Any tomato grower, will recognize this scenario, and promptly tell you “been there done that” in regards to the tomato garden.

Picture this: You have slaved over your vegetable garden all season, and have paid special attention to those tomato plants. Everything is great, you are just a few weeks off of harvesting a bumper tomato crop. You have dodged bugs, rodents, and all those critters that thought of your garden as a midnight buffet..

But along comes mother nature with the perfect storm. You know the thunderstorms of summer, with the heavy rains, whipping winds, and sometimes the dreaded hailstones.

You can’t do much about mother nature, but wait it out inside, and watch your tomato garden suffer. You hope that your tomatoes weather the storm, and you head out only to find a bunch of green tomatoes on the ground.

Here is what you do:

Pick up all the loose green tomatoes, check your plants for any damaged ones, and discard them so as to allow the plant the energies it needs to recover and ripen the other ones still on the vine.

Take your green tomatoes, and dry them off, find yourself a cardboard box, line it with newspapers, and lay your tomatoes in this box (with a bit of space for air around each one) Next put in a couple of ripening bananas (yellow but with a tinge of green still on them). The bananas will give off a gas that will help ripen your tomatoes. Cover with loose sheets of newspaper.

In about two weeks, you will have ripened tomatoes to enjoy, as well as your tomatoes from your prized tomato garden. Enjoy!

Tomatoes are arguably the most popular homegrown crop in the United States.  What makes them so popular?  Most tomato lovers would agree that the best-tasting tomatoes in the world are those that are homegrown in a backyard garden.  Furthermore, tomatoes are an easy crop to grow, yielding fruit in almost any soil type, provided they get 5-6 hours of sunlight a day.  Even if you don’t have a dedicated garden, per say, most homeowners can find at least a few square feet of their landscaping where they can put a tomato plant.

If you are interested in putting a few tomato plants in your garden this year, we’ve got some great tips to help you grow your best tomatoes ever!

The first decision in homegrown tomatoes is whether you want to start them yourself from seed, or if you’ll purchase young plants from a nursery.  For the less-serious home gardener, who just wants a few of your average homegrown tomatoes to eat, the usual varieties found in a nursery will do just fine, plus you’ll save the time and trouble of growing them from seed.  However, if you are planting on a large scale, starting from seed can be much more economical than buying young plants.  Furthermore, if you want to grow any specific varieties of tomatoes besides your average beefsteak, Better Boy, or Early Girl, you may be forced to start the plants from seed.  Pear tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes and others are varieties that nurseries don’t typically sell as young plants.

Proper fertilization techniques are vital for growing your best tomatoes.  If starting indoors from seed, you should fertilize when the first set of leaves appear on the seedlings.  In the early stages, you’ll want to use a fertilizer that’s high in nitrogen, because this will help the plants to grow strong.  However, when the plants get large enough that they begin forming blossoms, it is recommended to switch over to a fertilizer that’s higher in phosphorus and potassium.  Too much nitrogen during the fruiting stages will result in plenty of vine and very little fruit.

If you do grow your tomatoes indoors from seed, it’s important to harden them off before moving them outdoors.  There are many ways to accomplish this.  You could set up a small fan to blow gently on the plants indoors.  When the daytime temperatures are warm enough, you could also begin setting the plants outdoors for several hours a day, gradually increasing their time outdoors and length of time in the sun, day by day.  Eventually the plants will be ready to set outside.

When planting tomatoes, it is important to plant deeply.  When planting, you should bury at least half to three quarters of the plant, so that only the top few branches are sticking out.  New roots will eventually form all along the stem that you submerge in the soil, making the plant stronger.

Among tomato growers, there is wide debate about whether to pick or not to pick suckers.  Suckers are secondary stems that form on all tomato plant, and they grow from the joint of the main stem and the primary branches.  There are two fields of thought about this.  If you allow suckers to grow, they will sap much of the energy from the plant’s main stem.  Allowing suckers to grow on an indeterminate plant will result in an enormous, sprawling tomato plant that, by season’s end, can be difficult to manage.  On the other hand, if you remove all the suckers from your tomato plant, the plant will become very spindly, without very many leaves.  When you have a tomato plant that isn’t bushy enough, the fruits themselves will be more susceptible to discoloration and sunspots because they don’t get adequate shading from the plant itself.  In general, for more home gardeners, it is recommended to allow some of your suckers to grow in the beginning, but by mid-season, to begin removing suckers and continue doing so until the plants are finished in the fall.

Lastly, be sure to keep a close eye out for any diseased plants.  While many varieties of tomatoes have been hybridized to be disease resistant, there are still some plants that will be susceptible to common tomato problems such as fusarium wilt and verticillium wilt.  If you notice a plant that looks unhealthy, you should attempt to diagnose the problem as quickly as possible, and potentially remove the plant all together.  Many diseases affecting tomatoes will spread rapidly from one plant to another, and it’s always better to sacrifice one plant than to risk your entire crop of tomatoes.

Tomatoes are not a difficult plant to grow.  Even the gardener with the blackest of thumbs can usually produce a decent crop of tomatoes with very little effort.  However, if you do provide them with a little extra care and nurturing, you’ll be rewarded with your best tomatoes ever!

Even people who don’t claim to have green thumbs can usually grow tomatoes. They may not be edible, but they can still grow them. All kidding aside, tomato growing is not all that hard and with a little TLC, you too can grow your own tomatoes. If you’re thinking about growing your own tomatoes, you should and with some of the following tips, you’ll be picking your own tomatoes very soon and you will tell the difference between store bought and home grown. Once you start tomato growing, you will never buy another tomato from the grocery store ever again.

