Be sure to raise low soils, so they are well-drained. It is also essential to feed regularly with a fertilizer formulated for tomatoes and to keep plants evenly irrigated. You must be logged in to post a comment. This site may contain content including images and articles as well as advice, opinions and statements presented by third parties. Sun Gro does not review these materials for accuracy or reliability and does not endorse the advice, opinions, or statements that may be contained in them.
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Hi Grace. I grew up in Miami and it can be challenging to grow tomatoes there without extra TLC. Yes, you need to give them a liquid fertilizer about once a week or every other week per the instructions. Containers dry out too quickly but you are watering every day which is good.
I am growing tomatoes for the first time and I am a novice to gardening. I transplanted and moved my seedlings to bigger container pots in early October. I have used Miracle-Go Moisture control potting soil and I fertilize the plants every 2 weeks..
My tomato plants have grown around 2 feet and are flowering well. I see tiny marble size tomatoes on most of the plants. I was reading through various articles and realized that I started late in sowing the seeds. Since my current climate zone is 10, first and last frost date should be around 1st and last week of January. I am not sure if I have will have enough yield of tomatoes as I was late , also if my plants will survive the frost. Do you have any suggestions on what should I do to take care of my plants for higher yield despite being late and also how to manage the plants during the frost.
Thank you. If a frost is coming and your plants are in the ground vs. But with shorter days, and cooler temps, fruit will take longer to ripen. I would harvest as soon as they start showing color. So keep an eye on the forecast and leave fruit on the plant until the risk is imminent. Good luck and now you know, just start earlier next year to avoid this problem.
Always learning! Thanks, Rick. However, there are many soil diseases that can persist and overwinter to wreak havoc on your tomato plants the following year. So the reason why you should rotate your plants to a new location yearly if possible over a 3 or 4 year rotation , is to starve out the pest and diseases that thrive on tomato plants. And I do pay a price with extra disease pressure from year to year. But when I do rotate and plant in a new location, those years are always better related to diseases.
I bought 1 tomato plant at walmart and it is suppose to produce lb size tomatoes. Well, that plant grew to be 6 feet tall with really thick stems and I think I waited a bit long to prune the plant. Anyway the tomatoes only turn red 2 and 3 at a time about 2 weeks apart and the sizes is only from a little bigger than a golf ball to the size of a big apple. I was really disappointed beause I wanted to can some juice.
Your response will help me next year. A common occurrence that happens a lot more than people realize is that plants are mis-labeled, either at the grower or somewhere between there and the retailer. I can speak from personal experience here.
Although the plant is genetically programmed to produce a certain size fruit, water and temperature can produce variability on the vine when it comes to uniform fruit size. It is not unusual to see various size, mature fruit on one plant. Gardening and growing is all about working with the surprises Mother Nature will continue to send your way. Many plants at Walmart are not as labeled.
I bought seeds there that were not true to variety or had zero germination. Spend a little more someplace else. Why wait a season to find this out.
This is true not only at Walmart but all over Jerry. It is so easy for plants to get mislabeled during the handling process and happens all too often. With seeds, check the date on the package and buy from trusted brands. I made it primarily for tomatoes. I now need to fill it with soil of some type. My research took me to your article. If I understand what you are saying, filling it completely with compost might be the best thing for my tomatoes.
Is that so in your opinion? The suggestion I have been getting is rock, and potting mix. Any help would be appreciated. Bryan — Toronto Ontario. Hey Bryan. I went back and looked at that article and I see why you came to that conclusion about using all compost for planting your tomatoes.
While compost is fantastic as a soil amendment, It should not be the sole source of soil for growing any plants. Soil also needs minerals and other things not found in just compost. It will give you a better foundation and overall balance for your plants going forward.
I have several articles that explain this further and I think they would help you. Is it okay to plant two seedlings together. I started from seed, and they are within half an inch, and I dont want to try and separate the root and damage both plants. Yes, but I would cut off the weaker plant with scissors or such at ground level once you know which is the stronger plant. I planted Heirlooms last year in large planters formerly used for small trees. Should I try re-plaining in new, and fresh potting soil or will my use of the once-used soil from last year be okay?
Used soil is fine Brad. The key is to continue to add new organic matter to constantly improve and restore the microbial life in the soil. As long as you add back beneficial inputs as you are, you should be fine. I recently acquired a Cherokee purple tomato plant. Will these guidelines work for that specific plant as well? Can tomatoes be planted in large pots, or must they be planted in the ground?
