How to Grow Your Own Tomatoes
Yup, You Can Grow These Delicious Things at Home
The Tropical Grower is kicking off the next few weeks of growing food at home with How to Grow Your Own Tomatoes. Yummy! Whether you use Tomatoes for cooking or pop them in your mouth raw, Tomato plants offer a continuous supply of these juicy food goodies throughout their growing season instead of in a single harvest. It makes them a favorite for home growers. Because despite how much I love eating corn I’ve grown myself, I can’t grow enough of it or get it to produce any time of year. Tomatoes on the other hand, there are only a few months, Growing Tropical, I can’t grow these fresh.
If you’re not Growing Tropical, your growing season is going to be much shorter, but you can still get Tomatoes throughout it. That’s how they roll.
Grow more plants and freeze or jar your finished cooking mixes like marinara and salsa for the off-growing seasons. Tomatoes are pretty versatile that way. I’m not fond of frozen vegetables and fruit at all. My lip does that little, lift in disgust thing, when I think about eating them. Personal preference. But I will eat frozen marinara or canned salsa like it was made fresh. It’s kind of their super power in my opinion.
Tomatoes Grow In Your Areas
Whether you’re growing in Containers, Raised Beds, or Directly in the Ground, Tomatoes are vines, and they will grow there. Most of the root system is in the top 12 inches, but the roots can reach up to 2 feet. You want to make sure you give it a big enough space for the roots to grow. I have a couple growing nicely in gallon pots, but they never reach the size or fruit production levels as my raised beds and ground planted ones. The more room you give your roots, the bigger the plant.
Support
Tomatoes are also happier with something to climb. While there are some bush varieties, most tomatoes are vines, and you need to plan their growth vertically, up into the air. There are literally dozens of types of supports from the traditional ‘round’ variety to placing it next to a chain link fence. You’re really only looking for something strong enough to hold up the fruit you are growing. Since the fruit grows at the end of branches, a center support is Not Ideal. It’s better to ‘cage’ the plant in between two fences, place it in a fence corner or surround it with a support where the branches are being held up independent from the center vine.
We have several of the ‘traditional’ round metal supports, 6 feet tall. They’re actually only about 5 feet once placed, but they work fantastic and I’ve had them for years. My plants would be happier if I gave them 8 feet as they tend to fall over out of the top, but we rarely have any plants producing near the bottom. So, a smaller version doesn’t really work for us, and I would Not recommend the smaller versions for tomatoes at all if you are Growing Tropical. Even the gallon pot tomatoes would overtake the smaller supports.
We often use the green fencing for supports in a pinch. Because it bends and shapes to fit, we reuse it all over Our Garden. I’ve seen the more expensive square tomato cages online, and I’m sure they work great. But the bottom area would be completely useless for us, we have no branches down there. I would be more likely to invest in taller, not more dense, supports. I was also pretty shocked by the square tomato cage price. It’s a support, not a rare tropical plant.
Ground Tomatoes
Until this year, I would have said Tomatoes absolutely need supports to grow, and I still 100% recommend supports, but I grew 3 plants on the ground this year, just to see what would happen. Yup, growing, producing fruit. No problem, except the spread.
In my defense, I didn’t actually plant ground tomatoes, which are Beefsteak in case you are wondering. What I did was throw ripe Beefsteak Tomatoes the birds had pecked at into the compost pile.
Then, I added compost with still active seeds to my beds. Dang. At first, I thought the little sprouts were Marigolds. Nope. Tomatoes. I left them in 3 beds, next to the living Ligustrum, next to the variegated hibiscus in the TV&H garden, and one in the front back drainage ditch berm. The Ground Tomatoes are producing just like normal, but the vine branches really spread out and climb the trees. It’s way more room than I really want 1 plant to take up. There’s also more opportunity for critters and bugs to get at them. But if you are into it, they do grow this way.
Soil and Nutrients
Big surprise, Tomatoes like rich, well drained soil. Yup, the standard. They also like a relatively neutral to slightly acidic soil in the 6.2 to 6.8 range. If you’re not going to measure the PH, most people don’t, most commercial soil has a relatively neutral PH. Adding new soil, you’ll know exactly where you stand. If you’re pulling soil from the yard, some indicators your PH is off is slow plant growth, reduced harvest or blossom rot. So, if you’re experiencing any of these, you might want to check your PH.
We use compost mixed with our natural soil, if you can call years of supplementing straight sandy silts with commercial compost and soil, natural, for our Ground plants. In Containers or Raised Beds, we use Compost mixed with Yard Sand. We’ve also grown them in Black Sand, where the Compost/Sand mix is more on the sand scale. Ours have grown pretty well in everything except straight yard sand. If we don’t get our Sandy Compost deep enough, they will also not make it. My understanding is they do not do well in clayey soils, but I have no experience with growing them in clayey soils. Our clays are limited.
