Mulching around your vegetable garden, or the rest of your garden for that matter, helps to retain moisture, which helps cut back on watering, which of course helps the environment stay green, but it doesn’t have to be the expensive bark mulch you can get in a rainbow of colors now, unless you are going for a trendy looking garden!

As long as you have not sprayed your lawn, and your lawn is not on any “drugs” you can bag your clippings as you cut your lawn, and use these around your tomato plants. Lawn clippings are full of nutrients. Or you can use that pile of dead leaves you have in your back corner, or hay from a local farm.

But the important thing to remember about mulching your tomato garden, is that you must wait until the soil reaches a good warm temperature, or else the mulch will insulate the cold in the soil.

Your tomato plants, need the soil to be warm to thrive, so depending on your climate, let the plants get a good start first, keep the weeds down, (weeds don’t seem to care what temperature the soil is!) , and make sure they get watered. As the temps start to rise overnight, and the soil gets warmer, then mulch. This will retain the heat in the soil as well as the moisture needed.

Plus as an added bonus, mulching tomato plants keeps those dreaded weeds down. I usually mulch to about 2 inches deep and then turn it into the ground in the fall. It also helps energize the soil for next years tomato crop.

Have you ever noticed, that they will often wait until your large juicy tomato is ripe for picking before they snack?. They will wait until you have done all the hard work of raising a great vegetable garden. Then they invite all their friends and have a buffet style midnight snack on your tomatoes and other vegetables, while you are sleeping.

In the morning, it looks like the leftovers of a party, you get to clean it all up and you were not even invited!

So.. What do you do?. besides erecting a scare crow, or taking shifts guarding your prized tomatoes and other vegetables with a big stick to scare them off? Try this:

GREAT TIP: How to safeguard your growing tomatoes: Many animals, including deer, rabbits, foxes and raccoons, and sometimes cats and dogs (although they mostly dig in your garden rather than take the tomato) HATE the smell of vinegar, even when it is dried.

So get yourself a large jug of white distilled vinegar, (it does not cost much and is worth it) pour some in a bowl and soak a few rags with the full strength vinegar, do not dilute it.

Place the vinegar soaked rags on stakes around your garden, especially near your tomato plants. (But not on the plants, just in the area) The more stakes the better. Then re-soak them every week or so, until you can harvest your tomatoes and other vegetables.

This will put off the party animals, at least until next year, unless of course you get one with no sense of smell!.

Container gardens, are the perfect starter gardens, as you have more control, and the garden will not get away from you, the way a large one can. I am sure it has happened to all of us at one time or another, it certainly happened to me. Vegetable gardens, especially tomato gardens are a lot of work, but rewarding.

You get excited to grow tomatoes, and dig up a big patch, only to realize, that this needs weeding, mulching and tending to, through the hot days, as well as lots of water. Plus a bumper crop of tomatoes you now need to deal with. If you are not sure if this is for you, then start much smaller.

Instead of this situation, try growing tomatoes in containers. Get four good sized containers, that you can handle, and us a quality potting mix, with good drainage, in each one. The reason I say four containers, is that you should also try four varieties of tomato plants to grow, One plant in each container.

This way, you can see which tomato is best for you, some plants are hardier than others, but one thing is for sure, the weeding and care of containers is no where near as time consuming. You may only have four plants, but you will get a good supply of tomatoes for your family, and some different varieties to try. Like taste testing!

After you harvest your tomatoes, you can decide if a tomato garden, or vegetable garden is for you. Then decide your plan of action for next year.

Container gardens for food, such as tomato plants, have become more popular, especially if you live in a small place, or only have a balcony. You can still enjoy the taste of a fresh picked tomato without all the work. Just remember to keep track of the varieties you grow, so that you can choose the best one for next year, or try four more.

Add a couple of small flowers, and you not only have food, but beauty as well to enjoy.

Selecting the right variety of plant is probably the first and most obvious thing you need to do, there are 2 basic types of tomatoes (3 if you want to be picky), which are vine or bush tomatoes.

Bush tomatoes stop growing when they reach a certain size and produce their fruit pretty much all at the same time. Vine tomato plants will just keep going and need to be controlled by pruning in order to make sure you produce good quality fruit over an extended period.

Make sure you select a sunny spot for your tomato plants, they will need a minimum of 6 hours and any less will hamper the production and ripening of the fruit.

Make sure the plants receive enough water, but don’t over water. Tomatoes like moist soil conditions and can’t be allowed to dry out. But keep them with persistently drenched feet and they will not be able to get the air from the soil to the roots and they will suffer as a result.

Keep your plants free of pests, whether you take an organic approach or use a pesticide it is essential to make sure that your plants do not get infested.

Disease also needs to be avoided and one of the most common sources for disease is the from the soil, keeping the lower part of the plant away from the soil by pruning or using a mulch barrier will greatly reduce the risk of disease.

Realistically most growbags that are available which can be 35 or 40 litres in size are only enough to support two plants. There are ways in which you can push this out to 3 plants but for the cost of a growbag its probably as well just to stick to 2 plants, particularly if you take good care of them and produce lots of fruit.

If you go for pots then you should steralise them before use, to do this you can use a dilute solution of a suitable disinfectant, something like Jeyes fluid is perfect for this task.

While we are on this subject, you really should wipe down the inside of your greenhouse with disinfectant as well to ensure any residual contaminants that could also cause disease are removed from the glass.

