Share your TOMATO growing tips (Spring 2021)

[TNHunter]

I have been growing Tomatoes since around 1975… and like many of you (I’m sure) have tried to push the limits as much as possible, to get ripe tomatoes earlier in the year.

In the mid 90’s… I discovered something quite by accident that really helps a lot and is very easy and quite simple… that I wanted to share with you all just in case you have not figured this out yet.

Prior to this discovery, I tried all the gadgets, wall of waters (yep did that)… tried planting them early and protecting them thru late frost, and that really is a gamble, and you usually end up with stunted plants that actually ripen fruit later rather than earlier…

Of course I have a story to go with this discovery so here it is…

Now this is a good tip for someone that does not have a green house, or other protected way to care for early tomatoes… just the average gardner, who might go to the local nursery, buy some plants.

In the mid 90’s, I had a large garden, and grew over 100 tomato plants… and well just about every thing else too. I got married in 1990 so I had a wife then… I preferred big beefy or slicer type tomatoes… and that was all I grew… but she wanted some cherry tomatoes… so that spring I purchased a little 3 pack of sweet 100 cherry tomato plants. I really only wanted to plant 1 or 2… but all they had was 3 packs.

Our average last frost date her was around April 20… but I would try to get tomatoes in the ground early, and protect them when those late frost came… (surly that wall of waters would help)…

So here is where I made my discovery.

In early April, I planted 2 of those sweet 100 cherry tomatoes in the garden… and yep wall of waters to protect (the green ones)…

The 3rd one, I did not just want to toss it in the compost pile and I had some extra black plastic planter pots (1 gal)… so I worked up a mix of garden soil and compost… and put that 3rd cherry tomato in that black gallon pot, and just sit it out in the garden right next to the other two that were planted in ground.

As usual we had some cold nights a few times after that (low 30’s) and on those cold nights… the one in the black pot, I could simply bring inside… then after it warmed up enough the next morning, could take it back out to the garden and sit it with the others that were “Protected ?” by the wall of waters.

Now here is what happened… in 3 weeks, the 2 planted in the garden, protected by wall of waters, had grown almost NONE. They had actually started to yellow a bit, and had very little new growth. Basically the same size as when I planted them.

The one in the Black Gallon pot… was 3x as Big as the others…

That is when I really realized that Tomatoes are just not going to grow much when planted in ground, early when the soil temps are still quite cool. They are just going to flounder around some and not do much, may even go down hill health wise.

And that a small Tomato Plant, placed in a Gallon Black Pot (which really soaks up the sun and warms the soil inside) will cause that small tomato start to GROW like crazy.

Also that being able to bring your (started in Gal Black Pot tomatoes) inside (the Garage, or Home)… on those few very cold nights late spring… is much better than trying to protect them with gadgets like wall of waters… or covering them with milk jugs, buckets, etc…

Now days… what I actually do, is setup a small micro climate location on the south wall of my house (red brick). I just put down a small piece of plywood, and cover it with some red plastic tomato mulch, and I have some 6 mil plastic and some steaks (the plastic is stapled to)… and I just create something like a little hot house for them to stay in outside, as long as the weather is OK.

The plastic protects them from cool and often windy spring days… but on that south brick wall location, they get all kinds of sun, and it is amplified by the red brick, and warms up nicely. It is sort of like a green hose, or small hot house, but very small… and holds just a dozen or so gal black pots.

clear plastic on 3 sides, red brick on the back.

Normally by May 1 here, if you plant tomatoes in ground, they will start taking off pretty quick. The ground is warm enough then.

If you purchase smaller tomato plants (6-8" tall)… I think are about right… expecially if nursery started them in those tiny 2" pots… You are better off purchasing smaller plants, no blooms yet, 6-8" tall, healthy.

By all means don’t by a much older plant in a tiny pot, that has stressed and bloomed already…

Buy a young plant, 6-8" tall, and put it in a Gal Pot, with a good compost mix… I usually do this around April 10-15… and keep them in that Gal Black pot until near May 1, and then plant them inground.

From Mid April until May 1, while in that black pot, they grow like crazy, get really huge and health looking. If there are a few nights in there where it gets below 40 degrees… I bring them inside… then the next day, put them back out when it is warm enough.

This will easily get you earlier ripe tomatoes, and get your tomatoes producing at max capacity earlier… than any other method that I have tried over the years.

Hope this helps someone out… that is still trying those gadgets, and putting them in ground too early.