Fertilizer
Tomatoes like the ‘Other’ nutrients. Heavy Nitrogen will give you big bushy leaves and little or no flowers and fruit. If you’re looking at commercial fertilizers, Nitrogen is the 1st number in the nutrient percentages. That’s the 3 numbers with dashes on every commercial fertilizer container, example: 15-10-10. The 2nd is Phosphorus and the 3rd is Potassium both of which Tomatoes like for fruit.
I feel like I’ve used every commercial variety out there from the standard vegetable to the one that comes in the little plastic tomato, but my Tomatoes didn’t start producing like crazy until I started using Jobe’s Tomato Spikes. There’s a link there to where I buy it on Amazon. And yes, I get kickbacks for recommending things I would tell My Dad to try. If I wouldn’t tell him, I wouldn’t put it on here. Just saying.
While I highly recommend you try this one, for every garden, fertilizers work best if they give your plants what they want and your soil is lacking. Meaning, if you have lots of potassium in your soil, for Tomatoes, you want a fertilizer that will not give you a bunch of nitrogen you don’t want or potassium since you already have it. You’ll want something with a larger middle, Phosphorous, number, or only Phosphorous. So, some fertilizers will work better in your garden specifically based on what you already have there. Compost, if made correctly, is Nitrogen rich. Be careful about adding more if you’re getting bushy, non-producing plants.
Crop Rotation & Growing Organic
If you are Growing Organic, there is Crop Rotation in your future. Many vegetables are Nitrogen lovers which makes Tomatoes and other Nightshades which like the ‘Other’ nutrients a great rotator. Beds and planting holes that have their Nitrogen absorbed by Brassicas like broccoli and cabbage are perfect for a Nightshade that wants the ‘Other’ stuff. However, you don’t want to plant a Nightshade after your legumes like beans or peas as they produce Nitrogen and you don’t want to end up with bushy Tomato leaves. If you’re not adding fertilizers and using straight compost, Crop Rotation is essential for healthy plants. For more on Crop Rotations see: How to Ace Your Spring Planting Plan
Varieties
Tomatoes come in all sizes and color variations from the easiest to grow small Cherry Tomatoes to the more difficult large Stuffer Tomatoes. When all my other varieties fail, the Yellow Cherry Tomatoes can still be found in Our Garden. This summer we lost the last of our Starburst Yellow Cherry Tomatoes we had been growing and propagating through cuttings for the last 6 or 7 years. It was replaced with a Yellow Pear Tomato which is also a Cherry variety. Whether you’re a beginner grower or an expert, Cherry varieties are the easiest to grow and most likely to put freshly grown Tomatoes on your table. We happen to be fond of the yellow ones although we do have a Large Cherry Tomato planted. It’s been a low producer, and I’m still trying to understand why.
This year, we are also growing Beefsteak, Roma, and Flame Tomatoes. All of these have produced well this year despite being planted just before and after Hurricane Ian. There is a reason you constantly see Beefsteak and Roma, they grow well, consistently, in most places. They also taste good, but anything grown is going to taste light years better than what you’re buying in the store in my opinion. There are literally hundreds of articles out there on the ‘Best’ Tasting Tomato, and you can try to grow every one. Since taste is a personal preference, you would be the final judge. We tried the Flame Tomato this year, and we really like the taste. The bright orange color is also cool in dishes.
Growing Conditions
Check your seed pack or Growing Instructions with your starter plant for the recommended growing conditions. They will be specific to your plants. You can modify later based on what they need in your garden, but start with the standard. Generally, Tomatoes like full sun, at least 6 hours if your Growing Tropical, 8 hours otherwise. These are warm soil plants and do not like any sort of frost. They also like moist soil with consistent watering, preferring it not to completely dry out before the next watering.
Tomatoes do not like to be pruned. In fact, they don’t even like it when you remove the dead leaves. Usually, you wait until they fall off when you touch them. Dead branches or leaves take a long time to fall off, and the ones still attached can rip the skin off the stems when you try to force them. Removing the skin from the stem opens them up to rot and disease. You don’t want that. Use a very sharp pair of snippers if you can’t help yourself, hold both the leaf and branch, both sides, when you cut. Be prepared for it to decide it wants go into the great beyond, sometimes that happens when you cut them.
Seeds & Starter Plants
You can obviously get so many more varieties in seeds for a much lower price. If you can get seeds to grow, they are a cheaper, more versatile option. Don’t forget your seeds have a shelf life and need to be stored properly. So, don’t buy too many more than you can plant. I like buying a variety pack and trying different ones out over a couple of seasons. Since I make Starter Plants from Seeds, I get the best of both worlds. But really, healthy producing plants are the most important part. Try starting your seeds in a nursery and transplanting to their final grow location.
