Flamborough Baptist Community Garden

                                             Growing Tomatoes:

                                                                   

Finally, the warm weather we have all been waiting for! Planting weather! We can get out there and start putting all our laid out plans into action! It is almost warm enough to start those pepper and tomato plants too. So, I thought before you run out to your local garden center I would share with you a few tips on growing tomatoes. Of course with most gardening tips there are variations on them, and each gardener will have their own twist on what they like to do best, but this is just a starting point. Keep a journal to see what works and what didn’t so you can make changes as the years go by.

Tomato Growing Tips:

Tomatoes love heat. Try covering  the area where your tomatoes will be with black or red plastic a couple of days or a week before you intend to plant. Those few extra degrees of warmth will mean  earlier tomatoes and less likely they will face shock when transplanted.

Plant your tomato plants deeper than they are in the pot, up to the bottom few leaves. This will help the tomatoes to develop roots all along their stems. And more roots will make for a stronger plant.

Stake your plants. You can use a tomato cage and in some cases that works. However, you may find that a simple strong Bamboo pole or any pole, staked beside the plant will work. Just tie the plant to the pole as it grows, giving it constant support.

Once your tomato plants reach about 3 ft. tall, remove the leaves from the bottom 1 ft. of stem. The old leaves will be the first leaves to develop fungus problems. Since the plant is larger, the bottom leaves do not get enough sun and air movement.

Remove suckers that grow in the crotch joint of two branches. They will not grow tomatoes and will take energy away from the rest of the plant. But do not prune the rest of the plant the leaves that are photosynthesizing and creating the sugars that give flavor to your tomatoes. Suckering ( pruning is not needed on Cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes)

Water well, a deep soak and regularly while the plants are developing. Sporadic  watering, (missing several days or a week and trying to make up for it), this can lead to tomatoes cracking or even blossom end rot. Try to give them at least 1 in. of water per week, but during hot spells, they may need more. If your plants start to look wilted for most of the day, please give them a drink. When the tomatoes begin to ripen, you can cut back a bit on watering. This will coax the plant produce sugars, giving better flavor. But please use common sense here. Don’t hold back water so much that the plants start to wither and become stressed. You are only inhibiting growth of more fruit.

So now that you are all set with some pointers, go out, shop for your plants and watch for continuous warm weather in the forecast. When it is reached….start planting!!!