If you all have any good tips on tomato growing please share.

It does not matter how long you have been growing things… there could very well be something you have never tried that is easy and works well.

TNHunter

[DennisD]

Good tips, I have found it’s not worth taking tomatoes to the outside garden until night temps are steady above 50 F. Any temps below that or one night of cold rain can stunt the plant for weeks! The best fertilizer I have found to green them up is Epsom salt, use only about 1-2 tablespoons dissolved in 2 gal sprinkler can and sprinkle over the foliage once or twice weekly. Don’t overdo it!

[TNHunter]

@DennisD - Epson Salt is one of the organic fertilizers I use regularly in my garden.

When I purchase my small tomato plants… and then pot them in the gallon black pots… I actually go out to my garden and compost pile… and I make a potting mix including about half garden soil, and compost. Into that mix I add some of my regular mix of organic fertilizers for tomatoes… including epson salt, bone meal, and gypsum, some green sand, and blood meal.

Not too much, just enough to make them pop while potted in those Gal Pots and boy they do.

Tip on Calcium needs for Tomatoes… everyone knows that blossom end rot is at least partially caused by calcium deficiency, and can be worse if plants are not getting enough water on a regular basis…

Once the soil is warm and good mulching helps retain moisture…

Bone Meal and Gypsum are both good sources of CA.

Gypsum will add CA, without affecting PH. If the crop you are growing needs a low PH, use Gypsum.

Bone Meal is a great source of CA too… but it has a PH of like 12-14, so use it sparingly, unless you need to raise your PH.

Note… we put every eggshell in our compost pile, so my compost has that to help with CA too.

TNHunter

[Olpea]

I think your idea is excellent for a few tomato plants.

I sell tomatoes, so unfortunately I don’t have the space to store all those tomato plants. We plan to have about 325 tomato plants this year and don’t have anywhere to put those.

We are stuck using the wall o waters. I don’t like using them because of the labor involved but don’t have much of a choice. To wait till most of the risk of frost is gone to plant transplants puts us too far into the summer before we can start selling them.

I’ve had lots of people tell me that to put tomatoes in too early stunts them, so that they don’t produce any earlier. However, for the most part, I’ve found that not to be the case.

Up near KC, if we wait till the last part of April to set out transplants(the earliest reasonably safe time to set out tomatoes) we can’t get into any significant tomato production until August. By putting them in earlier, we can generally get in production earlier, even though the tomatoes don’t appear to grow much.

We set out our first 100 plants on 3-20 this year. The plants really haven’t grown at all. In fact, we were late getting the tomato protectors on and some of the plants stressed enough to have some leaves turn yellow, before we got them on. Still, it’s preferential to waiting till almost May before setting tomatoes out.

The manufacturer of the wall o waters says to put the wall o waters up a week before planting tomatoes in them to warm the ground. But we are always so rushed, we never get a chance to do that.

Most growers here avoid the hassle and just grow tomatoes in hoop houses. But I’ve tasted these, and they don’t taste very good imo. Perhaps I’m just too picky. I’d be interested to know if others have purchased tomatoes grown in hoop houses, and what they think of the flavor?

Here is a pic I took about a week ago. I took the picture because I was pleased with our fall herbicide program under the trees, but some of the tomato protectors are visible on the left hand side of the pic.

[TNHunter]

@Olpea … yes… I only do this with a few tomato plants now days… so it works well for that.

If you can get extra tall wall o watters… where you could first put your tomato plants in the black gal pots… and just set them out in field with a wall o waters protecting them and that black gal pot warming up the soil … I am sure you would see much more early growth than in ground plantings.

Then put them in ground once the soil is warmer…

Not sure if they make extra tall wall o waters… and that probably would not be practical on a large scale… but you could do a smaller amount like that for a trial… to see how much earlier you might get those first ripe tomatoes… and how much earlier they get into full production mode.

Getting those first ripe tomatoes a week or two before everyone else… is sure nice.

TNHunter

[LarryGene]

The trick here is to make sure the potted plants are transplanted in-ground before there are many roots overgrown against the interior side of the pot which can increase transplant shock. Gallon-size pots should be adequate.

[Graftman]

I do exactly what TN Hunter does. I have a south facing brick alcove with a 4 foot awning. I buy or plant starts as early as possible. Then transplant to half gallon pots about a month before they can go out to the garden. Even on a 60 degree day the alcove has a surface temp of 80. The awning protects them from the cold night sky. I only deal with 18 plants so it is feasible to do this. Some years I will have tomatoes ready to pick by the end of May but usually the first or second week of June. It’s better to plant too late than too early.

