5 tips for growing delicious tomatoes

5 Tips for Growing Delicious Tomatoes

March 31, 20235 min read

Growing delicious tomatoes in your garden or outdoor space is easier than ever with the right knowledge and growing practices. With a few simple tips, you can become an expert tomato grower in no time! Read on to find out more about growing and harvesting tomatoes like a pro.

1. Choosing the Right Tomato Varieties.

Choosing the Right Tomato Varieties: When growing tomatoes, you need to choose the right tomato varieties for your climate and growing preferences. Consider things like size, flavor, disease resistance, color, and shape when choosing your tomato variety.  Heirloom tomatoes, including varieties like 'Rutger's', have more vitamin c, potassium, folate, and vitamin K than non-organic varieties. These sweet fruits also contain lycopene, a carotenoid that has been heavily studied for its potential to prevent certain cancers. Keep in mind that growing tomatoes often means considering the type of variety that is best suited for your climate and space; determinate tomatoes are perfect for smaller patios or balconies and work well with container gardening, while indeterminate varieties do better with larger growing spaces. 

2. Setting Up Your Growing Space.

Growing delicious tomatoes has a lot to do with the soil they are planted in. Whether growing in containers or in a garden bed, make sure to prepare your growing space beforehand.  For best results, look for well-drained soil that is rich in microbes and organic matter, like compost. This type of soil will ensure your tomatoes get all the nutrition and minerals needed for an abundant harvest. It’s important to also keep the soil moist and maintain consistent temperature levels as tomatoes grow best in warm areas. Place the plants in a sunny spot that gets at least 8 hours of direct sunlight per day. With some time and effort, you can create the ideal home for your tomatoes and be rewarded with mouth-watering fruits all season long.

3. Fertilization and Watering Tips

As a general rule, a tomato plant requires 1-2 inches of water per week. In hotter climates this is best spread out over the week in daily or every few day increments, where as more temperate climates can handle weekly watering. Tomatoes don't like water on their leaves as it increases the chance of fungal diseases as well as leaf burn. Do not flood the tomato, instead water slowly to allow water to permeate through instead of running off. Using EM-1® soil conditioner has been shown to decrease water usage by 30% by increasing infiltration into the soil. Soil microbes mine the soil for organic material and nutrients, in doing so pores and soil structure are increased. By adding nutrient-rich organic matter to the soil and EM-1® you can save money and save water. Research with EM-1® Microbial Soil Conditioner in various countries have shown that the beneficial bacteria can increase the sweetness, growth, and strength of tomato plants and help fight off common problems. Using organic fertilizer instead of synthetics can also ensure you have successful organically grown tomato plants without added chemicals that can affect soil health.

4. Prune and Train Your Tomatoes

Indeterminate type tomatoes can easily get out of control when not pruned frequently. Besides taking over the garden, an unpruned tomato will not produce fruit well either. Once tomato plants are 3-4 foot tall, you should begin to remove the suckers from the bottom of the stem. These are the older leaves and tend to increase the risk of fungal disease. Removing them increases air flow and helps the tomato plants grow upright.

For indeterminate type tomatoes, it is best to remove the new leaves that tend to grow at the axis of the stem and larger leaves (see picture below). This is not an issue on determinate bush tomatoes as they stay compact and small. Simply pinch these small tomato leaves off with your fingers every few days to weekly all the way up and as the plant grows. Removing allows the plant to use nutrients to grow tomatoes instead of unneeded leaves. Continue to remove lower leaves as they turn yellow.

Tomatoes can be trained to grow with a variety of staking options such as stakes, a tomato cage, trellises, or tomato spirals. Tomato cages are readily available and easy to use as they are simply staked into the soil. Staking tomatoes on any of the above can result in an increased tomato yield and healthier fruit. Be sure to begin staking plants early as they are hard to train once they're larger.

5. Troubleshooting Common Issues with Tomato Plants

Troubleshooting Common Issues with Tomato Plants: Growing tomatoes inevitably comes with its own set of growing issues. The most common tomato plant problems are blight, blossom end rot, yellow leaves, and pests. 

Blossom End Rot:

Blossom end rot is a common tomato plant issue caused by a calcium deficiency. Tomatoes will begin to rot from the bottom and make the inside of the fruit mealy and inedible. Although lack of calcium in the soil may be the issue, it is more commonly a soil pH issue binding up the calcium or a watering problem causing periods of drought. Beneficial microorganisms in the rhizosphere can help in a variety of ways.

Besides being known to help naturally balance soil pH by cycling hydrogen, microbes in the rhizosphere can help calcium become more mobile and available to the plant. EM-1® specifically can decrease the risk of drought issues by helping soil become more permeable. If low calcium is indeed your issue, consider adding crushed egg shells for an all natural calcium boost.

Tomato Blight:

Lack of airflow and wet leaves is the main culprit for blight. The soil-borne fungi causes brown/black spots to form on older leaves, eventually causing the leaves to fall off. Rotating crops is one option as not all crops are susceptible. Another option is to spray your tomatoes with EM-1®. EM-1® contains beneficial microbes such as Lactobacillus which has antibiotic compounds that suppress and/or get rid of fungal diseases.

Prune away affected leaves to prevent disease from spreading.

By following the above tips on growing tomatoes, you can be sure to get a delicious bumper crop of tomatoes every season! With proper growing practices, anyone can become an expert tomato grower. So don't wait, get growing today!

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