1. To find good tomato plants, your closest garden center is as far as you need to go to find healthy tomato plants. Ask the gardener working there to help you if you need it, but common sense can be used when choosing healthy plants for tomato growing. Most people can tell the difference between a healthy plant and a limp and wilted plant. Make sure its green with no yellowing or spotted leaves. No matter where you’re going to plant your tomatoes, either outside or in a big pot, bury your plant up to the bottom stems. This will allow the plant to sprout new roots and strengthen the tomato growing process. You can completely bury the bottom stems and then just cut them at dirt level.

2. Don’t over-feed your tomato plant. Too much nitrogen will give you a beautiful bushy plant, but not a lot of fruit. It’s a good idea to prepare the soil before you plant your tomato plant. These plants love rich humus or loamy soil and it’s a good idea to add a little potassium for strong stems and just a touch of nitrogen.

3. Water your plants thoroughly and make sure you have good drainage where ever your plants may be. If you live in hot climates and your plants are outside, make sure they will get at least a half of day of shade. Too much heat and the flowers will fall off, falling flowers means no tomatoes and this defeats the tomato growing process entirely. Cover outdoor tomato plants with some kind of mulch, either bark, pine needles or hay. Studies have proven that plants covered in black plastic mulch in early spring produces lots of tomatoes all spring and summer long, especially in cool or cold climates. Infra-red plastic mulch is even better. The person at your garden center should be able to tell you what is best for where you live.

4. Picking off the first batch of flowers will also ensure a healthier plant. Doing this will strengthen the root system and give your plants the chance to mature and fill out before bearing fruit. Stake or cadge your tomato plants so they have support and strength they need to grow big ripe tomatoes. With a little care and a little attention, you will be growing beautiful tomatoes in no time. Cherry or grape tomatoes are great for first time tomato growers. They grow great on a patio or porch and they grow by the bunch. Growing your own tomatoes will save you money and bragging rights about your successful tomato garden.

Vegetable gardening tips for tomato growing are readily available. Most gardeners are happy to share their tomato growing tips and even non-gardeners who attempt to grow tomatoes every spring will offer advice. The difficulty for the novice tomato grower comes in trying so sort the valuable vegetable gardening tips for tomato growing from the old wives’ tales.
One of the best sources for vegetable gardening help is a local nursery. Buying plants at a supermarket or a chain store with garden center may allow you to purchase plants at a cheaper price, but it is unlikely that the staff in these stores know a great deal about gardening. For reliable vegetable gardening help, visit a local nursery. Many nurseries carry plants that they themselves have grown from seed, and they will be knowledgeable about each variety of plant and can advise on local conditions.
Local Garden Club
Most towns have a local garden club and meeting together with other gardeners is a great way to obtain vegetable gardening help and improve your knowledge. Other gardeners from your locality will have abundant information about the requirements of vegetables in your zone. When you enlist the aid of gardeners that are local to your area, you will get vegetable gardening help that you can use because these gardeners understand the unique needs of your particular zone.
Local garden clubs often run workshops or classes on topics ranging from composting, to growing a particular variety of heirloom vegetable, to pest control in the garden. Many often sponsor projects such as community gardens which can provide gardening space to those who live in apartments and have no garden space of their own. and taking part in an altruistic endeavor with your fellow garden club members is a fantastic way to learn all sorts of gardening secrets and tips.
Even if you don’t join a garden club taking part in some workshops will provide you with an opportunity to meet fellow gardeners and form friendships with people with a common interest.
The County Extension Office
Another top resource for vegetable gardening advice is your local county extension office. They specialize in solving the gardening problems unique to your local environment. They can perform soil tests, identify plants and diseases and sometimes supply free seeds or plants
Once you’ve gained some gardening knowledge it’s time to get your hands dirty.
Tomatoes and other vegetables are easy to grow if you start with good soil. Before you plant your garden, till the soil to about a depth of ten inches and dig in some well rotted compost or other organic material. Complete this step several weeks before you want to plant your tomatoes.
For a larger garden, you can rent a tiller, but for a small garden space you can use a gardening fork to dig in the compost.
When risk of frost has passed, drive a ¾ inch stake into your prepared garden bed. Dig a hole a little deeper and wider than the size of the tomato plant’s pot next to the stake, gently place the plant into the hole and firm it in. A trellis or tomato cage can also be used for support in lieu of a stake. These are readily available at nurseries and hardware stores. Use soft twine or tomato ties to tie the plant’s stem loosely to the stake or trellis. As the tomato plant grows, check the ties regularly and loosen them occasionally to prevent stem damage. The tomato seedlings should be planted 18 inches apart to allow the sun to reach the ripening fruit.
Feed Your Tomato Plants
Feed your tomato plants regularly using a potassium-based plant food or you can create your own organic fertilizer mix. Planting basil adjacent to your tomato plants will assist in keeping pests at bay.
Watering is as important as feeding. Water your tomatoes regularly with a hand-held hose. Direct the water at the base of the plant and avoid wetting the leaves which can lead to rot.
Never let your tomatoes dry out to the point that they wilt. Although you can usually save the wilted plant by watering it, the dry period will take its toll on the plant and affect the quality of the fruit. Extended dry spells may cause your tomatoes to crack.
Regularly nip out by hand any side shoots that develop between the leaf and the stem. This will help to channel the plant’s energy into its fruit.
When your tomatoes have ripened, pick them by bending back the fruit at the notch on the stem. Ripe tomatoes can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. Continue to water and feed the plant to help the remaining tomatoes to ripen and mature.