[mrsg47]

That is one beautiful orchard. I do love tomatoes. Sorry, was taken by the photograph!

[TNHunter]

@LarryGene - I normally only keep mine in the black gal pots 2-3 weeks, at most 4 (possibly if too wet)… and they always take off growing nicely.

I started these Big Beef in ground on 5/2 last year and 53 days later first bloom were starting to ripen.

They reached the top of that panel and went on up near 9 ft tall… before the wind blew them over and then they continued to hang off the back and produce until fall.

That little hill I had them planted in probably had 200 pounds of home made compost in it.

TNHunter

[northof53]

I agree, I have a hoop house and my tomatoes grown in it are substandard to those outside. I have noticed the same applies to cucumbers, in the hoop house they have an acid taste.

I start my tomatoes in empty large coffee bags, they are sturdy, waterproof and stand upright. But I roll the top down half way, fill with dirt, pop in the tomato plant. As the plant grows I add dirt and roll the sides up rather than transplant them.

[disc4tw]

I wonder what causes the substandard plants? Is it a deficiency in a particular light wavelength filtered from the greenhouse glass/plastic?

My buddy’s tip for tomatoes is “Plant them deep”. He notices that they grow more roots up the stem as the season progresses, so a few inches lower than how they grew from seed is preferred. I have had horrible luck with tomato production personally. Now that I’ve found this forum I’m pretty confident that luck will change.

[ggrindle]

POTASH. Use it

[TNHunter]

@disc4tw — I used to think that too… and planted them deep… but saw a video by mhp gardner (youtube) a year or two ago where he showed where… if you plant them deep they will grow more roots on up the stem nearer the surface… but the established roots you had at the bottom will suffer and fade.

So… he was saying the tomato plant will actually benefit more if you let them grow fairly tall (lots of stem) and plant the original roots and as much of the stem as possible in a trench 4-6 inch deep. That way the original roots will continue to thrive… and the buried stem portion will develop more roots too…

Who knew…

TNHunter

[JCW]

When I first started gardening the old fellow who sold plants showed me how to plant tomatoes right there in the bed where he grew them. He had no seed trays, dug them up and wrapped them in wet newspaper. He dug a shallow trench with his hands, pinched off all but the top 2 or 3 leaves, laid it over, covered all but the leaves with a slight mound. Said that would all turn to roots, being close to the top the warmth of the sun would make it take off faster.

[dimitri_7a]

These are some solid tips, I would definitely second making sure you don’t plant them out before it gets warm (same with any warm season crop) - does a lot more harm then good.

Don’t rush to transplant, either. Cold soil and air temperatures can stress plants. Wait at least a week or two after the last frost. Nighttime temperatures should be consistently above 45 F. Transplants exposed to cold temperatures (60 F to 65 F day and 50 F to 60 F night) are more prone to catfacing. [gardening.cornell.edu]

My other tip for the home gardener is to use rebar mesh tomato cages. Here is how I use them: 2020 Tomatoes and Tomato Support - #3 by dimitri_7a

[TNHunter]

I have 6 that I made out of cattle panel…

Super strong… work great… will outlast me for sure.

TNHunter

[TNHunter]

I had to go out of town this year to find some good big beef tomato plants.

The place I have been getting mine, the owner passed away last summer… an old friend of the family, hunted deer and ginseng with him a several times. It was his time to go.

Our Local Walmart, TSC, Coop, had no Big Beef… just my luck.

So I located some by phone calls… and yesterday took a trip over to Maury Co. Coop and got them.

I have 8 nice Big Beef and 6 Rutgers “planted” into the black gallon pots now, with a nice compost/garden soil mix, with some epson salt, greensand, bone meal, blood meal, gypsum in the mix.

They are in my little hot house now, soaking up the sun.

I will be giving 4 of those to my daughter to grow.

TNHunter

[ggrindle]

You had me up until greensand. Green sand???

[Masbustelo]

I don’t know if it has been mentioned, but this is a great little book, well worth the money.https://www.amazon.com/How-Grow-World-Record-Tomatoes/dp/0911311572 Here I am picking tomatoes in late October one year.

[TNHunter]

Greensand… Epsom salt… Gypsum…

Lots of trace minerals…

Flavor.