherry tomatoes.

One thing to note is that most cherry tomato varieties are indeterminate tomatoes, which means that the vine will keep growing larger as time goes on. This is a good thing from the standpoint of extending the harvest, but it also means that cherry tomatoes are not a particularly good choice for use in a hanging tomato planter. Many gardeners make the mistake of thinking that small tomatoes means a small plant.
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Tomatoes are just about the most common crop grown in home gardens. They are fairly easy to grow, but one that tomatoes need special attention is the fact that they won't support themselves. For that many gardeners turn to a tomato trellis or cage, or even some of the newer tomato spiral stakes.

Many folks like to build their own tomato spirals or cages. There are a few advantages to making your own tomato cages. If you buy materials like a roll of chicken wire or reinforcing wire, the cost for several cages is much lower than buying individual cages, unless you buy them in bulk.
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Tomato gardeners are always on the lookout for ways to improve tomato plant yield. Actually invented here in the US, it's still a great way to create an intensive tomato garden. Here's a look at this classic technique to increase tomato plant yields.
Read more on Japanese Tomato Ring – Improve Your Tomato Plant Yields…

One of the first things to do when starting a new garden, and probably every spring is to do a soil check. One of the most important things to check after nutrient levels is the soil pH. Here's a good article that discusses exactly what soil pH is, and more importantly, how to correct the soil pH in your yard. For those interested in growing tomatoes, the soil pH you'd like to get to is around 6.0 to 6.5.
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Once you've put in all the effort to grow your tomatoes, most gardeners don't want to let the plants just sprawl all over the garden. Growing tomatoes need support, and you can either buy tomato cages, or you can invest in making tomato cages. Here's a few tips on how to make your own tomato cages and supports.
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There are several types and literally hundreds of varieties of tomatoes to choose from. What do the different types mean, and which types work well in the home garden. Here's a quick look at the types of tomatoes that might work well in the home garden.
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Sowing tomato seed is not too bad, tomatoes are relatively easy to get to germinate. Here's some pointers on how to sow tomato seeds.
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Some tomato varieties are bred to work well for commercial growers. Usually these have an emphasis on long shelf life and ability to withstand shipping. But the tomato varieties for the home gardener are usually better tasting and more succulent. Let's examine the different tomato varieties.
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Like any crop in the vegetable garden, the never ending question is when to water tomatoes, or how much to water your tomato plants. Here's another quick overview of how to tell when tomatoes need water, and a couple of ideas on how to water them easily.
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Many gardeners would love to have some lighting in the back yard or garden, but are put off by the cost and complexity of wiring away from the house. One recent product that addresses this need are solar spot lights, which capture their own energy from the sun, and store it for use later at night.
Read more on Solar Spot Lights for the Garden – Spot Lights without Wiring…

If you want to get the jump on spring and get going on early spring tomatoes, then the best time to start is in the winter months. Even before the snow melts there are things you can do to start getting ready for the last frost and getting those tomato plants out. Here's a few items to start working on ahead of spring.
Read more on Spring Tomato Preparation Begins in the Winter Months…

Many gardeners these days are interested in using organic techniques in their garden. Many see organically grown vegetables as better overall for both your health and the health of the ecosystem. But it's not necessarily as simple as to no longer use chemicals and pesticides in your garden. Growing tomatoes organically still demands fertilization and pest control. Here's a a look at some tips to get the best organically grow tomatoes.
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Here's a quick list of five tips for growing great tomatoes. Almost anyone can grow tomatoes in their garden, which helps explain why it's the most popular crop in most gardens today. Anyone who has sliced a fresh tomato for a sandwich, or sneaked a Sweet 100 tomato from the garden knows that fresh garden tomatoes are the best. Here's a list of tips for getting the best tomatoes you can from your garden.
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In our zeal to get those early spring tomatoes out, one of the best things we can do is start our own tomato seedlings at home.  Once we've gotten them to start, we may want to move them to something larger to keep them growing well and to help harden them off.  This article gives some pointers on successfully transplanting tomatoes to peat pots to give them room to grow.

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There are a number of ways to support the growth of your tomato plants.  While cages are a popular option, another great way to keep your tomatoes off the ground and looking good is to use a trellis.  Of course with that comes the need to occasionally prune the tomatoes to make the best use of the trellis.

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We want to make sure we do a proper job of fertilizing our tomatoes. Like most things in the garden, you can overdo it. Too much of the wrong types of fertilizer can either burn the plant or end up giving us all sorts of leafy growth but no fruit. Not enough and our tomato yields can suffer. Of course it's best to test the soil first and see what is actually needed. This article gives a quick overview of what's in fertilizers, and what combination can work the best in your tomato garden.
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One job in the garden that sometimes seems like a lot of work is pruning and staking the tomatoes. But it's generally accepted that these practices will increase yield more fruit that if the tomato plants are left to sprawl around the garden. Here's a look at the advantages of pruning and staking tomatoes.
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Depending on how we are growing our tomatoes, we may find that keeping them properly pruned is a key to maximizing the yield of these tomatoes.  It's often useful when growing them on tomato stakes or supports, along with in cages on on trellises if you want to keep them under control but still yielding the most in total tomatoes for your harvest.

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One question that comes up in most gardens is when to water the garden.  While the answer will differ when you are watering container grown tomatoes, especially those growing in hanging tomato planters, or upside down in something like the upside down tomato garden, but there are some tips to be had.  Here's an article we found that gives a good overview of when to water your tomatoes.

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When spring is near we all want to get the jump on starting those new tomato plants in the hope that maybe this year we can get some tomatoes out of the garden earlier than normal.  However, all to often we are disappointed by the onset of a late frost or even a killing freeze.  Here are a few ideas on how to keep Jack Frost from stealing those early spring tomatoes away from us.

First, it's good to set aside a few plants just for the purpose of getting those early tomatoes.  Be sure you've chosen a variety that is not only a little more frost tolerant (there is a limit to how much cold any tomato can take before it is zapped by the cold) but just as importantly one that will set fruit in cold weather.  Check your seed catalog description to find the ones best suited for the cold.
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