Growing tomatoes is often the impetus for starting a vegetable garden, and every tomato lover dreams of growing the ultimate tomato: firm but juicy, sweet but tangy, aromatic, and blemish free.
Unfortunately, there are few vegetables that are prone to more problems than tomatoes. The trick to growing great-tasting tomatoes is to choose the best varieties, start the plants off right, and control problems before they happen. Start here with some time-tested tomato growing tips to ensure your tomato bragging rights this year.
About Tomatoes
There’s a reason why tomatoes are the #1 home garden vegetable. The taste of a tomato right off the vine is incomparable to a typical grocery store type.
Tomatoes are warm-weather vegetables and sun worshippers!
- In northern regions, tomato plants will need at least 6 hours of sunlight daily; 8 to 10 hours are preferred.
- In southern regions, light afternoon shade (natural or applied, e.g., row covers) will help tomatoes to survive and thrive.
How do you grow tomatoes from seed?
Sow your tomato seeds in March or April, approximately 6-8 weeks before the final frost of the winter, or earlier if you’re growing your tomatoes in a greenhouse. Sprinkle the seed thinly onto good quality seed compost. Cover with 1.5mm of compost and water lightly with a fine-rose watering can.
If you’re only growing a few plants, sow two seeds into a 7.5cm (3″) pot. Keep the compost moist, but be careful not to over-water as wet conditions can encourage “damping-off” disease, and other mould problems. At a temperature of 21 degrees celsius, tomato seeds usually germinate in 7 to 14 days. After germination remove the smaller plant.
Pot on the tomato seedlings as soon as they’re big enough to handle. Hold the plants by the leaves, taking care not to touch the stems, and transplant them into 7.5cm (3in) pots. Protect the plants from frost, cold winds, and draughts which might kill them.
How much water do tomato plants need?
Tomato plants need a lot of water and feed if they’re to produce a bountiful crop. For best results, water little and often. Some gardeners leave a few filled watering cans to warm in their greenhouse so the water is not shockingly cold from the tap or water butt.
Some people claim that watering at exactly the same time each day makes a difference to the quality of the crop! Feed your tomatoes with a general liquid feed until the first truss has formed then alternate with a high potash feed to encourage more flowers and fruit.
How to harvest and store tomatoes
- As tomatoes begin to ripen, their colour changes from vibrant medium-green to a lighter shade, with faint pink or yellow blushing. These “breakers,” or mature green tomatoes, can be chopped into salsas, pickled, or pan-fried into a crispy appetizer. Yet tomato flavours become much more complex as the fruits ripen, so you have good reason to wait. The exact signs of ripeness vary with variety, but in general, perfectly ripe tomatoes show deep colour yet still feel firm when gently squeezed.
- Store picked tomatoes at room temperature indoors, or in a shady place outside. Never refrigerate tomatoes, because temperatures below 55° cause the precious flavour compounds to break down.