Growing Tomatoes: {Tip Sheet}

Harvesting Garden Fresh Tomatoes

When To Plant: Plant seedlings in the Spring after all danger of frost has passed. You can either purchase seedlings at your local greenhouse or try growing your own by seed. Start the seeds indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before the last expected frost. The seeds will need plenty of light to prevent becoming too “leggy” before they can be planted so either choose a warm, sunny location or make sure you have a grow light. When the plants are about 6″ tall, they’ll be ready for planting (smaller varieties like the dwarf tomato will be ready around 4″ tall).

Where To Plant: Tomatoes thrive in full sun and well draining soil, so choose a sunny location with well draining soil to plant them. Prepare the soil by digging deeply and well so the soil is nice and loose, mix in compost for best results. Raised garden beds are ideal for growing tomatoes since the soil will be well draining.

How To Plant: Start hardening off seedlings about two weeks before you expect to plant them outdoors. You do this by bringing them outside a few hours at a time, starting in sheltered locations and gradually stretching the length of time they stay outdoors. Cold frames are ideal for this (see How To Build A Cold Frame With An Old Window and Plastic Tunnel Cold Frame for some DIY options). Once they’re accustomed to being outdoors for at least 6 hours a day, they should be ready for planting (if weather permits). Depending on the variety of tomatoes you choose to plant, leave at least 24″ between plants and 30″ between rows (if plants will be staked or caged) or plant them 4 feet apart from each other and rows 6 feet apart if the tomatoes will be growing freely and unstaked. For the smaller, bushier varieties, 15″ apart should do it. Applying about 3 inches of mulch when planting the seedlings will help hold the soil moisture and keep the soil temperature even.

Watering Conditions: Water regularly and if the weather is hot, water daily. Be careful not to overwater though, if you see the fruit cracking–this is a sign of overwatering. Water at ground level rather than from the top of the plant down, this will ensure the water will reach the roots as well as prevent the leaves from getting scorched (water + sun). Water the plants regularly, do not let them dry out.

Growing Season: Most varieties of tomatoes will need to be staked or supported with tomato cages or trellises to keep the fruit and vines off the ground, this protects the tomato plants from rot and disease (as well as saves space in the garden). Staking tomatoes also helps expose the fruit to more sun (which helps them ripen) as well as makes it easier to harvest the fruit. You can tie the plants with strips of pantyhose or twine. You can extend the growing season by covering the tomato plants with a tarp or sheets overnight when there’s a danger of frost, but be sure to pick all the tomatoes on the plants before the first hard frost of the Fall season.

Harvesting Tomatoes: When the tomato is fully ripe, simply twist it off the vine and store at room temperature. You can also snip a length of the vine off and store (keeping the tomatoes attached). Should they be refrigerated? No, to preserve their flavor, tomatoes are best stored in warm to room temperatures.

Tips

Help your tomatoes grow larger by pinching off the “suckers”, these are the leaf growths that appear on the sides of branches (between stem and branch).
Encourage your tomato plants to thrive by giving them a regular drink of compost tea every two to three weeks.
Good canning tomatoes are those of the “determinate” variety. These are a bushier tomato plant that produces most of their tomatoes within six weeks before tapering off production and typically ripen early in the season.
“Indeterminate” varieties typically produce tomatoes right until the end of the season (when frost hits) and produce lots of vines that like to sprawl all over the ground (unless staked).
If you want to grow tomatoes in pots or containers, look for “dwarf” or “midget” varieties since the vines don’t grow too long and they do very well in containers (including hanging baskets). Cherry tomatoes do very well in containers also.
A couple weeks before the end of the growing season, prune the top of the plant back to encourage fruit production on the remaining blossoms as well as to quicken the ripening of the fruit on the plant (some gardeners go so far as to completely strip the plants of all leaves as well as pruning off the top). For more tips on ripening green tomatoes, see How To Ripen Tomatoes: Tips & Tricks. You can also try “root pruning” the plant at the end of the season to shock it into ripening its fruit, you do this by digging into the soil with a spade 6″ deep all around the plant, one foot away from the plant.
If possible, wait to pick the fruit until it’s fully ripe–these tomatoes have the best flavor.
Did You Know: Some believe that planting basil and garlic next to tomatoes will improve the flavor of tomatoes?
When you have your own bumper crop of garden fresh tomatoes, see these recipes for some ideas on how to prepare them: 25 Green Tomato Recipes To Try, Homemade Salsa Recipes For Canning and How To Make Sun Dried Tomatoes.