One of the reasons I am suggesting using large pots or growbags for growing tomato plants is because the soil in the greenhouse is going to need to be dug out and replaced every 2 or 3 years anyway to ensure that you get rid of any build up of disease and also because the soil will be pretty much spent in terms of nutrients.

Space is limited in a greenhouse so the best option for plant varieties is to use the indeterminate variety of tomato plant i.e. a vine plant. You can prune the plant to the required size, leaving about 4 to 6 trusses on the main stem, which is about 6′ to 7′ in height, greenhouse size allowing. This will give you lots of fruit over an extended period.  You will have to pinch out the main stem when you have enough trusses to stop further growth.

As an aside, using the bush variety is less convenient for greenhouses because they, as the name suggests, form a determinant size of bush without pruning which is probably a little too large in diameter for the average greenhouse. The fruit also has a tendency to all come at once.

Irrespective of the growing method you choose, you should start to feed the tomatoes at the first sign of fruit and for the duration of the growing period, twice a week should be sufficient. Also as you are in a greenhouse regular and consistent watering is also very important and I recommend 2 to 3 times a day with water that has been allowed to warm in the greenhouse.

As the end of the season nears a way of helping the last remaining fruit ripen is to hang a couple of bananas in the apex of the greenhouse. If that fails to ripen the last bit of fruit you can always use the green tomatoes for making a delicious chutney.

Tomato Disease Prevention

Disease prevention in tomato plants starts with healthy growing practices. Preparing the soil, watering properly, and feeding appropriately are all keys to tomato disease prevention. Tomatoes like a well draining soil filled with lots of organic matter. Tomato roots penetrate deeply into the soil, helping to stabilize plants and take up water. With well-prepared soil, watering deeply and infrequently—every 4-6 days, will allow the tomato plant to have enough water, without putting the plant at risk of problems of overly “wet feet.” Always water in the morning, so plant leaves have time to dry during the day. Leaves are a perfect spot for disease incubation, and water ripens those conditions even more. Prune your plants to provide air flow through the leaves and branches, which will also aid drying time. Ensure that your tomato plants receive proper nutrition by conducting a soil test, and treating the soil according to the results. All of these practices will give your plants a good start fighting off diseases and pests.

Diagnosing Tomato Pests and Diseases

If all of your well-intentioned cultivation practices have not stopped your plants from succumbing to a problem, then you must diagnose the problem. Tomatoes can suffer from pest problems, nutrition problems, viral, bacterial and fungal problems.

Pest damage to tomato plants causes visible physical changes. Cutworms actually cut off the plant from its root system, causing the plant to wilt and die. Aphid damage results in sticky residue on the plant. Aside from the damage they inflict, you can often see the pest itself on the plant. Caterpillars bury into fruit and eat it, causing fruit to rot. Whiteflies and spider mites are visible on the leaves. Diagnosing pest problems is easier than other problems because most pests can be observed on the plant.

Nutrition problems in tomato plants manifest in several areas of the plant. Tomatoes absorb a wide variety of nutrients, minerals and trace elements from garden soil. Deficiencies in each nutrient result in specific symptoms in the plant. Excess nitrogen causes deep green, lush, leafy plants with little fruit. Nitrogen deficiency causes yellowing of lower leaves. Calcium deficiency causes blossom end rot, a common problem on tomato fruit characterized by yellow, leathery spots that spread into black, rotting patches on the blossom end of the fruit. (The end away from the stem.) Nutrition problems can be seasonal, or soil related. A soil test helps determine what nutrients are lacking in the soil. If all nutrients are in the soil, factors such as overly wet or cold soil can make it more difficult for plants to absorb nutrients.

Viruses, bacteria and fungus all cause tomato diseases and problems. Wilts, damping off, leaf spots, mildew, fruit rot, cankers, and leaf mosaic problems are all common tomato problems caused by a cocktail of tiny organisms. Each problem shows in the tomato in different ways. Leaf mosaic viruses show up in leaves, causing mosaic-like patterns. Cankers are growths on stems, leaves or fruit. Root rot often shows up in the leaves of the plant, as they shrivel and die from not having enough water. For a comprehensive, pictorial guide on diagnosing tomato plant pests and diseases, consult How to Grow Tasty Juicy Tomatoes (available from www.bestjuicytomatoes.com).

Treating Tomato Pest and Disease Problems

The phrase: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure definitely applies to tomato growing. As earlier related, properly caring for tomato plants and their soil prevents many problems. However, should your plants fall prey to a problem, there are many ways to treat.

First, correctly diagnose the problem. Once diagnosis is certain, follow procedures related to the particular problem. Many plant problems can be alleviated by changing gardening techniques. Plants that are stressed are more susceptible to pest and disease problems. Examine watering, mulching, and feeding practices. If those techniques are in balance, many pest and disease problems will go away. Nutrition deficiencies may be corrected by adding correct nutrients to the soil in easily accessible forms. Some nutrients are best delivered as leaf or soil drenches, while others work well in time-release granular applications. Pest problems can be corrected with beneficial insects, changes in gardening techniques, and insecticides-both synthetic and organic. Viral, bacterial and fungal problems can also be treated with a combination of gardening techniques and soil and plant drenches and sprays. Safety is an important consideration when applying any sort of pesticide. Read the label carefully and follow all directions. More is not better when pesticides are concerned.

While all of this information can seem daunting, tomato growing is a rewarding hobby. Keep a good reference on hand, and whenever your plants are under the weather, open the book and identify the problem. How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes contains over 260 colored photos of diseases, pests and common nutrition deficiencies and is a must-have for any top-notch tomato grower!