Starter Plants you purchase offer less varieties, but they tend to be more successful grows. I’m a firm believer in Starter Plants. You can buy them from a commercial grower, start your own from seeds, indoors if you want them already going when the weather warms, or make them from cuttings. Buying Starter Plants is also a big time hack for growers with limited time. You’re basically skipping the most risky 30 to 60 days of a grow. Not so much if you’re making your own.
Cuttings
Tomatoes propagate very well from cuttings, and you can recreate your favorite varieties year after year by taking cuttings from your healthy plants. The best time to take a cutting is when your Tomato plant is healthy, in full grow, with many active branches. You don’t want to cut your main branch unless your plant is at the end of its life and you are basically transferring it to a new location by a cutting.
You want a new growth side shoot for the best results. Cut it about 4 to 6 inches from the end at a leaf. Remove the leaf, cover with a root booster, and plant in a Starter Pot. Grow, baby, grow. I’ve tried dropping these directly in the ground with limited success, but they rarely die once they are in the pots. For more on Starter Plants See: How to Choose Between Seeds and Starter Plants
Red Mulch & Plastic Covers
Yes, they did studies where red plastic mulch increased fruit production for Tomatoes in cooler climates. My understanding from the experts is in perfect growing conditions it won’t make much difference, but in less than ideal conditions it can increase your fruit production by 12% to 20%.
We like to play the odds and add red wood mulch to the Tomatoes. I do not consciously add any plastics to Our Garden that could get mixed in with the soil. In fact, I spend a great deal of time picking stuff out. Personal Preference. I have the red wood mulch on hand as we have an area with red mulch. So, it really isn’t a big choice on whether I’m going to buy it. It’s whether I’m going to grab one or the other. Does it increase production? Shoulder shrug. Maybe. Maybe not. We get a really good crop of Tomatoes.
Vine Ripening, Critters, and Bugs
We don’t vine ripen our Tomatoes. It isn’t that I wouldn’t love to ripen them on the vines, it’s the birds. Once the fruit starts to color, the birds descend. Now, I used to have line up around the Traditional Vegetable & Herb garden for the birds, but it came down with the Hong Kong Orchid tree in Ian. As always, we’ve had heavy bird migration this year, and they’ve been pecking at even the green ones. While I should be used to it by now, it still irritates me, every time. Fencing generally helps with the critters, and getting your fruit up off the ground with supports, but it does nothing about the birds. For them, I have to harvest when the fruit shows signs of coloring and fully ripen in the kitchen window.
Bugs are not a big problem for our Tomatoes, but we do get them. This year, I lost a Beefsteak to bugs. The bugs themselves didn’t kill the plant, my treatment did. I use an organic spray, which means an oil. Oil on plant leaves in 90 degree weather, yeah, they hate it. Since Tomatoes are prone to whiteflies, aphids, cutworms, among some, there will most likely be a time you will need to treat them for bugs. Choose a method, and know the repercussions. We treat the yard and only spot treat plants. Caterpillars, grasshoppers and such I just pull off and squish. While I might have been able to save the Beefsteak with washing and some care after the oil, it was at the end of its first growing season and I had several others to replace it. I kind of just let things ride.
Growing Tropical
Tomatoes love the heat and wet of Tropical Zones. We can definitely grow these far into the rainy season. In fact, we always plant late season Tomatoes and peppers to do just that. While I generally have most of my Sept crop well into April-May, sometime June, planting more in March-April from cuttings extends us well into July-Aug. Even if you can get your plants to live into the summer, your production will go down. Pull mulch off your stems when everything starts sitting wet all night. I usually pull it off the whole planting hole to keep fungus and rot at bay.
Your biggest issues are going to be soil, birds and bugs. Make sure to work your compost a couple of feet into your soil. If they hit that natural sandy silt, your Tomatoes will not like it, and you can’t go back after the initial plant to make your rich, well drained soil deeper. Well, you can. I did when Dawson’s tree upended the bed with the Yellow Pear Tomato in Hurricane Ian, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The plant’s young age saved it. It’s super high risk. You can add compost on top for floating roots, but messing with the deep roots will most likely kill the plant. Yup, done it. It looks almost the same as when grubs attack. Everything seems fine, and then, all of a sudden, wilty dying plant nothing will save.
Birds and bugs are another issue, but those are always issues for Tropical Zones. Growing smaller varieties will up your yield. Since these are more productive and are harvested quickly, there is less time on the vines for the buggers to get to them.
Are You Ready to Grow Tomatoes?
While not the easiest crop to grow, Tomatoes are the crop most tried at home. If you had an off year, figure out the problem and try again. Fresh Tomatoes are worth it.