Thank you so so much! Containers are fine for growing tomatoes Ashley and the tips from this article certainly work for Cherokee Purple as well. The key with container grown tomatoes and all plants is that they need extra water as the soil dries out quicker. They also need to be fertilized a lot more as the nutrients will leach from the soil with each watering. Hi, Joe. Please tell me if it will hurt to plant tomatoes in a hill of dirt. My son is insistent that this is how the tomatoes should be planed , my daughter in-law is suggesting that they be planted in a hole and flat.
I am not sure as I just planed theism. Darlene, tomatoes are very forgiving in how you plant them. You can plant them on a hill, in a hill, sideways, or very deep.
Literally, any of those methods and more will work. The trunk has tiny white fibers that will become roots when they come in contact with soil. Just keep the soil moist for it to take off. There are 2 email newsletters that I send to keep my subscribers in the know. One is for Growing a Greener World and the other is for my new gardening intensive website launching later this summer.
What do you suggest for future planting so as to minimize its presence in my soil? They were not planted in this spot the previous year.
Thanks in advance for your comments! Hi Bobbe. Look for tomatoes that include letters after the name of the variety. It is not immune to it though, so just know this going in.
You could likely do an online search ahead of shopping to find a list of varieties that are disease resistant to this. Generally many of the hybrid varieties have been bred for disease resistance. Hi Solob. Spiders in the garden can be a great helper in managing your pests. Red spiders will destroy a tomato! I wrap my hand around the entire tomato and crush them. Dena, Thanks for sharing your method for controlling spider mites. They can be difficult to control and I like your approach.
Happy gardening! Hi Joe, Thanks so much for your informative shows and articles. Your expertise has been very helpful in answering a lot of concerns that folks have regarding their gardening ventures. I started a garden area when we moved to central, Fl 15 years ago. I have had successes and failures. Now I am trying growing in a few hay bales. I would appreciate your input on Hay vs Straw bales and any info you have on this subject.
This is personal information that you will probably not want to post. I grew up in south Miami when your family lived there many years ago. I was friends with your oldest brother at Riviera.
Hi Janet! To get you a really good answer on the diff. He wrote my favorite book on tomatoes: Epic Tomatoes. He also wrote a book on straw bale gardening. People use lime to make their soil less acidic, to raise the pH level closer to 7 or neutral. Hi Joe,how long does tomato plant lives?
Does it have an age limitation? Is it okay to plant these in a pot with vine support? These are my questions… Thanks for sharing the idea of planting tomatoes.. Hi Brams. With proper care, tomato plants can live a very long time. To your question about pots and support, yes—your plants can do fine in containers and they do need support.
So whatever you provide there will help. Keep in mind, plants in containers dry out more quickly so more frequent watering and fertilization will be the most important things you can do to keep it healthy and happy.
Use a liquid fertilizer about every 2 weeks. If your plant is indoors, mix at half strength. I have 2 raised beds next to my driveway, and I mostly grow tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Last season I grew a few brussels sprouts, but that was all of my variety. Should I be concerned with a lack of variety for crop rotation? Hi Wayne. Also, your tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are all in the same family. So in the perfect world, you would not want to continue to plant crops from the same families in the same beds year after year.
In your case, the Brussels sprouts could be the alternate crop. So while mixing up your plants between bed would be good between seasons, no matter what, keep working on improving your soil as much as you can to return nutrients there and nature will take care of a lot of the potential problems for you. Very detailed instructions are given by Charles to help you have a chance to beat his lbs per plant record.
Hi Please do not use miracle grow or simular products meant ornamental flowers — toxic to humans — cancer causing!!! I read this article very carefully. It very amazing and very helpful for me. I really want to grow the tomato crop in my backyard. You are doing a wonderful job with all the help you are giving to people.
God bless you. My biggest challenge is where to source good quality polycarbon UV protected to buy to cover my greenhouse. I need both the plan sheet and the perforated sheet that will restrict insect. Gosh Abu, you drive a hard bargain. I would love to help you. But the truth is, I have no idea where you can source product like that where you live. Have you made friends with local farmers or the Agricultural department or universities in your area.
Surely there are people that would love to help you and have the experience to know of suppliers in West Africa that can help you. We are going to plant from seeds our tomatoes this year in a greenhouse. Do you recommend growing tomato seeds in these small trays or utilizing larger pots for tomatoes.
Hi Jo-Anne. I think it comes down to how often do you want to transplant them? The small trays are fine for germination. But you will soon need to move them to larger containers as they continue to grow and expand their roots. The other issue is space. If you have the room, larger containers are nice. But keep in mind, there are no nutrients in this mix. So once the seedlings put on new leaves, it will need additional fertilization from you.
And expense-wise, it can cost more to fill a lot of larger containers with the sterile seed starting mix. So that may be another consideration for you when selecting your options.
In both cases, once you transplant you tomatoes to a larger container, use a potting mix, vs. It should have added nutrients.
Sorry for the ramble. Hello Joe — While spading manure into my raised beds, I found that the fine roots from my previous tomatoes were extremely thick in the soil.
So thick that I really had to work to get a pointed shovel into the ground and turn the soil. I pull the old plants in the fall and this removes the main roots. Is this a problem? Should I make an effort to clean them out or will they just eventually decompose.
Thanks for your advise Lesley. Hey Lesley. They will eventually decompose and add organic matter to your soil. Hi Joe. What can I do to help the plants along? They will in time. You can speed the process up by helping the pollination process.
Take a cheap electric toothbrush and briefly touch it to the flowers while running. This will vibrate the flowers to release more pollen. The other issue is weather. Tomatoes need a certain temperature range to continue the process of producing and ripening fruit. If conditions go outside that range, the process will be delayed. Hi Joe — Great info, thanks. Will follow compost and mulch suggestions for soil prep. Hey George. The idea behind not planting in the same place every year is to starve out the bacteria in the soil that overwinter and thrive on those same type of plants each season when you bring back in their favorite host plants tomatoes in this case.
It falls under the practice of crop rotation that farmers have been using for centuries to combat this very issue. If you google crop rotation, you will learn all you want to know and more.
But blight is a very common problem of tomato plants and can result from non-soil borne diseases. A generous layer of mulch, regular use of compost, no overhead watering, and good air circulation between plants can help a lot.
But even then, tomato diseases can still get ahead of you. I practice all the things I suggested you do but it still happens. Good luck. I have 60 beautiful tomato plants. Yesterday a neighbor suggested putting lime on the bases and watering. Is it too late to add lime? Calcium is the additive that most people turn to when planting to add a little to the hole. But most soils have enough of that. At this point, pull off all the tomatoes that have this end rot.
The remaining tomatoes should adjust. This condition occurs, it almost always happens mainly on the first flush. From here out, just make sure your soil stays evenly moist, as in not too much or too little. It should fix itself. I put about 1 tsp of Epsom salt in the hole when I plant the tomato plant and never have end rot when I do this.
Hi Joe , I have my garden growing very nicely it is about mid season for my tomatoes. All looks good however it is my first year growing. I am trying to judge how healthy my plants are are there any things to look for other then problems to tell how good things are doing?
Thinks in advance. It usually starts from the bottom and progresses up the plant. Stay proactive and start removing those leaves and branches as soon as you see a sign of this. Otherwise, consistent irrigation so the soil is moist but not wet will help, combined with mulching at the soil surface. As for pest, the most common is the tomato hornworm.
Look at the tops of your plants for leafless chewed off stems. When you see this, then start looking hard for the well-camouflaged hornworm. I simply pull them off the plant and toss them out of the garden for the birds. But you can also use a safe, organic product referred to as B. Any kind of mulch will work in containers Maggie. My preference is a natural wood product like shredded bark. But you could use rotted leaves grass clippings etc. Your objective with the mulch is two-fold: to provide an insulating barrier to help retain moisture in the container, and to prevent any potential disease pathogens that may reside in the soil from splashing up on your plants.
You have many options. If you go to a garden center or nursery, anything labeled as mulch will work for this purpose. I live in a hot dry climate. Maggie, pretty much anything is better than no mulch. You need a layer of organic matter like shredded bark or leaves, compost, or other products marketed as mulch.
I would you more finely ground or shredded products. But the mulch will def. You can. However, many people would advise you to rotate the planting area so you are not planting the same crops in the same place year after year. The reason is that certain crops will deplete the nutrients most needed, and pests and disease populations that are attracted to that crop will build up there and overwinter to come back even stronger next year. That is true but not a guarantee. The results of the soil test will reveal nutrient content and pH, as well as make recommendations for soil amendments.
Tomatoes are frequently grown in an outdoor garden, but you can also grow them in containers. Container growing does have an advantage in that it allows you complete control over the growing medium. An ideal potting mix for tomatoes consists of equal parts potting soil, perlite, sphagnum peat moss and compost. Richard Corrigan has been a full-time professional writer since His areas of expertise include travel, sports and recreation, gardening, landscaping and the outdoors.
Home Guides Garden Garden Care. By Richard Corrigan Updated November 28, Related Articles.
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